In this follow-up conversation with guest Niall Doherty (eBizFacts.com) we discuss strategies to get started making money online.
Tag: Remote Work
Categories
There Are Two Different Economies
I remember going to the shopping mall with my mom when I was younger. At the time there was a recession and all you heard on TV was that the economy was crashing, unemployment was on the rise, and people were struggling.
But when we got to the mall, the parking lot was full of new BMWs and Mercedes. You couldn’t even find a place to park. Inside, the mall was packed. It wasn’t just teenagers hanging out after school. People were shopping — buying designer clothes, jewelry, and expensive consumer electronics.
As we watched people pass with more shopping bags than they could carry, my mom said to me, “No recession in here.”
She was right.
It’s like there were two completely different economies. The one we heard about on TV, and the one we saw that day at the mall.
The same thing is happening again right now.
Economists are warning that we are headed for another recession or even a second great depression.
Even the fancy stores aren’t safe this time. Neiman Marcus could declare bankruptcy this week. They are not alone. Analysts predict that 100,000 more stores will go out of business soon too.
But not all businesses are hurting.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has gotten 24 billion dollars richer since the start of the coronavirus lockdowns.
This “two different economies” phenomenon isn’t limited to retail shopping.
Online meeting software Zoom has seen usage skyrocket from 10 million users per day a few months ago to more than 200 million users per day now.
Meanwhile TechCrunch reports that WeWork, the co-working and office space rental company, has stopped paying rent and that “Commercial real estate could be in trouble, even after COVID-19 is over.”
“Remote work is something we’re thinking a lot about right now,” says Colin Yasukochi, director of research and analysis at the commercial real estate services giant CBRE. “People are right now being forced to do it,” but “I think some will inevitably stick” to working remotely, he says.
None of us can predict the future, but one thing is pretty obvious to anyone who is paying attention:
The companies that are able to take advantage of technology and make money online are the ones that will survive.
But what has all this got to do with you?
Well, the same rule applies to people…
Over the past few weeks, more than 22 million people in America have filed for unemployment (the previous record high for a single week was about 670,000 people)!
Yet those of us who work online are mostly unaffected. Even if offices are closed, we can work from home just about anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
You might think that these are all just short-term effects of the coronavirus crisis, but they are actually part of a much bigger trend that’s been going on for years.
In his 2013 book, Average is Over, Tyler Cowen wrote the following:
Lacking the right training means being shut out of opportunities like never before…workers will come to be classified into two categories… The key questions will be: Are you good at working with intelligent machines or not? Are your skills a complement to the skills of the computer, or is the computer doing better without you?
If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement the computer, you may want to address that mismatch. Ever more people are starting to fall on one side of the divide or the other. That’s why average is over.
The bottom line is this: If you’re not taking advantage of technology and the internet to earn your living, sooner or later you’re going to get left behind.
What if you never had to go to work again?
Office Escape Plan is my program for people who want to break free from the daily grind of commuting to a cubicle and start living life on their terms instead. Join me and I will walk you through a step-by-step process for creating your very own Office Escape Plan. In this course, we will cover:
- The most important thing you must do to escape
- What a successful Office Escape Plan looks like
- The best careers for digital nomads and remote workers
- How to convert a “stuck-at-the-office job” into a remote job
- How to find a new remote job that you can do from home… anywhere in the world
- How to quit your job and triple your hourly pay
- Turning your plan into reality: How to take action and make it happen
Enter your email address below and I will notify you as soon as a spot opens up for you to join.
If you want to become a digital nomad with the freedom to travel whenever and wherever you want, then you are going to need a way to make money that doesn’t tie you to one specific location.
By definition, digital nomads make money by working online, usually from a laptop computer. But just because digital nomads work online doesn’t mean that they are all doing the same thing.
There is a common stereotype that all digital nomads are computer programmers. In reality, there are many different ways to make money online and types of jobs that you can do as a digital nomad…
Entrepreneur
One way to make money as a digital nomad is to by running your own business. I have started a few businesses myself and also worked with many business owners over the years. In fact, I’ve spent most of my career so far working with startups and small businesses to grow their businesses, and I encourage anyone who wants to start a business to go for it…
But I also caution them (and you) that starting a business is a lot of work and it comes with certain risks. It’s rare for a business to make money in the beginning. Most businesses take time and money to get going. Make sure you factor that in, especially if your goal is to find a way to become a digital nomad as soon as possible.
Freelancer
Another way to make money as a digital nomad is by doing freelance work for clients. Many of the digital nomads that I have met are freelancers. They do things like software and mobile app development, UX / design, social media marketing and management, online advertising, copywriting, search engine optimization, accounting, and writing. In fact, for just about any type of job that can be done from a computer, you can find digital nomads that are doing it as freelancers.
Freelancers have more freedom than employees. They can set their own rates and usually their own hours too. But that freedom comes with more responsibility — freelancers have to find work. Some digital nomad freelancers act more like employees, doing all of their work for one or two main clients. Others sell their services to many clients, often on freelance marketplaces online.
Employee
The third option, and one that I think is often overlooked by people who want to become digital nomads, is to find a job that lets you work remotely as an employee. More and more companies are embracing remote work and allowing their employees to work from wherever they want to. Some companies are fully remote and have no office at all.
There are definite advantages that come with being an employee. Once you have the job, you usually don’t have to “sell yourself” over and over again. As an employee, you get to wake up in the morning knowing who you work for, what kind of work you need to do, and how much money you will make for doing it. The same cannot always be said for freelancers and entrepreneurs. Depending on the job, you may get additional benefits like health insurance, paid time off, and parental leave too.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, then check out my free guide: How to Find a Remote Job.
What if you never had to go to work again?
Office Escape Plan is my program for people who want to break free from the daily grind of commuting to a cubicle and start living life on their terms instead. Join me and I will walk you through a step-by-step process for creating your very own Office Escape Plan. In this course, we will cover:
- The most important thing you must do to escape
- What a successful Office Escape Plan looks like
- The best careers for digital nomads and remote workers
- How to convert a “stuck-at-the-office job” into a remote job
- How to find a new remote job that you can do from home… anywhere in the world
- How to quit your job and triple your hourly pay
- Turning your plan into reality: How to take action and make it happen
Enter your email address below and I will notify you as soon as a spot opens up for you to join.
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’
One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.
In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognize the opportunity.
― John F. Kennedy
This week marks the end of the lockdown in Wuhan, China, nearly three months after it began. Here in Spain, and across the Mediterranean in Italy, the worst-hit countries in Europe, we appear to be passing the peak. There are signs of hope in parts of Asia and in America too.
But this crisis is still far from over. Of the more than 1.6 million known, confirmed cases in the world, only about 365,000 are listed as recovered. And experts warn that if the lockdowns are lifted now, the virus will surge again. So as the crisis rages on outside, most of us are stuck inside doing our part to stop the spread.
We are left to wonder what the world will look like when we finally re-emerge back into it. What will be the “new normal”? Which businesses and industries will be forever changed? And which new habits and behaviors that we have adopted during the crisis will stick with us long after it’s over?
I just wrapped up the 2019 edition of the Nomad City conference in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
I had the honor of sharing the stage here with other digital nomads and remote work advocates, including representatives from companies like Microsoft and Automattic (the people behind WordPress.com).
After three days of workshops, keynotes, and a BarCamp-style “unconference”, I left filled with even more energy and excitement about this movement.
Now is the perfect time to become a remote worker or digital nomad
Let me tell you why…
As a digital nomad, you will generally have a much better experience if you stay in a private apartment or house, rather than a hotel, guesthouse, or hostel.
One of the major benefits of renting a private apartment is that, unlike hotels, apartments tend to be spread throughout the city, not all clustered in one or two main tourist areas. This gives you a much better opportunity to experience the place you are visiting as a local, instead of as an outsider. As a bonus, there’s a good chance that your apartment will be hosted/managed by a local who can give you a head start on finding the best places in the neighborhood.
Apartments typically have more space than even high-end hotel suites, and apartments almost always come with kitchens. Even if you are not planning to do any serious cooking, it’s nice to have space to prepare coffee, tea, breakfasts, and simple snacks.
I recommend using Airbnb for booking apartments. There are plenty of alternatives, but I like Airbnb, because:
- you can use the same website anywhere in the world
- the cancellation and other policies are clearly spelled out, and
- most important – you can read real reviews from other travelers and communicate with the host before you book.
Here’s the exact process that I have used to book hundreds of nights in Airbnbs all over the world since 2011:
Categories
How to Find a Real Remote Job
Have you considered a remote job?
There is a common misconception that in order to make money online you need to launch an app, start a business, or something else like that. Not true!
It is possible to make money working online as a regular employee in a remote job, as more and more companies are embracing remote work and allowing their employees to work from home via the internet.
Here are three ways that you can find a remote job that will give you the freedom to work from home.
This article explores how you may be able to take advantage of being a digital nomad to significantly reduce or even eliminate your U.S. personal income taxes.