Nomad entrepreneurs, or digital nomads as they’re sometimes called, practice entrepreneurship while traveling, sometimes all over the world. This is typically a challenging, yet highly rewarding lifestyle – and it’s not a good fit for everyone.
So how can you tell if you’re a good fit to be a nomad entrepreneur? And how can you make the most of this lifestyle?
Opportunities for Nomad Entrepreneurs
Nomad entrepreneurship is more popular than ever, thanks to all the resources and opportunities available to people seeking this kind of working lifestyle.
- The internet. The obvious advancement is the ubiquity of the internet. This connective technology is certainly nothing new, but it’s only within the last decade or two that the volume of resources and platforms available to entrepreneurs has truly exploded. These days, you can start and operate businesses exclusively online, and connect with people all over the world with incredible reliability.
- Coworking spaces. Coworking spaces have also become much more popular and more available in recent years, especially with the number of people engaging in the nomad lifestyle. Some coworking spaces are even designed with nomad entrepreneurs in mind. Any big city you visit in a developed part of the world is likely to have a coworking space, or something similar that you can use.
- Virtual mailbox services. Virtual mailbox services allow you to remotely collect, scan, and review your mail, no matter where you are on the planet. According to Lucas Seyhun, founder of The Farm SoHo, “virtual mailbox services are growing in popularity, with no end of momentum in sight. If you run a remote business, or just need help handling your mail while you’re traveling, it’s an ideal solution.”
- Solopreneurship. Solo entrepreneurs are more common, thanks to how easy it has become to start a business. There are also more resources available to people starting businesses as individuals.
- Culture changes. We can also point to culture changes that are responsible for increased support for nomad entrepreneurs. People are traveling more, investing more in work-life balance, and are generally pursuing more fulfilling career opportunities than they did in the past.
Are You a Good Fit to Be a Nomad Entrepreneur?
Not everyone can become a nomad entrepreneur, and not everyone who becomes one is successful. There are several reasons for this.
If you’re currently wondering if you’re a good fit to be a nomad entrepreneur, you should first examine the nature of your work:
- Earning potential and consistency. First, you need to think about the earning potential and the consistency of that earning potential. If you run out of money unexpectedly while traveling, you might have a hard time getting back home. And if you can’t make ends meet, you won’t be able to keep the business running.
- Remote potential. The whole point of nomad entrepreneurship is having no single, fixed location. Accordingly, your work needs to be able to be done remotely, at least the majority of the time.
- Day-to-day demands. You’ll also need to think about the daily demands of your business. Businesses with strict timing or meeting requirements are harder to manage than those that are more flexible.
- Flexibility and autonomy. Speaking of flexibility, it’s important to have as much flexibility and autonomy as possible in your position. The life of a digital nomad can sometimes be chaotic, and that chaos is easier to manage if you can respond to it flexibly.
Then, you should think about your personality and interests:
- Living preferences. Are you the type of person who likes jumping from location to location? Or do you prefer to stay put? If you get stressed or anxious when traveling, nomad entrepreneurship may not be the best fit for you. You’ll frequently be moving locations if you adhere to the traditional framework here.
- Tolerance for change. Some people are more tolerant of change than others. During this phase of your career development, you’ll probably face new business challenges, geographic challenges come up and more; remaining adaptable and reducing stress are critical to your success.
- Tolerance for unpredictability/inconsistency. How comfortable are you with an inconsistent paycheck? Not every digital entrepreneurship effort is capable of affording you a strictly reliable stream of revenue. If you don’t mind the ups and downs, nomad entrepreneurship may be for you.
- Love of travel. Roughly 95 percent of people want to travel within the next 15 months. Many of those people wish they could travel on an almost nonstop basis. Naturally, the more you love traveling, the more you’re likely to love nomad entrepreneurship.
- Budgeting and financial awareness. The people most likely to succeed in the world of nomad entrepreneurship are people with heightened financial awareness and strict, resilient budgeting methods. Expert accounting can help you make the most of every dollar you make.
Not everyone is going to be productive or happy as a nomad entrepreneur, but this working lifestyle is available to more people than ever before. If you love the idea of traveling, you can tolerate and thrive in a changing environment, and your work is suitable to the arrangement, consider trying nomad entrepreneurship for yourself.
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