Being a successful digital nomad isn't all it's cracked up to be

Being a successful digital nomad isn't all it's cracked up to be

I've been working online since 2003 and know how it feels to be a successful digital nomad.  If you don't know what that is, it's essentially a freelancer or someone who works remotely and can pick up to go wherever they want whenever they want as long as they get their job done.  There are a lot of companies that are beginning to open up positions for this type of work, because they can access a larger pool of talent that doesn't want to relocate to the business headquarters since that means they would have to uproot their lives and leave everything behind.

A digital nomad is they type of person that wants the freedom to do what they want when they want, but they also want to build something for themselves or a company and be successful at the same time.  This type of work style isn't for everyone, trust me I know what I'm talking about, even though it's enticing to the people who aren't currently doing it.

Sure, you think you're going to be working from a beach and sipping margaritas while collecting a check.  In reality, you're going to be working in a room with a computer, where it will likely be hot because of the computer pushing out immense heat, and you will be typeing all day long.  Yes, you can pack up and leave whenever you want, but you won't be able to do this as much as you think unless you're a super successful marketer that has a team in place to do the work while you're gone.  Most of us can't do this, not even me, and that's because as soon as you pack up you could see a lot of things go wrong.  As soon as you take your eye off the prize, your systems and websites could take a hit because you never realized how much attention they actually needed from you 24/7.  Yes, you can do this remotely, but it's not always the best thing for you.  Below are a few reasons why being a digital nomad isn't all it's cracked up to be.


Work for yourself but have an office
I've worked from home, remotely, and have had an office so I know the good and bad of all three.  The good things about the three are that you can work from home and that means your office is your couch, the good about working remotely is that you can go wherever you want and still have a job, and the good about working from an office is that you can get out of the house.  The bad about working from home is that you will feel boxed up after doing it for months or years, the bad about working remotely is that you never really build new personal connections, the bad about working from an office is that you could get locked into a lease that you want to break just a month or two after signing.

One of the greatest things for work, in my opinion, are these new social workplaces where you can basically rent out an office space in a large building and interact with other people doing the same.  You don't have a large lease to worry about, you don't have to pay nearly as much as if you were to rent out a large office space, and you can come and go whenever you want


Traveling gets stressful at times
I don't know about you, but when I'm traveling a great deal it gets pretty stressful, and that means I'm not ideal to be a nomad all the time when it comes to work.  If I'm traveling once a week, or a couple times a month, that means there are 3 to 5 days that aren't making me more money, and the entrepreneur in me calculates that as at least $500 that isn't going into my bank account lol.

Yes, you could be just fine traveling and profiting while not on your computer, but that doesn't happen for a lot of us.  I have a few passive income streams, but even I think that traveling and taking that amount of time off each month is pointless, mainly because I can take one vacation a year and be satisfied with my time off.


You usually need human interaction
Not just person to person, you need to be able to talk to someone about work.  I went years not being able to talk with someone about my work, and having them actually understand it, until I brought on a business partner who I trained and eventually was able to talk to.  Being a digital nomad means you don't really have the personal interaction because you'll likely be talking via text, phone call, skype/video chat or on forums related to your work. 

Being able to talk with someone about your work, and having them actually understand you, is a great thing to have.  This is especially true when it comes to online marketing and web design because you're essentially speaking a different language when someone asks you what you do lol


Setting roots isn't always a bad thing
When I was younger I never understood the importance of putting down roots and staying in one place, probably because I was dumb then.  Setting roots is actually a good thing because you have a place to call home and you're not wandering around the world and working at the same time.  You can research places you want to go, from the comfort of your own home, and set up a vacation so you can get the traveling bug out of your system.

Get a house, condo, apartment, etc. and see what I'm talking about



In conclusion
Being a digital nomad isn't for everyone, unless you love traveling and working at the same time, but even then it's not all rainbows and unicorns.  Yes, you'll get to travel if you want, but you'll be working the entire time to pay for your next trip, which means you're not really profiting.  Making money is the name of the game, and always traveling will eat into your profits much more than you would think, so that's why I'm not a digital nomad.  Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear them


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Tommy Carey