Working as a digital nomad is a dream come true for most people these days. After all, who wouldn’t want the freedom to travel the world while they earn money doing something they love? What’s more, you can set your own hours and set aside more time for your hobbies.
The allure of a digital nomad lifestyle
Do you want to work on a yacht while you sail the Indian Ocean? Or do you want to set up shop on the beach for an afternoon? How about working in the park 10 minutes away from your Airbnb? When you’re a digital nomad, the world is your oyster, and you can set up optimal conditions to help you be productive while still enjoying all the world has to offer.
Given all these factors, it’s not surprising that more and more people of all ages are quitting their 9-5 jobs to pursue a career as a digital nomad. For people who make the switch, it feels like finally getting off a hamster’s wheel. Instead of working yourself to the ground in order to build someone else’s dream, you can finally build something of your own. If you want freedom in your career and you enjoy traveling, then living as a digital nomad is the perfect solution.
Lori Konkler also quit her full-time job to work as a digital nomad and build her own business in 2016. At the time, she was working in the hospitality and tourism industries. While she loved to travel, the vacation time she got – even as an executive – was not enough. She reached a breaking point in early 2016, when she got back from vacation only to be greeted by yet another brutal Wisconsin winter. Lori realized that she didn’t want to keep living like this…working for someone else and living in harsh winters. Rather, she wanted to have time to do the things that mattered to her. Exhausted and frustrated, she decided that things needed to change.
At the time, digital nomadism wasn’t popular yet, so Lori didn’t necessarily identify as one right away. “At that point, all I knew was that having a lifestyle that allowed me the freedom to live and work wherever I wanted was truly what appealed to me!” she says. When she left her full-time job, she decided to build her own coaching business, and so The Xennial Traveler was born.
About The Xennial Traveler
When Lori launched The Xennial Traveler, she decided she wanted to do something that she enjoyed. She also wanted to help people who – like her – had gotten drained by the 9-5 grind. The services Lori offers at The Xennial Traveler are designed to help entrepreneurs who want to leave full-time employment and build profitable businesses.
Lori is passionate about helping digital nomads unlock their inner greatness and build a successful business. To this end, she offers both group and one-on-one coaching for entrepreneurs who need help along the way. She’s also launched a Remote Business Accelerator program designed to help service-based entrepreneurs who want to leave the 9-5 grind and focus more on their businesses. This program was created to not only help entrepreneurs build successful and profitable businesses, but also work from anywhere in the world.
As a seasoned digital nomad herself, Lori has already worked from many corners of the world. She’s had a particularly memorable time in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Mexico and several states in the US (including Arizona, California, New Mexico and Florida). She’s always loved traveling so she feels happier and more fulfilled than she was tied down to a desk in her 9-5 job.
How to overcome the challenges of building a business
On the other hand, as a digital nomad who has built her own business from the ground up, Lori has also faced her share of challenges. For starters, building a successful business wasn’t easy. In fact, she says she wanted to give up, and almost did, on several occasions. When she first quit her 9-5 job, she was determined never to go back to working for someone else. However, building a profit-making business turned out to be much harder than she had expected. When her business didn’t take off right away, she decided to go back to working full-time for a while.
Lori got a job and started working between the States and the Caribbean. Despite having had to go back to the 9-5 grind, she was happy. She was at a job which she enjoyed, and she loved the fact that she got to work in paradise. Nevertheless, this happiness was short-lived – 6 months into the new job, she was laid off. When she considered getting back into the endless cycle of job hunting, she decided that she was going to make her business work this time. “During this period, I gained some traction in the consulting world,” she says. “This gave me the time to build other businesses as well as discover the true framework for making a remote-based business work. Once I was well on my way, I myself hired my first coach…and then another and – let me tell you – this last coach completely changed my life.”
Lori has already traveled the road of a digital nomad entrepreneur, and she’s committed to making life easier for those coming behind her. If you’re considering leaving your full-time job to build your business, Lori stresses the importance of setting clear goals, right from the get-go. “Create plans of action around all your goals, even the long-term ones,” she says. It’s just as important to find a support system and ask for help when you need it. “9 times out of 10, you will make back your investment even before your time working with a coach is up,” Lori says. “I did this when I hired my own coach, and many of my clients also do! Getting help saved me so much time and money in the long run, and I 100% credit my business coach with changing my life. Yes, I did the work, but without her, I would still be spinning my wheels.”
How to overcome the challenges of life as a digital nomad
Lori is also familiar with the common challenges all digital nomads face, outside the challenges of running a business. For example, she’s had to get used to being away from family and friends for long stretches of time. She’s also had to learn to balance her finances so that she can afford to keep traveling as much as she wants. She’s learned that some of the most beautiful places have the worst internet connection. After 5 years in the game, though, she’s developed strategies to tackle these problems. Here’s the best way to deal with these issues, according to Lori:
1. Being away from family and friends
Lori’s solution: Stay connected when you’re on the move
“This is one of the hardest things to get used to once you start globe-trotting. This was especially tough for me at the beginning. Luckily, I have a great husband so, no matter where I go, I am never alone. Beyond that, I learned to love and embrace video chatting and got into the habit of daily calls to my parents to make sure I was staying connected.”
2. Budgeting for life as a digital nomad
Lori’s solution: Cook at home and align your dreams with your budget
“Depending on where you choose to spend your time, it can be incredibly affordable or incredibly expensive to be a digital nomad. The cost of living in a new destination isn’t always comparable to what you’re used to in your home country or state. Getting used to cooking at home more often vs. going out with friends was tough, but it made a huge impact on my bottom line.”
“Aligning your dreams with your budget also helps. You might want to go to Bali and say, “eh, it’s cheap to live there.” However, getting there definitely isn’t. Instead of planning a direct trip, maybe you could head to a neighbouring country first and save up a little money. Once you’ve saved enough, you can bravely make the jaunt overseas!”
3. Finding good connectivity
Lori’s solution: Book a short-term stay until you’ve tested the connectivity
“Know before you go. Don’t make the mistake of booking an Airbnb for 3 months only to get there and find that you can’t hold down a video call with a client. I recommend booking only short-term stays until you get to your destination. This way, you can have an idea of what you’re getting into before you make a longer-term commitment.”
While life as a digital nomad isn’t for the faint hearted, it’s much easier when you have access to the right resources and a robust support system. This is exactly what Lori is offering you at The Xennial Traveler.
How The Xennial Traveler can help
Lori’s Remote Business Accelerator program is structured to help service-based entrepreneurs such as coaches and consultants to understand the needs of their business. Additionally, Lori teaches entrepreneurs how to turn their audiences into high-ticket clients who pay enough to support their remote lifestyles.
Lori and her team also help develop sales and marketing strategies that elevate your business and set you up to earn a six-figure salary. During this coaching journey, you will achieve a clear sense of freedom, purpose, and direction. Freedom sessions provide a good combination of strategy, free-flow conversation, and introspective reflection with guidance. Purpose sessions are set up to help you go deep and look into who you are and what you want. They are designed to raise awareness of what is desirable and achievable. The coaching team also guides you through how to find your ideal audience as well as how to connect with them.
The program is focused on helping people build their businesses strategically and profitably. Whether that means working from home or working as you travel, The Xennial Traveler will help you live life in your happy place. Coaching sessions take serious dedication, but they are worth the money and time investment in the end. Each program lasts 10 weeks and is designed for people who want to turn their dreams into a reality and will put in the work. With this Remote Accelerator group coaching and mastermind program, you too can live life in your happy place and build a scalable business.
To book a slot in the Remote Business Accelerator program or sign up for a one-on-one coaching session, you can book a free clarity call. This call gives you the opportunity for a 10-minute session with Lori, dedicated to discussing how you can achieve true business freedom. If you’re interested in booking a clarity call, click here. Additionally, you can fill out a form to request one-on-one help developing the skills you need to sustain a profitable online-based business from anywhere in the world.
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