The Future of Remote Work and the Digital Nomad Movement and Its Penetration Into the Mainstream With Elie Assuied | TNE 076

People go to Thailand for its beaches, food, and parties. But did you know that it has also become a top destination for digital nomads and remote workers as well? This week, I am joined by Elie Assuied, one of the forefront leaders of the digital nomad movement in Koh Phangan. Elie has played a very significant role in changing Koh Phangan from simply being a party animal’s paradise to a digital nomad and remote worker’s mecca. 

Elie Assuied is the CEO and founder of Remote&Digital. Together with his team, Elie creates co-living and co-working spaces where digital nomads and remote workers can come together to achieve not only peak productivity but also their physical and mental wellbeing goals. In this episode, Elie talks about why he decided to shift from playing host to fun-time tourists to developing a safe haven for digital nomads, and the work that he and his wife put into it. He also shares some spectacular anecdotes from the interactions he’s had with his guests over the years (you’d be surprised at what one of his guests do for a living!). And most importantly, Elie and I talk about what we think the future of the digital nomad movement will be like in the near future. 

Timestamps:

[6:23]What Made Elie Switch From Catering Only Tourists To Digital Nomads

[9:59]The Moment Elie Knew It Was Time To Make The Switch

[11:53]The Pandemic Effect

[15:43]What Drew Elie To Thailand?

[20:41]Elie’s Views On Remote Work And The Digital Nomad Culture

[27:10]The Work Elie Has Seen Digital Nomads Do 

Elie's Links:

Get in touch with Elie Assuied: LinkedIn | Instagram | +66 829 215 502

Learn more about Remote&Digital: Instagram | Remote.Digital Website

Omar's (Host) Social Media:

Instagram - @nomadables

TikTok - @nomadables

Facebook Group - NOMADABLES - Accountability & Growth Community for Remote Workers- Perfect to meet fellow online entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads.

YouTube - Omar Mo

LinkedIn - Omar Mo Nomads Cast

Twitter - @nomadables

Pintrest - @nomadables

Clubhouse - @pods

WEBSITE: https://www.nomadables.com/

Transcript

The Nomadic Executive Episode 76: The Future of Remote Work and Digital Nomad Movement And Its Penetration Into The Mainstream

Omar  

The future of remote work. Where is it headed? Stay with me here while we talk to one of the figures involved in its expansion overseas, in the heart of the early beginnings of the digital nomad movement: Thailand.

You've probably heard of the Full Moon Party, an internationally known beach party where 20 to 30 somethings go each year to get absolutely inebriated during each of the full moons across the beautiful shores of Koh Phangan. But what happened to Koh Phangan after COVID-19? And more importantly, can a place known to travelers as hedonism central, actually play a pivotal role in the remote work movement for years to come? 

Okay, that's enough of my David Attenborough impression. We’re joined by Ellie Assad, founder of Remote Digital, a remote work ecosystem focused on wellness and community. Elie started his co-working and co-living space in the heart of Koh Phangan and has now expanded to two locations across Thailand. Join us while we cover the state of the remote work movement in present day and its future for years to come. 

Remember Nomad fam, we've got some incredibly value filled episodes planned out for you so please hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Your review helps this podcast become more visible and ultimately inspire more people just like you. My name is Omar Mo and this is The Nomadic Executive.

Intro  

You're listening to the Nomadic Executive hosted by Omar from nomadables.com. Join Omar as he sits down and speaks with leading online entrepreneurs, remote workers and digital nomads about everything from business strategy to travel and lifestyle design. Together, we're here to help you achieve a life of happiness, health and freedom. And now here's your host, Omar Mo.

Omar  

All right, Elie, welcome to The Nomadic Executive, man. From Koh Phangan…did I pronounce that right?

Elie Assuied  

Yeah, Koh Phangan, man. Yeah. 

Omar

Koh Phangan.

Elie Assuied 

Koh Phangan. You hear ‘coupon yawn’.  

Omar

Interesting.

Elie Assuied

Yeah, yeah, people pronounce it different ways.

Omar  

Nice. Happy to have you on man. Super, super glad you got connected. Excited to have this episode with you. Try to move the remote and digital nomad movement forward. See how it goes. So tell me a little bit about yourself, Elie.

Elie Assuied  

Alright, man, yeah. So, you know, I'm originally born and raised in Paris. But at the age of 15, I moved to the United States with my parents. First to Boca Raton, where I did my studies at Florida Atlantic University, then moved to Miami. And also live a little bit in New York and Boston. 

And then, in 2017, I came on a honeymoon with my wife to Thailand for the first time, and we fell madly in love with the islands. And it also came along with the opportunity to invest in our first business called La Casa Tropicana, which at the time was only a restaurant and hostel. We decided to take the plunge and, you know, moved, moved all the way from Miami to Koh Phangan to take it over and...

Omar  

I’m curious, before you go on there. How much does taking over a hostel in a restaurant like that cost in Thailand?

Elie Assuied  

Okay, so we purchased altogether 65% of the business. And I'm going to include all the moving fees and all the living expenses to begin with. All in all, it turned out to be around $75,000.

Omar  

I see. Not bad.

Elie Assuied  

No, no, it was good. I mean, you know, it's... what should be told, you know, a big part of that investment was actually my mother's life insurance, which had unfortunately passed away a couple of months prior to my wedding. Which is also a huge deciding factor for us to kind of get out of Miami. 

You know, when you lose somebody so dear. And each street corner, each restaurant holds a special memory, you kind of want to have, you know, something different. Plus, I had been working in fine dining institutions and five star hotels throughout Miami, New York and Boston for quite some times. And I needed to take the next step.And you know, timing wise and financially this whole thing really kind of made sense. 

Omar

Make sense, yeah. 

Elie Assuied

Exactly. So and you know, little bit by little bit. We, you know, we converted what was originally a hostel into, you know, a higher end accommodation. It's not a five star By any means, but the idea was to target, you know, instead of the backpacking crowd, more of like, you know, young couples and people that could, that would afford a little bit more money for some privacy.

Omar  

So why did you make the switch there?

Elie Assuied  

Well, we just kind of noticed right over early on, you know, like Koh Phangan, you know, for many years was primarily known for its Full Moon Party, you know, five days out of every month, she would have anywhere from 25 to 40,000 people come here to get wild on the beach for you know, for a couple of days.

And, and we came here at the time where it was at the, at the very height of, you know, of the movements. But, you know, truth be told, although I'm not, you know, spitting in the soup here, because yet, again, five days out of each month, we were nearly guaranteed full occupation. 

It... you know, each time those you know, that clientele would leave, I would, I was always a little bit disappointed that they had spent most of their time here, either getting wasted, or hungover. And that the only real memories that they would be take with them from this, you know, paradise of a place that Koh Phangan is, is some blurry memories of, you know, of what may or may not may or may not have happened during the party.

Omar  

Makes a lot of sense. You had a beautiful appreciation for the island.

Elie Assuied  

I really did, and you know, yet again, you know, part of the motivation to get out of the States was to, you know, to reconnect with something that's a bit more… I don't mean no meaning to be critical, bit the more authentic, a bit more genuine. You know, 65% of this island is protected rainforest. 

There is, you know, there is a great sense of community. It’s a really, really cool place. And very early on, we realized that that's not what we wanted to stick with. And then what also happened as we're making the changes for the hotel, you know, at maybe five months into us being here, the restaurant that would you know, in normal times cater to a more basic, you know, regular kind of tourists, you know, looking to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, a couple of drinks and enjoy the sunsets, right, all of a sudden, you would have, you know, digital nomads, popping out of nowhere, bringing their computers showing up at nine in the morning, ordering a coffee and then spending the entire day. 

So really early on, we kind of like realized, like, wow, there's this entire new clientele that to be quite honest, at the time I wasn't really aware of although, by the time I moved here, places like we work had already popped up a little bit everywhere. 

Omar

Right. 

Elie Assuied

So I was aware of it, but not to that extent. And Chiang Mai, which is in the north of Thailand has been a digital nomad, you know, international destination for ... going on 15 years now. 

Omar

Yeah?

Elie Assuied

Every... every, starting in mid mid March, until, you know, early May, it unfortunately becomes the most polluted city in the world, because they burned all the fields around, and kind of like LA, it is inside of a bowl. Exactly. So it all starts away. So many of those people that you know, called Chiang Mai home, the rest of the year had already taken, you know, gotten used to moving down south at that time. 

And you know, as those people stayed, and would you know, when would they come, day after day, four to five hours a day, you get to meet people, they get to, you know, tell you a little bit about themselves. And on top of that, what is something I really appreciate about digital nomads in general is that they have this willingness to share. 

And, you know, when they identify a place that they like, they really always, you know, have great advice, you know, like, you know, people will come and tell me yo le you need to you know, you need to look at Google map that will help you SEO, you need to sign up for this platform or that platform. 

Omar

That’s awesome.

Elie Assuied

And dude in like, in less than two months, you know, I had a completely different approach to my business, a completely different outlook on business in general. And by the time they left the first time around, you know, my wife and I swore to ourselves that the next time they would come, we would have the proper facilities to welcome them. 

So that's why we went ahead and built an indoor climbing, climate controlled co-working space inside the restaurant. We got ourselves ergonomic chairs, really nice tables, three different Wi Fi lines. And you know, and the rest is kind of history. And since then we have actually expanded a second…

Omar

Really quick...

Elie Assuied

Yep?

Omar  

To get some context. What year was that when you made the switch?

Elie Assuied  

So we got here and we got to Koh Phangan in January 2018, and the co-working space was opened in August 2019. 

Omar

So quite new.

Elie Assuied

Just over a year. Yeah, absolutely, yeah,

Omar  

Makes a ton of sense. I mean, the movement is in its prime right now. And it's only gonna get bigger from here. So it makes a ton of sense. So carry on from there to sorry to interrupt you, but go back to...

Elie Assuied  

what I was saying. So you know, so obviously, we're very happy to have you know, made this bed because at the time, Koh Phangan was a party island. So opening up an office in the middle of all this, you know, basically, basically, - show, you know, like, this month, didn't necessarily make a lot of sense, you know, to a lot of people, but it did to us. 

And, you know, looking back now, we're sure glad that we did, because, you know, having made this bed is what is allowed to allow us to not just survive the crisis, because, you know, things have been very difficult, but also expand to a second location, inside of a resort called Sunset Hill, which is a four star resort. 

We've taken over the rooftop, where they used to have a yoga studio. So now we've incorporated the Co-working space, and a restaurant over there. And, yeah, and very happy, because also along the way, people have taken notice that now they have all the basic necessities to get some real work done, you know, places where you know, that are dedicated to productivity. 

And then also another part of our business that we're very proud of, is a focus on community, and also physical and mental well being, which all of that leads back to, you know, heightened and hopefully, optimal productivity.

Omar  

Very interesting, man, how did the crisis affect you guys, when that actually came around? Because you said you made the switch, right, in August 2019. So it's almost like you dodged a  bullet because I would imagine tourism went way down to Koh Phangan.

Elie Assuied  

Yeah. So, you know, it's, it's, I mean, it affected us, you know, tremendously, you know, we've went from, you know, Q1 of 2020, you know, reaching, you know, not just reaching exceeding all the hopes and expectations and projections that we had made. So much sure that we only days away from acquiring a, you know, another property at the time, to, you know, officially coming to almost a grinding halt. 

But then something happened that, you know, that I don't think anybody could have really fully anticipated, which is the true level of freedom of movement that digital nomads have really came to play. Which means that a lot of people that came either from Germany or the states or France or the UK, took a quick look at what was going on in all those different places, found out that Thailand was giving out a visa amnesty that would give them the opportunity to stay there. 

So you know, for a lot of them, they just, you know, thought about it for a second, like, I'm not gonna head back to the epicenter of the crisis. I'm just gonna stick around. So Koh Phangan, actually, all in all, fair, fair, pretty, okay, through the whole thing. You know, we managed to keep, you know, a good amount of, you know, digital digital nomads, who in turn, told all their friends who had also stayed in Thailand to Hey, come and check it out. 

Because it turns out that it's not just, you know, body shots, and, you know, and conga lines, it's also a place where you can get some real work done, combined with the natural beauty of the place combined with a great, you know, wellness oriented tourism with tons of yoga and meditation and, you know, things like that. 

And over the past year and a half now, Koh Phangan has transformed from this party centric, you know, place to a remote working…

Omar

Hub?

Elie Assuied

Dare I say mecca? We're really, we've really come a long way.

Omar  

You think it's gonna be the new Chiang Mai?

Elie Assuied  

I sure hope so, man, we've been working really hard on it each and every day. Over the past couple of months, we've had the chance to be featured on some pretty major news reports. You know, the national news in France did a TV report on us. We were also featured in Quebec. There's a newspaper in France called The Moon who recently came out with an article also about Koh Phangan and the digital nomad movement. 

And you know, that is also combined with the fact that the Thai government has really realized what is at stake with this new clientele. And they are you know, really In pushing some green initiatives and particularly four year digital nomad visa, who is only going to, you know, in my opinion, accelerates what's at this point almost unavoidable for, you know, for Thailand as a whole and I sure hope for Koh Phangan in particular, to become an international remote working hot.

Omar  

Yeah, I've been hearing a lot of news about the digital nomad movement to Thailand, and that would be a massive move because Thailand for as long as I can remember has been digital nomad central, right? Cheap prices, good living. 

Elie Assuied

Exactly. 

Omar

Beautiful scenery, you know? What -

Elie Assuied

Good food.

Omar

Yeah, fantastic, you know? So what drew you initially to Koh Phangan? And I guess Thailand as a whole when you first started?

Elie Assuied  

Well, the funny thing and to be quite honest, the truth is that Thailand wasn't even really on my list of thing - of places to go. But when I was talking to my friend about, you know, where should I go with the, you know, for my honeymoon, I was telling you, I was talking to him is like, I hear Croatia is nice, maybe Italy, maybe Mexico. 

And I was talking to my friend Kevin, who has been a Thailand lover for many years, is like, bro, honestly, you go to any one of those places, when you with your budget, you're gonna have fun for two weeks, right? But if you take that your budget, and you go to Thailand, you're gonna live like a king for a month, like, okay, sold. That's all I wanted to hear. I'm cool with that, right?

Omar

Great point there.

Elie Assuied

It's, it's, it totally worked. And, it was great. And, you know, obviously, we spent the first couple of days in Bangkok. We did a couple of things up north. But very quickly, we made our way down south to the islands, because you know, yet again, between the loss of my mother, getting married, I really needed some, some R&R. And we made our way to Koh Phangan. 

And, you know, without going into too much details, you know, it's really, it was here, where, for the first time and you know, almost six months, I you know, I told myself it was going to be okay. So it's true that I have a really deep emotional attachment with this place where I more or less found myself coming back to life and realize that there was a lot of life to be lived. 

And then it's, it's it's a rather rather unique mixture of Thai culture, international flavor, with a lot of things that you know, as an American, I would consider, you know, necessities, great internet, great food, you know, reliable electricity, AC, you know, some places are fancier than others. So, it just had this wonderful base that still offered so much opportunity, especially with somebody, you know, when my levels of mean and my level of expertise and my fields where I really kind of looked around like “Yeah, man, like, I could do something here.” 

Like it can really kind of, you know, stick out of the pack, you know, when it was a huge motivating factor for us.

Omar  

Make sense. And Koh Phangan, I'm guessing, is where you found the opportunity, then just find your business. But if you found the opportunity somewhere else in Thailand, you would have taken that as well, is that correct?

Elie Assuied  

I don't think so. I think Thailand is a beautiful country. But there's no… and I've enjoyed many other places, you know, like it's, it's, it's, you know, the natural beauty of this place, the niceness of the people, the culture, there's a lot of great things. 

When I came here for the first time, there's not a single other place where I told myself, “I would live there.” At the time I lived, you know, at the time I lived in Miami, which is like my favorite place on Earth. There is, you know, yeah, it is really Koh Phangan that kind of nailed it. 

They had everything I needed, you know? This combination of natural beauty, culture, business opportunity. But now that I've made the step and that I've been here for over three years now and that I have created my local network and my, my, you know, my business relationships with you know, with local Thai people. 

Now, obviously, when things get better, I do have my eyes on you know, expanding to other locations. You know, places like Phuket and Koh Lanta are definitely becoming, you know, also getting on the radar of places for digital nomads to check out.

Omar  

Right but then that will always be your heart, your central.

Elie Assuied  

Yeah, yeah, Koh Phangan is definitely where you know, my wife and I hope to make our life. It's just just an amazing place.

Omar  

I get it. It's funny, like people like me, whenever we think of Koh Phangan, I mixed it up with Ko Tao earlier, but I know one of them always have a Howl At The Moon party, right? And it's interesting that it's turned into so much more since then, right? Because I remember as a kid, when I was going through my party phase, like I went, that was one of the parties that I wanted to end up, right? 

But when I started traveling and sort of doing the whole digital nomad thing and start realizing there's so much more fun to not do that and actually go and see the place. And it's interesting that there's so much more to Koh Phangan than the Full Moon Party, that’s what it’s called.

Elie Assuied

Yeah. 

Omar

So yeah, that's cool, man. I hope to come check it out myself someday soon. But-  

Elie Assuied

Definitely should Omar.

Omar

In the meantime, what's your thoughts on this whole remote work and digital nomad culture. I mean, you're right at the center of all of it, you're seeing people come and go. You see people with different businesses, I'm sure you speak to tons of your customers and see, and I'm not sure at this point in what to see what they're doing and what they're working on. What kind of... what have you seen generally?

Elie Assuied  

Well, I mean, Omar, you know, we spoke for a couple of minutes before we started this interview. And just like you man, I'm, I'm all in I, each and every day, we work really hard to keep building this turnkey solution for digital nomads coming from very far away. So that they have everything available to them the second and land on it without having to add all the added stresses of having a place of finding a place to work, finding a place to live, finding a place to eat, you come to Koh Phangan, Remote Digital's going to cover all it. 

So that's, you know, that's something that we do on a day to day. But obviously, the great hopes that we have, and what we have also seen on the day to day is that what used to be a… almost revolutionary kind of lifestyle has become mainstream, and will only become more so over, you know, over the next years, you know? 

When you talk when you he listened to some of the presentation from the, from the experts, you know, like I'm hearing there's gonna be a billion remote workers by 2030. And it's, it's a, it's a futuristic lifestyle. It is, you know, it is it is opening so many doors, it is taken advantage of, of the opportunities of the technologies that are now at hand. 

And each and every day, I am surrounded by people that come from all over the world, with unbelievably high levels of expertise, working on fascinating projects that are taking place almost across the world. And for you know, for the people that have at heart to you know, open up to other cultures, maybe remove themselves from you know, big urban centers. Pick a life that is going to be more there is going to revolve more on their own personal happiness. 

There's almost, you know, it's it's becoming a really valid choice, it is a choice that is provides you a personally fulfilling and financially rewarding career in an environment that is, you know, oftentimes a lot less stressful that places like, you know, in New York or  LA or Paris, and I'm, I'm all in and we really believe and, and being part of this evolution, and in you know, on a small scale also being you know, responsible for it is something that we are deeply proud of, and that we take very seriously. Because we know that in many ways we're blazing the trail for millions of people to come.

Omar  

Yeah, it's interesting. You say that, too, right? I think we're at the cusp of it. I don't think it's fully mainstream just yet. I think that people are just trying to bring it to mainstream or like a lot of the tech people out there. 

What I'm noticing is that prior to this, maybe 2021, prior to Coronavirus, digital nomads we're always so community based. We're like you'd go to a place and you find that digital nomad community of that place, right the same way that they're backpackers, but backpackers always have a bigger crowd of people coming in that digital nomads do in a place. 

Now when 2030 happens and like there's a billion remote workers out there, I can see the whole community aspect kind of breaking down and it just becomes like, “Oh, you must be a digital nomad. I'm a digital nomad.” 

There's no more like a digital nomad community, everyone just in a country for the most part, if you don't live there, you're probably a digital nomad of some kind, you know, so I can see that community breaking down. But in a way it opens up so many more avenues for people to be able to connect on things that people like you and I right now, like if you threw me in the middle of Miami, how many people do we know that are doing what we're doing right now, right? 

So it's an interesting dynamic, and it's going to be interesting to see how it flips over the next few years. But to be able to do what we do I mean, it's a blessing at the end of the day, you know?

Elie Assuied  

It really is well you know? You know more like before we got into the whole coworking business, you know, we did extensive market research because yet again, I really had it hard to, to offer something that was genuine and authentic and didn't just want to be to the hotel or restaurant guide, there's just kind of noticed there was something out there that was trendy, and I would potentially bring me a lot of money, so hey, why not give it a shot, I really took the time. I really did research surrounding myself with digital nomads, to find out what were the pros and the cons. 

And the number one con was systematically the perceived loneliness that came along with it. So that loneliness kind of forced, quote, unquote, to, for people to seek a community to create their own community. That's why a huge part of what we do is every day, we are creating, we're fostering we are, you know, nurturing this sense of community so that, you know, although they may not have this, you know, this this newness to, you know, or the same feeling that it may have had, at some point, you still have a place where you're very likely to meet people to become friends, hopefully, you hook up with, you know, with a guy with a girl with you know, and hopefully, the companies that are in this, in this line of work and in essence, in this industry, are going to realize how how vital of a part it is. 

Because once somebody gets to make friends, once somebody gets to share things professionally and personally, then they make that place home. And that yet again, opens a lot of you know, a lot of a lot of new opportunities. And what's really interesting about this whole thing is that digital nomadism, or location independent, one of independence, whatever you got to call it is a term is a lifestyle that is redefined almost on a daily basis. 

So what was 10 years ago, what it is today, and what it will be next year, most likely completely different. And it's all very exciting to see it evolving each and every day.

Omar  

Wait till Starlink comes out. I can see people living in the middle of the ocean and just random mountains, you know, like, ah, but I still open up a coworking spot on an island somewhere, it's going to be interesting how it goes. I wanted to ask something from a business standpoint as well, right? 

So first of all, like, the digital nomads that you see coming in, and the ones that you've spoken to what kind of work do you see the average digital nomad do?

Elie Assuied  

You have it all. You literally have it all. The spectrum of the scale of income, the variety of work is, is already almost endless, and is only getting bigger each and every day. So you know, you have you know, you have to go to like social media marketing, copywriting, digital art, all kinds of things like that. 

Needless to say that over the past, you know, eight months crypto has taken a huge spot, which is actually why we actually just opened and dedicated an entirely new co-working space just for kryptos. You know, crypto centric, co working with monitors and, you know, so people can you know, people that are interested in that can guide can have their own spot and geek out between them. They love it.

Omar  

That’s really cool. I like how interested - 

Elie Assuied  

Yeah, yeah, but then like, and I tell people like you don't understand. And I have a great example. You know, and I'd love to share with you, if you give me a second is like, you know, we're having a meeting one day inside, you know, with the team and the coworking space at Casa it's all bay windows. So you really have a you know, great view and really opens up the space, a lot of great lights. But you can also see, you know, everything that's going on, as the meeting is going is going on, like I'm looking. 

And there was a girl that was watching porn on you know, that's and I'm like, and we're all like kind of, “Check it out, what the hell is she doing?” Like, so I'm like, I stood up and  I went to you know when to talk to her. It's like, it was Sunday, she was a sweetheart. She was German, she would come all the time. And she was always sitting in the back. You know, with like nobody behind her except the office, of course. 

So I went to her and I was like, “Listen, sweetheart, like, I'm personally a big fan of the genre, you know? But it's not, it's not what, you know, it's not, it's not cool to do here.” 

She's like, Ellie, “I'm so sorry. But I work for Pornhub. I do the copywriting for Pornhub. I give the titles and I give the descriptions of each and every movie, so I have to do it.” So we ended up finding a solution for her, you know, and obviously we had a good laugh about it. 

But it just goes to show. It just goes to show it's endless. Now another phone conversation is his or her job, you know, a dream or a nightmare job. You know, that's a whole other conversation. 

Omar

That's a tough way to do remote, I tell you.

Elie Assuied

But it's but it's a great example of the incredible variety of options, you know and like, and how you can start from almost nothing in all the jobs that can seem a little bit thankless. But you're for whom you're still getting paid for. And little bit by little bit, there's a great way, especially if you're getting good at marketing yourself to gain notoriety to get better and better customers to learn how to say no to certain projects, and focus on other things. 

And then most of all, once you and that's just not from my coworking, because that's not something that happens all over the world, when you go to a coworking space, normally, or you're creating yourself a routine, which you know, helps you're surrounding yourself with people that are working, which also helps, and financially you are now and you're not surrounded by people that are very likely to be able to help you with some of the issues that you're facing on any given day. 

So if you have a yoga teacher trying to put together a website, but she has, she's having a problem with WordPress or whatever, I nearly guaranteed is going to be somebody who's going to fix her solution in a couple of days. And you know, what's going to happen this coder that never did yoga, I'm on my older son and my try it out. And there is the sense of exchange and people you know, coming up with ideas will witnesses partnerships and projects that seems so... I, I nearly impossible just kind of pop out of thin air. 

And it creates a, you know, an effervescence and it's it's it's it's fun to be around, it's like kind of like that, you know that that daily novella, you know, like, you almost can't wait for the next day to get back to work to see whether gonna happen. It's really cool, man.

Omar  

It's really cool. It's cool. And you've seen that all come to life right in front of you, right? Ideas being built, partnerships being made, there's life there. And there's so much more overlap between online businesses versus like in person businesses, there's so much that goes into each other, like website, marketing this and that everyone kind of shares that, you know, so yeah, what you're saying, and you I think you explain that very, very well. 

Hopefully it draws it in your audience too. And for anyone that's listening to this podcast right now, I know there's plenty of aspiring digital nomads listening to this. And speaking to you, and some of you, I know, I've spoken to personally, I mean, take this, like it's a new culture, it's a new lifestyle, but not only that, it's it's such a happier and more spontaneous and more just fulfilling way to live at the end of the day, you know?

Elie Assuied  

Yeah. And I think some, it's also important to tell those, all those people that, you know, that are considering it, that is also a lot of work. And that, you know, when people come to my place, you know, to my coworking space, and some of you know, a lot of them are there six days out of the week, six to seven to eight hours a day. So there's work to it. 

But what's also great is we're not just selling a dream, because we really are certainly seeing it and I'm you know, people always ask me like how much money they make, well, you have the guy who's making you know, nine bucks an hour, being a virtual assistant or, or customer customer satisfaction, satisfaction, whatever. 

But you also have the, you know, full stack coder who's crushing 15K a month. The, you know, kopargaon is also you know, little bit by little bit starting to appeal to to the startup culture. So you have, you know, crypto related startups that have, you know, last I heard they had an ICO about three weeks ago, they raised a million dollars in six minutes. 

Omar

That’s nuts.

Elie Assuied

A million dollars in six minutes on an island in the middle of the Bay of Thailand, middle nowhere. This is where this is where we are. And this is something that you know, a year and a half ago, just was not even in the realm of possibility. 

And all of a sudden, it's it's here. And it's and I tell you why yet again, I'm working really hard each and every day, for it's not just for it to be here to stay, but for it to get much bigger.

Omar  

Where do you see the future and all this going? When it comes to remote work and digital nomadism? What do you think is going to be happening? They said there's going to be a billion remote workers in 2030. So what do you expect with your business as a co-working space? And what do you expect the culture and people as a whole will be by 2030?

Elie Assuied  

Well, you know, to go back to what we were saying earlier first, I expected to become more mainstream. And before digital nomadism or location independent professionalism becomes mainstream, what is going to become mainstream is remote work which let's not forget, you could be a remote worker living from 10 miles away from where you were born. Alright, you don't have to be a digital nomad to be a remote worker. 

Then I think what the next step is going to happen is once the people realize like, Well, you know, like I can get all my work done. from home, but I live in an overpopulated super expensive, probably crappy weather area. Hey, you know, maybe I want to maybe I will want to discover the web being an independent, location dependent professional is going to be. Maybe I want to, you know, discover four or five or 10 countries are the in one year to really kind of you know, get get to see that. So a lot of people are going to experience that. 

And then some will love it. Some will like it. So some will not even try because let's be honest, it's not for everyone. Truth be told, I don't want the whole world to come here, we're not going to have enough room. And I also really have a heart to, to, you know, to develop this space in a sustainable manner which, you know, a billion people, we're not going to have room in Koh Phangan, that's for sure. 

So I think I think what's great about what has happened, we're over COVID. All right, well, one of the one of the only good facets is that a lot of the BS myths that surrounded it, such as, it's not good for productivity, it's not good for teamwork, it's not good for, it's not good for you know what, oh, it's too expensive to apply. All that has been out the window, all of that has been proven wrong in two weeks. 

When COVID hit, two weeks, the entire world became remote. Zoom, just you know, that just went through the roof, that that's, that's done, it's you cannot undo that, then on top of that, you're combining with the fact that a lot of companies that used to want to see their you know, their their employees each and every day, from nine to six, you know, whether it's raining, shines, or snows, you know, see eight hours a day, they want you at your desk, they wanted to see you here, they realize like, wow, I don't have to spend that much money on offices to do that. And I still get, you know, if not as much, probably even more productivity out of them? And I can save money?

So there are many, there's some kind of like a perfect storm, that is, at the very least forcing remote working to become an option to become a...Yeah, normalize in many ways. Now, there will obviously be people that will keep on fighting. There are people that are past, you know, are there a point a day are either doing a career or at a point of their career for them, it will never be a right option. But you got a lot of young people that are there are going to be very interested. 

And when when you, when they realize that there's not only millions of people that are that have found the courage because it does take a good amount of courage to believe in yourself to that extent to move out of where you're from, to get away from your family, and you know, and your friends. 

But you also have, you know, companies that are there to support them to provide them all the basic necessities, and then some, you know, like, I remote in digital, you know, we want to be a reference point, you know, you're coming to a place where you know, you can't ever read the street signs. Well, there's no street signs, we don't even have street lights. I mean, yeah, street lights, not street lights, red lights here, traffic lights.

Omar

There's no traffic lights.

Olie Assuied

There's no traffic lights in Koh Phangan. So you know, like my wife, Emily is just, you know, she's the heart and soul of this company. And she has a great way of making people feel at home, because that's what we want is people feel at home. And then hopefully, instead of, you know, you know, you get to a point where, you know, maybe traveling isn't the primary focus, maybe it's really finding a spot that you feel comfortable and where you do most productive. 

And whether it's in Koh Phangan, whether it's in Bali, whether it's in Chiang Mai, no matter where it is, you know, giving it a chance, and finding out for yourself what it's about. And not just listening to people that either cannot or don't want to or just rather take a big dump on other people's dream or, you know, just see it for themselves and give it a shot.

Omar  

Makes a lot of sense, man. I think you've said that very well. Before we wrap up this podcast here, two things. So first of all, first and foremost, where can people find you online? 

Because I'm sure the way they described it. I'm hoping that a lot of my listeners here and listeners to come will come check out your place at Koh Phangan, especially when they go visit Thailand because you seem to be the central hub for this whole movement in Koh Phangan. Now, one of the leaders at the forefront here. So where can people find you online?

Elie Assuied  

So our website is www dot remote dot digital. Okay, on Instagram, you'll find us at remote dot digital. And on Facebook, it's at remote and digital. But what I've also done a couple of times and I'm going to keep on doing because I actually got to meet a lot of people through this, I like to give my personal phone number, which is plus +66 829 215 502.

I'm going to tell you guys you have any questions, any concerns on how to get to Koh Phangan, you shoot me a text? If you call and I don't answer, I'll try and do my best to get it back. But reach out guys, we're here to help. 

We're open Monday through Saturday 9am until 10pm. And we want to be the place you come to at first. Because even if, like it often happens, Koh Phangan at one point takes over and you decide to stay and maybe you find you know a bungalow on the beach or you find something else. Having a place to come first, have being removed in general, being the place to come first is gonna set you up for an ever greatest, even easier adaptation to display. So reach out anytime.

Omar  

Awesome, man. And one final question here for you. And this is something to ask everybody that comes on my podcast ever. So if you had a billboard in space, right? And the answer’s got to be something that you feel deep. Okay, so if you had a billboard in space, and every single day when the sun rose, everyone on planet Earth could see that billboard, right? It's written in some universal language, everybody can read it. And every day when the sun set, the billboard went away, right? So it's up 8, 12, 10 hours a day. What would you write on that billboard?

Elie Assuied  

Just do it. Just do it. Because you know, you because it's the there is, at some points, there is only so much knowledge as you're going to be able to gather, there's only so many documentaries and reports and articles that you're going to be able to read about the lifestyle. At some point, you got to take your courage by the hand, you got to pack up your bags, the good thing is you don't need to pack heavy you need a computer a tablet, if you do if you want some charges your laptop.

I mean, you know, couple swim shorts and you know, and bikinis if that’s you know, and you should do it, just do it, because at least you would have had the opportunity to see if it's for you. And and today, if you have, and you don't even need to be a computer expert, if you have some absolute basic understanding and knowledge of how to use the internet. 

And that at any point of your life, you have add yourself your question, should I could I would I? And let's be very honest, you guys we all know you have there is no one in this one in this on this earth that has not at least considered a way or maybe even did some research was how do I make money on the internet now? It's done. 

Okay, I won’t believe anybody that tell me I've never done it. So if you have asked yourself your questions, just do it. We're here, we're here. Now there's no more excuse. We're here. It is places you could go to throughout the world that will make this transition or just experience easy to reach, easy to access and hopefully as good as possible. 

Omar  

Incredibly nomad-friendly. Very well. Thanks, man. Fantastic piece of advice. And for my audience who's listening to this? Be sure to check out Elie. Be sure to take that advice. Thank you so much for coming on today, Elie. It was a pleasure having you on man. 

Elie Assuied

Anytime Omar. It’s my pleasure man. 

Omar

Phenomenal episode with Elie and I hope we were able to shed some insight on where we think the remote work in the digital nomad movement is headed. Be sure to go show his coliving slash coworking space some love on Instagram @remote.digital. 

Remember Nomad fam. We've got some incredibly value filled episodes planned out for you. So please hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Your review helps this podcast become more visible and ultimately inspire more people just like you.

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