Work Online, Travel The World + Live Creatively
4 Essential Steps To Start An Online Business And Travel The World!
Have you ever sat in your tiny little cubicle at your uninspiring 9-5 job and thought to yourself, “What the hell am I doing here? This seriously caaaan’t be how I live out the rest of my life..it’s killing me!”
Cramped up in your tiny cubicle, taking lunch in the break room eating last night’s leftovers and scrolling through Facebook for the millionth time, scheming up ways you can break out of this corporate hell hole…
Have you been there girl?
We have.
And to put it mildly, it’s so freakin’ frustrating and miserable to feel lost, stuck and uninspired with…well, life.
I mean, we spend ⅓ of our lives working (that’s 25-30 yeaaaars girl), why should we spend it doing a job that we don’t love, to pay for things that don’t actually fill us?!
So, then the big question is…what’s a 20-something-go-gettin’-cubicle-hatin’-girl supposed to do?
Simple.
You build an online business that gives you the freedom to travel the world.
But, what?
How?
Take a deep breath girl because it’s your lucky day.
…and no, it’s not “October 3rd” 😉
I’m about to break down everything I did, from how I quit my 9-5 cubicle job, figured out what my online skills were, the strategies I used to find my first clients (and keep em’ comin’), to making my dream life a reality:
Making more money than my soul-sucking corporate job while traveling the world full-time with my best friend!
Over the past four years, we’ve lived in 15 countries, traveled through over 50 cities and between the two of us, we’ve built three successful online businesses! Yeaaah girl.
So, keep readin’ if you’re interested in learning how to:
- Ditch your uninspiring 9-5 job
- Start your own killer online biz
- Be your own boss
- Travel the world whenever and wherever your little heart desires
You’re in?
Good.
But before we jump into the nitty gritty, and in case you’re new around this awesome slice of internet (hay girl hay!), we run a sweet Facebook community filled with 1500+ aspiring and seasoned Globetrotting Girl Bosses…
And, the best part?
It’s totes free.
Alright, now for the juicy stuff…
“Quarter Life” Crises? Yes, it’s a thing.
When I graduated from University in August 2012, I thought I had it all figured out – ohhh girl, was I wrong!
I’m the blondie on the right – just graduating from University!
I ended up getting a job in retail and at first, I felt grateful to just have a job because I knew that so many of my friends were struggling to find work.
But after a few months, I was totally miserable.
I thought, “Really? This is why I busted my butt for 4.5 years in college?
Yeah, not exactly the dream life I had imagined.
I couldn’t help but be at work and reminisce on my experiences from my semester abroad in France and dream about waking up every morning to do work I truly loooved.
Why was I going through life on autopilot and building somebody else’s dream?
I Woke Up One Day & Quit My 9-5 Job
I can’t describe the feeling of just knowing the life I was living wasn’t for me but I woke up on a Saturday morning and knew it was time to change.
I couldn’t do it anymore – my lifeless cubicle, the boring 9-5 routine, only living for the weekends…
I walked into work that Monday morning and I handed in my 2-weeks notice and it was seriously one of the most liberating feelings in the world!
If you’re thinking, “But you had a solid plan right? You had a ton of money saved up?
Ermmm..not quite.
Amount I had in savings: $1800 USD
My “fool-proof” plan:
- Sell everything I own except for one suitcase of things
- Book a one-way ticket to Playa del Carmen, Mexico
I literally left 2 weeks later.
How I Started Working Online
Two months in and I was running out of the tiny amount of money I saved to get my ass down to sunny Mexico but, I was the happiest I had EVER been.
A. Go back home and climb the corporate ladder
B. Figure out how to make an income online
I chose option B.
I sat down and asked myself, “What am I good at? What skills do I have to offer that someone would pay me for?” (Seriously, no joke.)
While doing some research, I kept landing on Social Media Management and I thought, “I can do that – I can do social media for people online!”
I had previously worked for a startup, occasionally running their social media platforms and I knew I was super organized (heeellllooo, color coordinated calendars).
In case you’re thinking, “What the heck is a Social Media Manager?”…
Basically, a social media manager is the person who is in charge of monitoring, organizing and writing content for a company or individual’s social media presence.
You might be thinking, “But you barely had any experience!”
And to that I say…when there’s a will there’s a way, girl.
And I was about to make a freakin’ way 😉
But First, How Low Were My Monthly Costs In Mexico?
Temporarily living in Mexico, a country with a low-cost of living, took away the financial pressure while I figured out how the heck I could make money online.
And obvi, it also allowed me the freedom to lounge Caribbean seaside with a margarita in hand – I mean, not too shabby right?
Here were the costs of my first month in Mexico:
- Cost of rent: $500 USD/month (small 1 bedroom apartment 3 blocks from the beach)
- Cost of food: $400 USD/month (eating out half the time, and getting incredibly fresh fruit, veggies & coconuts!)
- Cost of entertainment: $300 USD/month (going out with friends, adventures etc.)
Total: $1200 USD/month
*Because of the location I lived in, I was able to walk pretty much everywhere or take the occasional taxi (30 pesos = approx. $1.50 USD).
How I Found My First Client & Made My First $4K Online
I started using freelancing sites (online websites where people are looking to hire freelancers) to find my first clients. My favorite freelancing site was PeoplePerHour because it didn’t have as much competition as larger sites like Upwork, and the site is pretty to look at and easy to use – score.
My golden rule: I focused solely on Social Media Management jobs and I never, ever, worked for a job for less than $25 USD an hour.
Girl’s gotta eat yo!
My first social media freelancing jobs were:
- Running social media for a small tech start-up based in Vancouver
- Managing content for an online health & wellness coach
- Creating social media posts for a real estate company in the US
How I Started Finding Clients & Makin’ Money In The Bank:
- Everyday, I would spend at least a couple hours sending out as many proposals on PeoplePerHour as possible.
- I reached out to my “network” (aka family & friends) to tell them about my new business & if they knew anyone looking to hire a social media manager to send them my way. You’d be surprised how much this actually works.
- I spent time in popular Facebook groups like Online Business BFFs & Savvy Business Owners Group, reaching out and connecting with entrepreneurs who needed help.
Like this…
The secret sauce to success: If someone turns you down, take it as a lesson learned and push yourself even more. With the Internet, the world is your client pool!
I Searched For Ways To Learn New Online Skills
Honestly girl, we’re living in a magical day and age where you can literally find and learn almost anything on the Internet. (I may or may not have Youtubed how to do my laundry in college #lifehacks #dontjudgeme)
As a newbie online biz owner, I started scouring blog posts, Youtube videos, taking online courses and devouring books like they were candy…
I hustled like I had never before because let’s be real: my new globetrotting girl boss life depended on it.
And guess what?
Two months later, I went from making no income to making $4K a month!
Psssst….Want to learn the EXACT online skills that I used to start my killer online VA business & the top online skills that clients are hiring for online? Find out in our epic FREE video series workshop.
Click HERE to watch Video 1 of the 4-day workshop.
How I Consistently Made $6K+ Per Month Freelancing
I officially named my new online business, My Bliss Publishing, expanded my service offerings and found other ways to find clients online.
New services I started offering:
- Email Marketing (helping entrepreneurs manage their email marketing with platforms like Mailchimp, sending out weekly mailers, curating newsletters etc.)
- WordPress Website Design (I self-taught myself website design without needing to learn how to code – I found an amazing theme and learned the ins and outs of this particular theme to build websites for clients.
- Sales Page Funnels (Many online coaches need website pages designed to sell and market their programs and products – I taught myself how to use platforms like Leadpages to design high converting sales pages).
I started receiving tons of referrals and figuring out ways to ensure that my income was as steady as possible. These steps soon led to me making $6K+ online each month!
Setting Minimum 3-Month Client Contracts: Instead of taking small one-time projects, I focused on becoming part of my client’s team, securing long-term work by requiring my clients to commit to a minimum of 3-month contracts. This helping me ensure stable work for myself and allowed me to forecast my income!
Booking Projects Ahead: Sometimes I found myself extremely busy with work one month, but slower in another. So I changed my process to start booking projects ahead of time, requiring my clients to put down a non-refundable deposit to secure their spot, so I could make sure that I had consistent work in the months ahead!
How Did I Do All Of That…While Traveling The World Full-Time?!
I thought to myself, “If I can work from anywhere in the world now…why not travel the world and go on epic adventures all.the.damn.time?”
I mean, why the heck not right?!
*fist pumps*
In the past 4 years, I’ve lived in: Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, The United States, Italy, Thailand and Bali…and obvi, the adventure still continues today! I’m obsessed with seeing new cultures, tasting new foods, learning new languages and exploring foreign countries – I just can’t get enough!
It fuels my passions, inspires my creativity and honestly, makes me a better person and business owner.
PLUS, it allows me to fully and intentionally “live creatively”.
Essentially living creatively means doing what you want, when you want. It means designing your own lifestyle so that you wake up in the morning feeling straight up joyful and grateful.
My ideal day looks a little somethin’ like this:
8am – Wake up/Breakfast with a friend at a cute cafe
9am – Start work at a cool coworking space
12pm – Beach break for healthy lunch/cocos/tanning
1:30pm – Back to Work
5pm – Barre workout class
7pm – Sunset drinks/Dinner with friends
There’s a certain finesse (read: dedication and self-control) that goes with being a successful Globetrotting Girl Boss – but once you nail it down, life is a seriously joyful, breeze.
“But, how do you nail this whole work/travel lifestyle down?”
Well, aside from all the amazing strategies, tips, tricks and tools that we teach inside our signature course, The Work Online & Travel the World Course…
Here are my pro tips for working online while traveling:
Find the Best Globetrotting Girl Boss Cities: Use websites like NomadList and Facebook groups (like ours: Globetrotting Girl Bosses!) to find the best cities for nomads and connect with other like-minded girls who are also working online & traveling!
Design Your Ideal Routine & Stick to It: Routines are your new bff and now you have the freedom to design it however you want! Start working at 12pm? Go for a mid-day surf session? Meditate for an hour in the evening? Whatever floats your boat girl! Make sure your new routine has you wakin’ up pumped about the day, increases your work productivity and all together, makes you H-A-P-P-Y.
Make Co-Working Spaces A Priority: You might be tempted to “coffee shop hop” around trying to find a stable wifi connection to bust out a few solid hours of work. But there’s an even better option? Insert: coworking spaces. There’s nothing better than lightning-fast wifi, sweet “office” setups and an amazingly supportive network of people to support your girlboss goals. My fave? Dojo Bali.
