Freelancing As a Digital Nomad (20 Solid Tips)

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Are you fortunate enough to already be Freelancing As a Digital Nomad?

Maybe you already work anywhere you like and anytime you like?

If so then you are very lucky, and congratulations on building a great micro business model where you can work with more time freedom and balance.

And if you work remotely, whilst travelling around the world then good for you, as it takes alot of perseverance, patience and focus to in that situation.

You will know how hard it is and you will have already likely ploughed plenty of time and money into your venture.

As you may already know – there are critical tools and resources required to be able to run and operate a micro business that is growing sufficiently and successful.

Whilst this is a tough road with many obstacles and challenges – it is worth the hard work to do your thing, on your terms, rather than work for others.

All business models require the correct input, the right tools for the job, and the consistency, and it is no different in your case Freelancing As a Digital Nomad.

This could mean that you at least require a reliable and rugged laptop and iphone, web hosting and excellent automated communication software tools.

There are specific and critical components that are essential to working your own, so I will break down what is needed in a moment.

But you must also be very driven, very disciplined and extremely focused enough to be effective every day.

Meaning you are maximising output, through using time effectively whilst ensuring the most important tasks are being completed every day.

So are you cut out for it?

Needing to hire or outsource your weaker areas is advised as it is easy to burn out, or you may need to run a small team.

A good chunk of your work can be achieved using mobile devices, so this needs to be sufficient for the job.

Only A Dream So Far?

Perhaps you are not lucky enough to be in this position yet, so I will share with you some important factors for starting out and growing your micro business in the right way, so your dream doesn’t become a nightmare.

What could you see your doing? And how will you be paid?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad could be in a variety of areas including working as a programmer, designer, writer or teacher to name a few.

Generally speaking you will get paid through paypal or a digital wallet, or through bank transfers.

Working with freelance contracts could be common so have a look at a template here.

Click here for a free Freelance Contract Template.

In simple terms you will have a legal B2B or business to business agreement between you and your client.

Included in an agreement is as follows:

Project timescales, costs, outline of tasks undertaken and what the project looks like.

Apart from these critical components, you must also understand that building a micro business often means building key relationships in all areas.

Ever heard that phrase; It’s all about relationships?

Well it is!

Being self-employed means you have to master the art of building and growing rapport with clients, suppliers, customers, partners and so on.

In fact – You only have a real business by 1) investing in others, and 2) Knowing your numbers

Therefore – understanding the key things before jumping in is vitally important.

Share The Digital Nomad Love 🙂 Share on X

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

How might you being working?

Also how do you work best?

Working either as a freelancer or contractor is possible, or you can work remotely for companies which means working expected work hours and where you are happy with an employee based salary situation.

If you are more interested in the freelance option then you will work on projects and bill your client rather than do set hours with a salary.

Maybe you would prefer to operate your own consulting business, e-store or perhaps training others in specific fields or even get involved with affiliate marketing.

Tip: One great way to be paid these days is through the subscription model, such as with dating sites.

Subscription Model

Commonly today people will pay subscriptions today for many things, and you may do so yourself, but you might also craft a site whereby others pay you monthly or quarterly for your products or services.

You can build your own membership site/s, if you are tech savvy, or ask another to build it for you.

This is dependent on your own finances, abilities and time.

Earning revenue as an affiliate for other companies and businesses is also a great idea if you A) have a business where you can feature affiliate products or B) wish to just do affiliate marketing as a stand alone business.

Affiliate marketing means you will be paid a percentage or commission from an advert or link that you have placed somewhere relating to a product or service you have either recommended or shared as a advert like a banner.

Commissions can vary greatly in affiliate marketing and in order to be proficient at affiliate marketing you will need to master many parts of this skill, so you don’t just throw money at advertising affiliate links, only to lose it.

The Good and Bad

There are today many ways in which you may be able to earn online, and it is certainly becoming more popular and creative all the time, but don’t go chasing every shiny object, stay focused on one area and master before moving on.

For example, if you choose to teach in some way, you should first train in that area, study your craft and research the area in order to become a competent professional of your craft.

I have seen so many energetic and passionate types fail over and over, as they would keep trying half heartedly at something, and even when I advised them or mentored them, they would not treat it as a business, so they never moved past the starting line.

This is the most common way to fail.

Ask yourself – What area/s could I work in and why that area?

Could you run tutorials in a particular niche?

It might be that you teach hair and make up tutorials, health and fitness, holistic training and tips, pet related advice, Pilates, foreign languages and just about everything in-between, but you must become proficient in your craft inside and out.

Working online as a freelancer could mean managing others marketing and branding campaigns, PR, managing social media accounts, designing brand logos, building websites, managing business accounting, or even working for certain companies as a freelancer in a variety of areas.

Note: Whatever you choose to do, you should also consider how you strategically and ethically align your goals with a core demand to aim to become the monopoly in this area.

Be a role model for the future of good and mindful business.

With that said; let’s now look deeper at what you might do.

Start here:

What can you do well? What have you always wanted to do? What are you skilled at? What could be your primary passion? What do others say you are naturally gifted at?

Get down some ideas now, and start to explore these in greater depth.

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

In-demand business these days comes in many forms, and two examples would be in Digital transformation, and Cyber Security. Both of these will require you to obtain certain qualifications to be considered for work contracts.

Download your free ICS Learn Digital Transformation course guide here.

Once you are qualified you can work as a contractor for other people’s businesses around the world, so if that’s your passion then starting exploring it by getting the qualification.

Do You Like Helping Others?

Can you imagine a purpose driven role helping others to learn?

Here are some obvious areas where teaching would be fairly common:

A foreign language teacher, teaching music, teaching yoga or wellbeing, teaching art, teaching cocktail creation, cooking or baking, teaching mindset and leadership, teaching business or entrepreneurship.

And there are many more areas.

So what tools might you need?

A good laptop, a good mobile phone, a fast internet provider, a headset, a microphone, business registration, business insurance, a business bank account, a business and marketing plan, an accountant or your own software for accounting, and that’s just the start.

You should begin by making notes of the tools and resources you may need, to ensure you are ready to begin your journey into contracting or freelancing as a digital nomad.

As well as direct teaching, you could even make videos or content on various platforms to showcase your skills.

What this means is you could create short or long videos, or even courses which are now a great way to earn revenue.

Click Here To Learn More: How To Create An Online Course in 10 Steps By Shopify

Share The Digital Nomad Love 🙂 Share on X

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Fancy being a TikToker or an Insta Star?

It’s not for me but, i’m sure you have seen the influencer types out there.

Plus the Vloggers, Facebook Reel creators and Instagram story creators can create a great income using these platforms.

It is also possible to earn revenue through using what some call ‘built-in programs’ through reward programs and brand parterships.

This means you can share others brands to earn money when you share your own content.

For example, you can be paid per number of views on TikTok, and you must have many thousands of followers to be considered for this and through doing so can feature other business products/services.

This way of earning can also work with YouTube through gaining views and subscribers to your videos.

You can earn affiliate commissions through using Youtube.

Click Youtube Affiliate Marketing A Beginner’s Guide by Shopify.

With Facebook you would need to join Meta’s Content program where you can aim for getting views to reels, but you can also earn on this platform from affiliate products.

This begins with creating a professional profile or a public page to monetize your content, reels, photos and videos.

Learn How To Turn On Professional Mode On Facebook Here.

Very Important: Study those ‘already successful’ vloggers, tiktokers, facebook content creators and YouTube creators to see how you can craft your own content to monetize your passion, and take plenty of notes.

After all – it is not rocket science to study others!

Could you see yourself running your own e-store?

Another option is creating your very own e-commerce store using a platform like Shopify or Woocommerce.

You can use the dropshipping method whereby you make sales on your store, but you do not hold any stock at all.

The company and country that creates the goods will send the product directly to your customer for you.

This means you don’t have to hoard tons of product in a warehouse.

But it does mean that you make a percentage of the sale, which is usually less margin than if you held the product yourself.

In other words, you are not buying stuff in bulk to be sent to you so that you can sell for more margin, instead you are selling other people’s products for a percentage of the sale wherever that product is made.

What area/s are you most passionate about exploring further?

Are you a creative? Or technology minded? Could you offer specific services? Can you use AI effectively? Are you better at Engineering? Did you study graphic design at Uni?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Your greatest strengths lie in what you may already know.

So what can you do with what you know?

The key is to combine: 1) What is in demand and likely to be in demand for a good while and 2) What your skill/s area/s are and 3) what you could be passionate and excited about working in or with every day.

I personally enjoy creative writing, creating art and making electronic music mixes, so I love to express myself in these areas most of all.

Within those areas are ways to earn.

How?

When I create mixes I share them everywhere, but I could also teach others to mix, edit and master mixes for example, or I could share my music mixes on YouTube for more revenue. I could even share my favourite albums and mixes in short videos.

I might also sell vinyl or cds.

I’m sure you can see that almost any subject may be expanded upon.

Have you seen those sharing music they create or love on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok?

TIP: Don’t ever limit yourself, think expansively, but most importantly focus on one area at a time in order to master it as you expand.

Another example is this blog:

My blog is created to share content, but I also might add affiliate links where I share products and services I am passionate about, that I use and recommend, so it is something you might consider also.

Become an authority in a specific niche or sector for example.

Look at your core area or topic and expand outwardly to consider various ways in which you can create revenue.

Share The Digital Nomad Love 🙂 Share on X

Need Some Initial Ideas:

Do you love baking cakes or cooking? Then you might make videos showing how this is done.

Do you love cocktails? You might create them on videos and share certain tools you use to add revenue streams.

Do you love to tattoo others? Could you show your work or create mini-videos of your craft?

Do you paint or draw?

Do you create furniture from old stuff?

Do you use clay or old metal to create sculptures or items for the home?

Do you love to teach a language? Many travel around the world whilst teaching a language.

Do you love building websites and blogs?

Do you love numbers and enjoy accounting? You could help digital nomads with their numbers.

Do you love design online or offline?

Do you love creative writing? Writing can be a perfect role/career move as you can do it anywhere.

Do you love chatting? Why not start a podcast show? Speaking and interviewing others is fun.

And there are many many more areas that can become a business model.

Plus – most subject areas above can also be expanded upon to earn more revenue in various ways.

For example, take the podcasting; You could interview others, write books about your podcats, teach others how to do it in online lessons, create a membership site for followers and subscribers, share your favorite podcasts and guests in another show, Create courses to earn commissions teaching podcasting. And even become an affilate for other companies in your niche market.

Let’s say you make cakes or are a carpenter, you may be thinking, so how do I monetise this?

Well, you can give presentations in how you bake, tipes, tricks and methods for baking, as well as decorating cakes, and people could hire you and your cooking skills to events.

Or if you love making stuff out of wood you can also demonstrate how you do what you do, styles, techniques and processes you use through making short videos.

You might even create a small e-book to give away and drive those giving you an email address to sign up for your videos. This might include courses you can create.

Just look around at what others are doing now, as it is likely that someone is already doing what you wish to do.

But be warned; Don’t ever copy anyone, use your own unique angle and be authentic.

If you wish to be a contractor then ensure you can create a great CV for prospective employers, and learn interview skills to ensure you are on your ‘A’ game before you proceed with applying for online jobs.

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

What are the benefits of this type or style of work?

Some are obvious; freedom to travel, less overheads, more flexibility and balance, and more peace when you don’t want to be around an office or team of people.

Great huh! So where is the catch?

This is not something you can just casually have a go at, if you want to make a living from it.

If you are serious you have to put in serious hours, design your role, design your brand, and know the business model in order to be productive, effective and efficient every day.

This means having laser focus on certain tasks, mastering your craft, putting in the time, plus having unwaivering commitment, drive, patience and passion.

Got that?

So be mindful of what is required of you, and the fact that there may be times where you earn less, or have to work 7 days a week, depending on workload and income.

Be prepared to go beyond what you have done in the past in a job you may have hated.

It is a business after all

You have to learn to zone out of the constant noise of modern life in order to make it work.

Learn to manage your relationships with your phone, distractions and with people, and ensure you are on the ball.

Here’s another example of what may be possible:

Perhaps you love fashion design and want to design your own line of casual or workwear from your laptop, but you wish to use recycled cloth, thus you will need to explore the best materials that are good quality, and also study who may be doing what you wish to do already.

This could also mean visiting fashion houses, and countries to source materials, or to learn to up-cycle, or use re-cycled material.

You may also re-purpose previously used material or clothes into bags, throws, cushions or new clothes.

What this also means is, you may not simply work all alone all the time, as it depends on what is needed from suppliers.

Be prepared to communicate effectively, build relationships around the globe, and to network.

Think about your impact

What is this?

Today, many businesses will make areas of their business more conscious in that they consider modern issues, progressive working, and the effects of what they do on their community and city.

This means having a deep understanding of what they do every day, how they do it, and what impact they make on the resources they use.

Many buyers, customers, consumers today will no longer buy unethical products.

This Checklist is For Contractors and Freelancers:

Explore markets, look around at what is out there already and see how you might fit into this space or market.
Begin to define an area and if it is a new or un-tapped market look at the potential risks involved.
Start crafting your business plan and marketing plan. Get help if required.
Look at total costs, and try to add up all costs, allowing for more costs with a contingency backup.
Get clear on your core fundamental strategies and your aims so that you reduce risk where possible.
Ensure the back-up strategy is solid and houses all steps required to implement what is needed to reduce harm
Look at what your core role is and find others that can perform other roles needed to aid in your operation.
Research all businesses similiar to yours, from brand styles, e-mail responders, colours and looks of websites, to content, customer service and words used. Including payment methods, marketing, advertising etc.
Start to frame your offer and consider courses in business and entrepreneurship to help you be your best.
Master key words, phrases, business terms and financial words. Educate yourself daily.
Keep your business model set up simple to avoid complexity and complication, both for you and others.
Ensure you have a business bank account, specific insurance and business registration.
Never be afraid to ask more seasoned business owners and entrepreneurs questions.
Aim to offer great value, and to understand your USP Unique Sales Proposition, which differentiates you from others. This will be included in your Plan.
Crunch the numbers many times over with your accountant, and be sure to keep business receipts, sales, invoices, costs and expenses separate from your personal life.
Download templates needed to craft the expenses and financial plan. Operational costs and Cash flow, tax etc.
Stay humble and work hard, never get so cocky that you think you know everything, as that can destroy businesses.
As a self employed freelancer or contractor you will need to define your business structure. For example, will you run a limited company, or would you prefer being a sole trader?
What will your contracts look like? You need to craft a professional CV and client contract for your services. Within this you will need to define your terms, demonstrate project layout and decide upon payment rates and dates competitive to industry standards.
Know your income goal and all other goals. Without measuring your goals, progress and numbers you have no business whatsoever.
Could Cloud Computing help you? Why Cloud Computing Has Big Benefits for Small Business:
Deltek explain how it can help your business here

Taken plenty of notes yet? Good!

Whilst this may be just the beginning of your new role or career, you should now have some solid tip and ideas, and hopefully better understand what is required of you in order to make this a longterm success.

Essential Tools I Can Recommend:

One of the best tools for working online whilst travelling is something called Holafly, and this is an eSIM for international travel.

This means you can stay connected wherever you decide to go, and whilst there are various companies out there, this one stands out as a solid choice.

You can get unlimited Data and reliability wherever you go, as Holafly is now the most trusted travel eSIM.

2. My second recommendation is called Wallester. This is an amazing multi-currency platform to send and recieve money, exchange currencies and control spending for you and your team if you have one. Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

3. I also love this company. Multiplier is a this powerful and useful tool to pay independent contractors around the world. Check it out here Multiplier

4. Heard of A.I. powered CRM? This tool by Monday CRM will assist you with increasing your revenue growth as a freelancer with a team.

5. If you wish to work in project Management a great workflow tool to help meet deadlines through automation and super charge teams is called Asana. And a great all-in-one tool for tasks and clients briefs is called Notion worth checking out. Trello is another tool that allows you to track multiple clients projects.

6. For finance I can highly recommend Wise which is perfect for freelancers that are travelling internationally. It enables you to hold multiple currencies and take payments at lower fees. This is a global tech company that builds the number 1 way to move money around the world. Millions of people and businesses have stopped using banks, PayPal and traditional providers, as Wise offers a cheaper, faster and easier solution.

7. Booking meetings? I like Calendly best. Why? because it takes out the complications of e-mails and enables meeting bookings directly and simply – with some truly great effective features.

8. Another tool I can recommend is called Loom. We are in a world of fast moving business and this includes short video content. So with Loom you can create quick videos in order to share and present your work and concepts and to grab attention.

9. Are you considering starting a Shopify e-commerce business? Then this is a great resource to help you increase sales and productivity. Have you heard of Elite E-Commerce? This is a full service company for expansion of your e-commerce business model.

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

10. Are you a keen book or ebook writer? If you are looking to craft a micro business around your book ideas then a tool worth adding to your arsenal is called Lulu.com This is a complete solution in supporting your books and this includes creating physical copies of books. Create a free account here.

11. Do you have a business account yet? If not I can highly recommend these two: Revolut which you can access here.

Tide Banking which you can access here

Article Re Monzo Vs Revolut – worth reading this

There are many great companies for those starting out, but these for me have the greatest benefits including; You can register your business with Tide for just £14.99 instead of the £100 Companies House fee.

So that’s a great start, plus integrated accounting and a savings account in one place. With Revolut you can use online and in-person payment options, Send, hold, and receive in multiple currencies and get both online and physical cards.

NOTE: You will need to conduct research to find the best option for you, but these are the options I recommend.

Share The Digital Nomad Love 🙂 Share on X

I will add further tools/products/services that I recommend if I approve of them regarding Freelancing As a Digital Nomad, but in the meantime check out my current full list below.

CLICK HERE FOR MY COMPLETE LIST OF RECOMMENDED BUSINESS TOOLS (always updated)

Wishing you the very best in your work and travel endeavours, and Freelancing As a Digital Nomad!

If you have any questions about this area of business and work then do let me know and i’ll do my best to answer all questions.

The very least you need to know is this; ensure that from the very beginning foundation of your business that you ADD VALUE, and are responsible and accountable for your actions in all that you do.

P.s. If you haven’t started yet, you will need a business plan to gauge and measure your progress against, if you are truly serious about Freelancing As a Digital Nomad.

Click here to try Planner Venture free to start out.

After all, without a plan you have no real business, because you have nothing to build momentum with otherwise.

All the very best

Greg

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

GregDeTisi

Author and Small Business Blogger at Greg De Tisi Writing and Small Business Blogging

Author, course creator and Small business blogger – Greg has been supporting Micro and Small Business clients from all backgrounds all over the globe for over 15 years. Developing ideas and passions into sustainable Business Models. Greg has a strong focus on supporting his local business community in Bristol UK also.

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Only A Dream So Far?

What could you see your doing? And how will you be paid?

Ever heard that phrase; It’s all about relationships?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Subscription Model

The Good and Bad

Could you run tutorials in a particular niche?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Do You Like Helping Others?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Could you see yourself running your own e-store?

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Need Some Initial Ideas:

Freelancing As a Digital Nomad

Think about your impact

Many buyers, customers, consumers today will no longer buy unethical products.

This Checklist is For Contractors and Freelancers:

Essential Tools I Can Recommend:

The very least you need to know is this; ensure that from the very beginning foundation of your business that you ADD VALUE, and are responsible and accountable for your actions in all that you do.

Comments