If you have made the decision to embark on the journey of becoming a Digital Nomad and transitioning into full-time work that allows you to be location independent, we have put together a comprehensive checklist to assist you in accomplishing this goal.
Step 1 – 10 To get to full time location independent work
1. Develop a Vision
It is crucial to have a clear understanding of your destination, including specific details such as desired income, preferred travel destinations, meaningful experiences, and the impact you wish to make on the world. Developing a vision is essential.
2. Join The Digital Nomad Community
When embarking on a digital nomad lifestyle, it is common for your friends and family to not fully comprehend your choices. To find support and a sense of community from individuals who share similar values and aspirations, consider joining digital nomad Facebook groups and forums. These platforms are valuable resources for connecting with like-minded individuals who can provide guidance and encouragement along your journey.
3. Assess your Expertise
Consider identifying your areas of expertise, your passions, and the market demand. Where do these aspects intersect?
4. Brainstorm Products or Services
Generate a catalogue of potential services and/or products that align with your skills, experience, and passions.
5. Find your Niche
Frequently, your initial ideas may prove to be too broad and competitive. In these instances, it is advisable to shift your focus towards a smaller, more passionate niche market that you have the potential to dominate.
6. Narrow Ideas
Are there any untapped sub-niches within your niche market that are not currently being catered to by the existing competition? Do you have the opportunity to fill this gap and meet the needs of these underserved customers?
7. Create Your Ideal Customer
It is crucial not to attempt selling to a broad audience. Instead, it is recommended to develop a detailed profile of your ideal customer. Take into consideration their name, income level, relationship status, as well as their most pressing concerns and aspirations.
8. Kill Bad Business Ideas
If your long-held business idea is not proving successful in reality, it may be time to make a tough decision. It is important to be objective and let go of ideas that are not viable. Avoid investing too much time and resources into ideas that are destined to fail.
9. Test the Market
To determine if your potential customers are interested in your product, it is crucial to engage in direct communication. Take the time to connect with individuals who closely align with your target audience and inquire about their preferences and needs.
10. Create Larger Tests
Engage in conversations with a larger number of your target customers on various forums. Begin conducting tests on Facebook ads to gather insights on which messages resonate with your customers. This step is crucial even before the development of your product or service.
Step 11 – 20 To get to full time location independent work
11. Refine
Utilize the knowledge you have acquired to shape your product or service in a manner that precisely addresses the needs of your intended customer, thereby providing a solution to their pressing issue. By doing so, you significantly enhance the likelihood of achieving success.
12. Choose a Business Name
It is crucial that you delay this step until you have finished the previous ones. This is because selecting your name and website domain should happen after you have a clear understanding of your target audience, ensuring that it aligns with their preferences and interests.
13. Create Your Product and Pricing
The most crucial step in developing your product or service is to create the simplest version that people are willing to pay for. This initial version will serve as a verification of your idea, as it is not considered fully validated until someone has made a purchase.
14. Get Sales
If you work as a freelancer or service provider, it is crucial to pitch your offer to potential customers in the real world. Keep pitching your offer until you successfully close a deal. In case you have a product, make sure to sell the first version of your minimum viable product.
15. Over Deliver
It is important to go above and beyond when delivering what you sell. Not only should it meet customer expectations, but it should also surpass them.
16. Testimonials are Vital
It is crucial that your initial clients are extremely satisfied with the quality of your products or services. By utilizing their feedback and testimonials in your future marketing efforts, you can establish your credibility and gain the trust of potential customers more quickly.
17. Leverage Your Early Successes
Generate a positive buzz by providing an exceptional experience. When you deliver something extraordinary, your customers will spread the word to attract more of your target audience.
18. Learn Sales
No unethical tactics, no misleading strategies. Your product stands out as the top choice. How can you effectively demonstrate to your prospective customers that this is indeed the case? How can you assist them in making an informed decision? How can you guide them away from the error of purchasing from a competitor?
19. Create Online Presence
In order to streamline your workflow, it is important to systematize the process as much as possible. While there may be variations depending on your product, it is recommended to prioritize this step before the others mentioned above. Utilizing your website to its fullest potential can attract leads, foster relationships, and convert new customers even while you are not actively involved, maximizing your time and resources.
20. Get Good at Copy Writing
The effectiveness of your marketing endeavours will depend heavily on your aptitude for persuasive writing. Being a digital nomad means you won’t have the opportunity to persuade in person. Therefore, it is crucial that your words possess a strong impact. Recommended learning resource: Write to Sell by Andy Maslen.
Step 21 – 30 To get to full-time location independent work
21. Use Video
When selling online, it’s important to remember that you don’t have the opportunity to make a personal connection in person. However, video can be a great alternative. By using video, you can allow your customers to experience your personality and get to know you better.
22. Track Results
Ensure that you have analytics set up for all your activities. It is crucial to always have conversion tracking when running ads. Take diligent note of what strategies are yielding positive results and what strategies are not.
23. Scale Marketing
Are you aware that the cost of generating a $10 profit is $5 at this point? That’s excellent. Take advantage of this opportunity by acquiring as many customers who spend $5 as you can possibly discover.
24. Focus on What Works
If a particular marketing method is not yielding desired results, it is recommended to discontinue it. It is advisable to allocate your resources towards the strategies that are proving to be most effective. Once your primary channel is operating at its best, you can then consider exploring secondary methods.
25. Get an Email List
Building a strong relationship with customers is crucial for boosting your conversion rates. Instead of expecting immediate sales, focus on providing consistent value through regular email communication. This approach will significantly increase your chances of success.
26. Use Virtual Assistants
It is important to prioritize your time wisely by avoiding spending it on tasks that are worth only $10/hour when your time is actually valued at $100/hour. To effectively manage your productivity, it is recommended to carefully track it and consider outsourcing any low-value tasks that can be delegated to others. This will help you free up valuable time for more important responsibilities.
27. Use an Inbound Lead Generation System
Initially, a significant portion of your sales may be generated through proactive efforts. However, it is crucial to transition towards a scenario where customers are naturally drawn to your business. This can be achieved by implementing various strategies such as advertising, increasing blog traffic, and encouraging social shares. By developing a comprehensive system, you can empower your customers to discover your offerings independently.
28. Customer Expectations Management
If you are planning to work remotely, it is not necessary to pursue clients who expect regular in-person meetings. It is important to manage the customers expectations.
29. Create Shareable Free Content
If a product is average, it is unlikely that people will spread positive word-of-mouth about it. Similarly, if the content being shared is average, people are less likely to share it. However, if you consistently put out amazing free content, your fans will become your marketers and help spread the word about your brand.
30. Build Marketing Into Your Products
Do you ensure that your customers are spreading positive word-of-mouth about your business? Do you make it effortless for them to share the amazing features of your product with their friends? Provide them with compelling reasons to express their enthusiasm. Incorporate it into your strategy.
Step 31 – 40 To get to full time location independent work
31. Word of Mouth
It is not possible to persuade customers to speak positively about inferior products through bribes. However, it is possible to motivate them to become advocates for exceptional products. Provide incentives to your customer base to encourage them to share their positive experiences and promote the product.
32. Get Better
In the world of business, complacency is not an option. Success is a result of constantly pushing forward and staying ahead of the competition. It is essential to continuously enhance your products and strive for constant improvement. Remember, the journey towards success is ongoing and there is always room for growth.
33. Create a Cash Surplus
In theory, it is possible to travel Asia on a monthly income of $500. However, constantly struggling and feeling desperate for sales while on the road can greatly diminish the enjoyment of the experience.
34. Live Within your Means
The principles of personal finance are universal. It is crucial to live within your means and refrain from using credit cards excessively. Saving money along the journey can make the road much more fulfilling.
35. Embrace Minimalism
Living a nomadic lifestyle requires minimalism. It is essential to evaluate your belongings realistically, keeping only the items that are truly necessary and frequently used. Anything that doesn’t fit this criteria should be given away to avoid clutter.
36. Learn Traffic Optimization
Gain knowledge on fundamental search engine optimization techniques and keyword research strategies in order to enhance your visibility on Google among potential customers.
37. Conversion Rates are Key
Make adjustments and experiment with website modifications in order to increase the number of visitors who convert into leads and customers. It is crucial to avoid making assumptions and instead, closely monitor and analyze all data collected.
38. Use Marketing Automation
Take steps to remove yourself from each stage of the lead generation process. Utilize various strategies such as advertisements, organic traffic, free giveaways, videos, and email marketing to ensure that your leads develop a positive impression of your brand even without direct personal interaction.
39. Use Sales Automation
Discover the reasons why customers choose to purchase from your business and understand the factors that may discourage others from doing so. Take the time to address any objections they may have and incorporate these insights into your automated communication strategies.
40. Automate Product/Service Delivery
Outsource the process of delivering your products or services. Avoid manually handling order processing and shipment by establishing a comprehensive system for all operations.
Step 41 – 53 To get to full time location independent work
41. Use Customer Service Automation
Utilize applications whenever feasible to assist clients in resolving common problems. Establish a thorough list of frequently asked questions and a repository of helpful resources. Delegate tasks that necessitate personal, human interaction.
42. Use the Right Gear
Ensure that you are fully prepared for your work while traveling by having the necessary tools and equipment. These include a lightweight laptop, charger adapters, mobile WiFi, appropriate luggage or backpack, as well as any other business-specific gear that you require, such as an HD camera for video recording purposes.
43. Get your Locations Right
Nomadlist.com is a useful tool that can help you evaluate different locations and determine which ones would be most suitable for your remote work. It is important to consider various factors when choosing where to work, and this website can assist you in making an informed decision.
44. Prepare for Mishaps
Mishaps are bound to happen. Your equipment may become damaged or stolen. You may end up missing a train, resulting in the unfortunate consequence of missing a crucial call with a client. It is crucial to be well-prepared and take lessons from these challenges. By doing so, you can incorporate backup measures into your systems to prevent the recurrence of errors.
45. Adjust Your Travel Style
When it comes to traveling, the way you approach it will vary depending on whether or not you have financial obligations.
46. Learn to Productize your Services
Is it possible to transform a freelancing or service-based business into a product, such as a how-to course? By doing so, you can gain leverage and decrease reliance on clients that require frequent one-on-one interactions.
47. Build Recurring Income Streams
Long term sustainability for a location independent business is crucial. It is inevitable that you will eventually become weary of constantly seeking new clients. By providing a monthly subscription service or product, you can establish a dependable income stream that you can consistently rely on.
48. Reinvest In The Business
It is crucial to exercise caution when it comes to spending your money. Instead of spending it all at once, it is advisable to create a cash surplus by saving. Once you have saved enough, consider using a portion of your savings to develop new sources of income or enhance your existing one. It is essential to maintain a proactive approach and continuously strive for progress and growth. Never become complacent and always keep pushing forward.
49. Optimize Lifetime Customer Value
Once you reach a certain stage, it becomes more profitable to concentrate on offering new products to your current customers, rather than constantly seeking out new ones. Take the time to understand what additional offerings your satisfied customers are interested in, and make sure to provide them with those products or services.
50. Build Partnerships and Affiliates
Focus on quality rather than quantity when it comes to forming partnerships. Seek out individuals with a strong following that aligns with your target audience’s interests and needs. By offering generous commissions, these partners will be motivated to promote your products or services consistently, ensuring long-term sales growth for your business.
51. Manage Relationships
It is crucial to ensure that the quality of your customers’ experience remains consistent, even when you are away from your usual location. Location independence should not disrupt the seamless experience for clients, whether you are nearby or thousands of miles away.
52. Stay Positive
You will have your ups and downs on this road to being location independent, but staying positive and true to the vision you had set out at the start is imperative.
53. Recalibrate
The market and your situations may change, assess your current offerings, see if there is room for improvement, and ditch what is not working.
