Living the life of remote working is great.
I recently asked you all what you wanted to read about here, and that's why I'm posting this.
This way of life has really changed my life, and that's why I love talking and writing about it.
I have worked from Brazil (back when I had a "normal" job), I've worked from Finland and Australia, I've done a one-month workcation in the US - visiting 15 states and even worked while driving around in Canada.
I set up my own business from Australia when I lived there - helping customers in Norway with social media.
And I'm going to travel somewhere exotic on January, working remotely, because Norway is so freakin' cold!
Working in Helsinki, Finland
Some advice from me:
Set up your own business
I started a social media management company, where I work full time
Apply for remote jobs
I work part time for a Swedish tech company, doing translations and social media. I've worked for them for 3 months, and I haven't even met them yet. I will meet them at the end of August when I travel to their headquarter in Sweden.
If you own property, rent it out while you are traveling
I use Airbnb. And it's been nothing but a pleasant experience.
Earn extra money on Steemit and on crypto currencies
Steemit has been a huge part of setting up this lifestyle. I've paid for my travels with Bitcoin! :p My best advice for building an audience here is to post frequently, engage in other people's content, share personal thoughts and use great pictures.
Make sure to have several revenue streams. And a plan B
If I lost my job at the Swedish tech company, I would still earn money from my own business. And if my own business went down the drain, I would still have the income from Sweden.
If one of my customers stop using me, I have a couple of companies in the pipeline or on a waiting list.
Travel outside the popular season
Because I can travel when ever, I can choose less popular times to go there. That way hotels and flights are cheaper.
Stop buying stuff you don't need
I have started reading a lot of books on simple living and minimalism. I've sold a lot of stuff that I didn't need and I don't buy stuff that I don't need.
Minimize your cost of living
I sat down and looked at all my expenses. Is there something I can live without here? I'm a bit extreme, so I have even canceled my TV subscription. I only use Netflix and free resources. Also, having no TV freed up a lot of time for me, to focus on my business.
Planning
In order to keep doing what I do, I have to plan well. I forget easily, so the calendar on my iPhone is PACKED with meetings, things to remember and to do lists.
Fight procrastination
This used to be a huge problem for me, but I've read books about it and I use a lot of energy on telling myself to just get stuff done. I've started doing the "least appealing" tasks first and I find that very helpful.
Find your mantra
This seems cliche, but it helps me a lot. I keep telling myself "if not now, when?" and something that helped me get started with all of this was this saying "start before you're ready"
My Aussie friend, Alana, once used this quote somewhere, and it really stuck with me :
Leap and the net will appear
Just do it
If remote working and traveling is something you dream of - just do it, already! Make it happen. I had to quit my job so that I had a lot of pressure on me to make sure that my business was a success. And when it comes to my business, I think the main reason it was a success is that I did a lot of research prior to starting the company. I made sure that there was a market for it and I also did research on the business model that I chose. I will tell you more about this in another post.
Working in Illinois, USA
Let me know if you want me to go into detail on some of my advice, I honestly love writing about this, because working from anywhere gives me so much joy!
Susanne