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Working as a digital nomad is a dream come true for most people these days. After all, who wouldn’t want the freedom to travel the world while they earn money doing something they love? What’s more, you can set your hours and set aside more time for your hobbies.
The allure of a digital nomad lifestyle
Do you want to work on a yacht while you sail the Indian Ocean? Or do you want to set up shop on the beach for an afternoon? How about working in the park 10 minutes away from your Airbnb? When you’re a digital nomad, the world is your oyster, and you can set up optimal conditions to help you be productive while still enjoying all the world has to offer.
Given all these factors, it’s not surprising that more and more people of all ages are quitting their 9-5 jobs to pursue a career as a digital nomad. For people who make the switch, it feels like finally getting off a hamster’s wheel. Instead of working yourself to the ground to build someone else’s dream, you can finally build something of your own. If you want freedom in your career and enjoy traveling, living as a digital nomad is a perfect solution.
Lori Konkler quit her full-time job to work as a digital nomad and build her own business in 2016. At the time, she was working in the hospitality and tourism industries. While she loved to travel, even as an executive, the vacation time she got was not enough. She reached a breaking point in early 2016 when she got back from vacation only to be greeted by yet another brutal Wisconsin winter. Lori realized that she didn’t want to keep living like this…working for someone else and living in harsh winters. Instead, she wanted to have time to do the things that mattered to her. Exhausted and frustrated, she decided that things needed to change.
At the time, digital nomadism wasn’t popular yet, so Lori didn’t necessarily identify as one right away. “At that point, all I knew was that having a lifestyle that allowed me the freedom to live and work wherever I wanted was truly what appealed to me!” she says. When she left her full-time job, she decided to build her own coaching business, and so The Xennial Traveler was born.
How to overcome challenges of building a business
On the other hand, as a digital nomad who has built her own business from the ground up, Lori has also faced her share of challenges. For starters, building a successful business wasn’t easy. She says she wanted to give up and almost did, on several occasions. When she first quit her 9-5 job, she was determined never to go back to working for someone else. However, building a profit-making business turned out to be much more complex than she had expected. When her company didn’t take off right away, she decided to go back to working full-time for a while.
Lori got a job and started working between the States and the Caribbean. Despite having had to go back to the 9-5 grind, she was happy. She was at a job that she enjoyed, and she loved the fact that she got to work in paradise. Nevertheless, this happiness was short-lived – 6 months into the new job; she was laid off. When she considered getting back into the endless cycle of job hunting, she decided that she would make her business work this time.
Lori has already traveled the road of a digital nomad entrepreneur, and she’s committed to making life easier for those coming behind her.
How to overcome the challenges of life as a digital nomad
Lori is also familiar with the everyday challenges all digital nomads face outside the challenges of running a business. For example, she’s had to get used to being away from family and friends for long periods. She’s also had to learn to balance her finances to afford to keep traveling as much as she wants. She’s learned that some of the most beautiful places have the worst internet connection. After five years in the game, though, she’s developed strategies to tackle these problems. Here’s the best way to deal with these issues, according to Lori:
Being away from family and friends
Lori’s solution: Stay connected when you’re on the move
“This is one of hardest things to get used to once start globe-trotting. This was especially tough for me at the beginning. Luckily, I have a great husband, so, no matter where I go, I am never alone.”
Budgeting for life as digital nomad
Lori’s solution: Cook at home and align your dreams with your budget.
“Depending on where you choose to spend time, it can incredibly affordable or incredibly expensive to be a digital nomad. The cost of living in a new destination isn’t always comparable to what you’re used to in your home country or state.
“Aligning your dreams with your budget also helps. You might want to go to Bali and say, “eh, it’s cheap to live there.” However, getting there definitely isn’t.
Lori’s solution: Book a short-term stay until you’ve tested the connectivity
“Know before you go. Don’t make the mistake of booking an Airbnb for 3 months only to get there and find that you can’t hold down a video call with a client.”
While life as a digital nomad isn’t for the faint-hearted, it’s much easier when you have access to the right resources and a robust support system. This is precisely what Lori is offering you at The Xennial Traveler.
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