Whilst becoming a digital nomad might seem out of reach to most, it’s more straightforward than you might think. 

But before we dive into the steps on how to become a digital nomad, let’s break down what a digital nomad is. 

Typically, digital nomads spend several months abroad per year, are constantly on the move and earn an income whilst working online. A digital nomad can earn anything from £12,000-£40,000+ a year and live in countries like Portugal, Spain, Bali and Thailand. 

Many people tell us that they want to have the lifestyle that we live but they don’t know exactly how it works. Let us explain the different types of traveling professionals we meet during our own travels and the trips we organize. 

Based on our experience we divide it into 3 categories:⁣⁣⁣

1. Digital nomads: 

Digital Nomads are mostly freelancers who remotely serve their clients with their digital skills. Think of jobs like digital marketing, copywriting, programming, website Developer, App Developer, SEO Specialist, Social Media Marketer, Affiliate Marketer and Customer Support Representative. Since the services they provide are digital they can do their work form⁣⁣⁣ anywhere and they choose to travel the world while doing this.⁣⁣⁣

2. Remote workers: 

Remote workers are on the payroll of a company, still have a regular job and earn a monthly salary but don’t have to be in the office to do their job. What we mostly see are software engineers, marketing and customer support professionals. There will be many more jobs and professions that can be done remotely but these are the type of professionals we mostly meet during our travels.⁣⁣⁣

3. Digital Entrepreneurs: 

Digital entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs focused exclusively on digital commerce, and digital commerce is “a subset of e-commerce used to delineate companies that create digital products and services that are marketed, delivered, and supported completely online.”
Examples of digital commerce products include ebooks, online education, membership sites, downloadable software, web hosting, and software as a service (“SaaS”).

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1. Identify Your Focus

To kick-start your digital nomad journey, you need to figure out what your focus is before you start making money online. This will kick everything…and I mean everything…into motion. 

You want to do some soul searching on your own skills and passions and think about what type of work that you’d like to do. Do you want to sell services such as social media or web design? Or maybe you want to sell products online? If so, what skills do you need to develop? 

When you have more of a clear idea where you want to go, you can do online courses and speak to people who work in those areas.

2. Set Goals and Create a Financial Plan

Now that you’re clear what you’re going to be selling, you want to create a financial plan, so that you know how many orders or clients you need to bring in a month to achieve your income goals. 

You’ll need to figure out how you’re going to support yourself and what you’ll do as a plan b if you can’t make ends meet. 

Check this out!

We know a lot of people are struggling to get their first clients. That’s why we wrote a post for you with 10 different ways how to earn your money online.

Click here to read the full post.

Plus, you’ll need to write proposals to find work, which can take up more time than it’s worth. It’s also time consuming writing proposals and building up your profile on these platforms. 

A more sustainable way of creating clients is joining Facebook groups, such as remote work jobs or local business groups and building relationships in those groups. The best way to build relationships is to answer people’s questions and be genuinely helpful. Then, you can contact them by offering your services and get them on a  free consultation call. 

Once you’ve secured your first client, you want to keep showing up in communities to consistently create clients or small gigs. You also want to build relationships with people, so that people refer your products or services.

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4. Surround Yourself With People Who Are Already Doing It – Co-Travel With Us!

One of the biggest challenges that digital nomads face is loneliness and isolation. They want to travel the world to connect with like-minded people but they can feel lonely and disconnected, especially if they’re always on the move.

Co-travelling with other digital nomads means you’ll have a built-in support group and friends to hang out with. You can share accommodation together, which will split costs and you can plan day trips together, such as hiking, surfing and visiting cities. 

But one of the biggest benefits of travelling with other digital nomads is that you’ll network, develop new skills and build long-lasting friendships.

5. Find an Accountability Partner & Do Masterminds

If you’re serious about becoming a digital nomad, one of the best ways is to get an accountability partner. What you can do is find someone who has similar goals as you, so you can set goals together and keep each other accountable. 

For example, if you want to build a website design business find other website designers in online communities. Tell them what your goals are and what you’re looking from an accountability partner. 

If you want to take that up a level, join masterminds that’ll help you map out the steps you need to take to reach your goal.

6. Keep Developing Your Skills and Research the Market

Lastly, keep developing your skills, so that you can continue to serve your clients or sell more products online.