Digital nomads – the whole world is my office
Everyone knows it: sometimes it's easier to write homework on the balcony, in the coffee shop around the corner or during a long train ride. Digital nomads go one step further and, thanks to mobile internet, declare the whole world their workplace. From the beach in Acapulco to the café in Zagreb – where on the globe the laptop is started doesn't theoretically matter.
Conni Biesalski tried the “adult job” thing. In the morning to the office of a PR agency, then back home after ten hours at the desk. She lasted two months. Then she quit. “Sitting in an office chair all day – it drives me crazy,” says the 30-year-old.
A good year and a half have passed since this decision and Conni now lives an alternative to the world of work with a fixed contract, 40-hour week and 30 days of vacation per year. Job title: digital nomad. The center of life and work: the entire globe. Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Portugal and Italy were her last stops. The native Bavarian only goes to Germany for a few months in the summer.
Beach café instead of a desk
This makes it part of a fairly young movement that is making full use of the possibilities of the Internet and for which the model of a location-based office with fixed working hours has become obsolete. As a modern form of “migrant worker”, it is primarily freelance bloggers, photographers, software developers, social media experts, web and graphic designers who organize their work using laptops and smartphones, regardless of time and location, and integrate it into a cosmopolitan, largely sedentary lifestyle . Beach café instead of a desk with a family photo and houseplant, Dropbox, email and Google Hangout instead of face-to-face customer contact.
Using the internet and discovering the world – for Conni, digital nomadism is a logical consequence of her two passions. She already had a Commodore Amiga in her childhood room, now ready for a museum. She completed her high school diploma in England, studied communications and media in Salzburg, Vienna and Ohio, and then spent two years traveling, including working as a diving instructor. Today she earns her money exclusively through digital channels. She translates texts into English, manages a customer's Facebook page, sets up WordPress pages, advises on social media and online PR, runs her own travel blog and explains in workshops how to blog professionally and earn money with it. Laptop, smartphone, e-reader, two cameras – everything you need fits in a backpack.
The “4-hour week” concept – more time, more money, more life
However, being a digital nomad does not mean being lonely, alone and without colleagues. Cities such as Chiang Mai (Thailand), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Medellín (Colombia) and Berlin in particular are hotspots where the community gathers. Some stay a few weeks, others months. Some people live together in hostels or apartments, meet up via Facebook groups and work together on online businesses in cafés, co-working spaces or anywhere where the internet connection is fast enough.
In order to live well, Conni invests around ten hours a week in actively earning money. Author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss describes how this can work in his 2007 bestseller “The 4-Hour Week”. The initial spark of the movement and for many digital nomads the bible of location-independent working. One of the key words in it is “geo-arbitrage”, i.e. choosing a country that has a weaker currency, in which you spend less on food, rent, etc. with your euro income, and therefore have to work less and therefore enjoy more leisure time. “But I would get bored if I only worked for four hours and then hit the hammock,” says Conni. Although this can be done with passive income, e.g. B. affiliate websites, advertising space on weblogs or the sale of e-books or software, is quite realistic. However, it is more about the essence of the whole thing: effective, focused work and therefore the opportunity to complete your workload faster and therefore more profitably than in the artificially prescribed 40-hour week. When Conni works, then Conni works. Then, thanks to the SelfControl app, procrastination promoters such as Facebook or email accounts go offline for a few hours. She puts the free time she has gained into things she enjoys, into traveling around the world and into projects and ideas that are still in the development phase.
Musts for a happy nomadic life: good preparation, global community
Of course, there were also phases of doubt at the beginning and the parents' dashed hope that Conni finally had a “real” job. But the question “Internet? How can you make money with this?” she countered with good preparation. Even before quitting, she had saved up a financial buffer, had her first customer on the hook, read endless blogs on the subject and acquired the missing skills self-taught and in online courses. When a project fails and existential fear creeps in from time to time, it is primarily like-minded people who confirm Conni's path in life. Online communities like the Dynamite Circle promote exchange and bring digital nomads together twice a year in the non-virtual world at conferences in Berlin and Bangkok.
By the time this article appears, Conni will already be back in world history. Mexico is on the agenda. A country with really good internet, she says. Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico City, then probably a few months on the Pacific coast. Well, and maybe even further towards Colombia and Brazil. How long does she want to live and work like this? “I couldn’t imagine anything else,” comes the answer without hesitation.
www.planetbackpack.de
German-speaking Facebook group for digital nomads: www.facebook.com/groups/415110575270140/
Digital nomad blogs
English speaking
German speaking
German-speaking Facebook group for digital nomads
You don't become a digital nomad overnight. Here you will find useful preparation tips.
1.
a) You already have enough online skills or work in the online sector (programmer, web designer, graphic designer, etc.):
- Keep your job until you have a financial buffer of €5,000 to €10,000 saved up.
- Start building your freelance business while you're still employed (e.g. build a website, look for clients).
b) You have a job that is not easily transferable online:
- Which new area would be interesting for you?
- Get the skills you need, e.g. B. via online courses.
- Build yourself a website.
- Save a financial buffer of €5,000 to €10,000.
2. To create a reference list: Do a few projects for free to start with.
3. Start building up a certain customer base in good time. Prepare your customers for the fact that face-to-face meetings will have to be replaced by Skype sessions.
4. For emotional and moral support: Make contacts! Find people who already live this lifestyle (exchange, meet, go to meetups, read blogs), network (e.g. become a member of the Dynamite Circle or Founders Grid), maybe start a blog yourself and document your own travel preparations in it and your new life as a digital nomad.
5. Find out about tax matters, insurance, visas etc.
- Take out travel health insurance and, if necessary, long-term health insurance (place your local health insurance membership on a vested basis).
- Find a tax advisor.
- Find out about visa matters. How can I extend a tourist visa? Which visa agencies are responsible for each country?
6. Get a paperless office.
- Digitize all important documents (TAN numbers for banking, tax number, ID/passport, credit and debit cards, vaccination certificates, insurance cards).
- Useful applications:
– Dropbox, Google Drive (cloud storage)
– CamScanner or DocScanner (scanning apps)
– Evernote (virtual notebook)
– Snap seed (image editing for blog)
– Skyscanner (flight booking)
– Currency (currency conversion)
Tripadvisor (travel guide)
– SelfControl (OS
7. Take the plunge and quit the job. Register your business.
8. Choose a country where you don't need so much to live.
DEPARTURE!
9. Find a good job (with a sea view….and good infrastructure).
- You can research wifi cafes at wificafespots.com.
- You can find local co-working spaces, for example: B. at coworking-news.de/free-coworking-directory
- No matter where: a strong internet connection will almost always be important for you (e.g. for Skype video calls downstream and upstream speeds of around 300kbit/s). It can't hurt to do a speed test in advance at speedtest.net.
Can you imagine living temporarily or completely as a digital nomad? If so, here are a few blogs and tips to get you in the mood and prepared . If you already have some experience with self-employment or have a brilliant business idea, then it's worth becoming a member of e.g. B. these two clubs.
Dynamite Circle
Six years ago, American Dan Andrews left his homeland, founded his own company and has been building mobile bars in Asia ever since. He initially shared his experiences on topics such as travel and working remotely via podcast (iTunes à Tropical MBA - Entrepreneurship, Travel and Lifestyle), and later founded the Dynamite Circle. The club, which now has over 700 members, is a (virtual) meeting place for digital nomads and web workers who have already successfully put their dream of a “mobile office” into practice. Members pay $97 for three months. There is plenty of knowledge exchange, networking and the chance to find new business partners, investors and friends. The nomad community, which is scattered around the world, maintains contact via telephone, chat, webinar or at the conferences that take place twice a year in Berlin and Bangkok.
Founders Grid
How do I grow my business quickly in international markets? How are the taxes going? How do I get a second passport? How do I open a bank account abroad? How can I manage my business from anywhere in the world? Answers to these and other fundamental questions can be found in: B. the Founders Grid club, which has around 450 members – including successful entrepreneurs, investors and international experts (membership costs $99 per quarter). The community founder is 27-year-old Chris Osbourne. The Brit has been living and working remotely in Asia for eight years.
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Digital nomads - the whole world is my office Everyone knows it: sometimes it's easier to write homework on the balcony, in the coffee shop around the corner or during a long train ride. Digital nomads go one step further and, thanks to mobile internet, declare the whole world their workplace. From the beach in Acapulco to
