Key Skills and Strategies for a Successful Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Traveling and earning a living online — the digital nomad lifestyle — is a dream for many would-be entrepreneurs. Digital nomads are tech-savvy, flexible, disciplined, and passionate about their work and leisure pursuits. But that dream lifestyle usually doesn't happen by accident and comes with its own challenges. To succeed, you need good strategic planning, thorough preparation, and the right skill set to tip the scales in your favor. Today, Cindi Fortmann Photography highlights a few of the most important factors to help you set up and realize a successful location-independent work business while achieving your travel goals.

Plan and Prepare for Success

Effective planning and preparation are critical to achieving your goals. First, what are your goals? A digital nomad lifestyle comes in so many variations and colors that it can be difficult to pinpoint what should happen for you to feel successful.

Start with a goal-setting exercise that clarifies why this lifestyle is right for you. Separate your professional or career goals from your personal goals, and prioritize your top travel destinations and desirable world experiences. Map your skill set and specify the actions needed to implement your new lifestyle successfully. Refresher short courses in business or communications are a good way to better prepare yourself for the operational challenges of running a remote business while on the move.

Continually update your strategic plan as new situations and goals arise, and use a five-year planning horizon to identify short- and long-term objectives and milestones. Everything will not come up roses, so consider some common potential challenges. For example, digital nomads sometimes feel homesick, experience undue social or peer pressure, and encounter issues with health care, insurance, and travel visas. Many find that joining a digital nomad community and establishing a temporary base location stimulates interesting connections, better networking, and a stronger sense of belonging and purpose. 

Needless to say, another crucial element of preparation has to do with making sure you have the skills you need to get an edge over the competition. Experience will help, of course, but you should also think about advancing your education. For instance, a graduate degree could be a big help – and the flexibility of online programs means you can study at your own pace, boosting your education while also working on the side. 

Make Cost-effective Choices

Implement a suitable business structure to work effectively with your new lifestyle. Are you maintaining an employee work relationship with an employer? Are you offering your services to a specific target audience? Is a freelance company business structure appropriate? When freelancing, a limited liability company (LLC) is an excellent option to separate your personal and business assets. It offers flexible tax filing and supports professional banking and credit arrangements. Different regulations for establishing an LLC exist in different jurisdictions, and site-specific background research is recommended. Consider farming out the legwork to a low-cost formation service to minimize paperwork and high legal fees.

Run your project management, marketing, and bookkeeping tasks with online tools tailored for small business enterprises. Free online invoicing software lets you keep accurate books and automate customer account alerts, including when payments are received or overdue. Automatically schedule recurring payment invoices and stay on top of your cash flow. Data security and privacy are critical technical issues to keep in mind when using public networks for business. 

Reach Out, Then Step Out

Ready to try your new location-independent lifestyle in Nova Scotia? Clarify your goals, build a strategic plan, and connect with a digital nomad community of like-minded entrepreneurs and adventurers. 

Cindi Fortmann Photography offers professional headshots, commercial photography, personal branding and portraits. Book your session to get started!  

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