Travelpreneur: How I started

Are you looking for ways to travel the world and get paid?

Did you know you can also do this whilst having fun; without being a coder or selling your precious time at an hourly rate?

In this article, you’ll learn what I’ve done to become a travelpreneur.

Many friends of mine back home wonder how I travel the world and get paid! This is the story of how I started to live, work, and travel.

Travelpreneur: Getting Started

If you read my old article on the best books for digital nomads; you’ll know the work that a digital nomad or travelpreneur does by day.

A Travelpreneur doesn’t necessarily have to run an online business.

What is a Travelpreneur?

By definition a Travelpreneur is somebody who runs a profitable business and is not restricted to a specific location.

The term also implies that no matter where a travelpreneur is in the world, they can run their business or businesses while they’re traveling.

Travelpreneur Meaning

A travelpreneur could have multiple location-based businesses that permit them to travel and still operate as if they were on the premises.

Does it sounds simple or too good to be true?

Well, it could be simple and it’s true, however, your business model must have a few important traits to make it a reality.

Most people I met were either excited or anxious to return to their jobs at home. Before meeting other online workers, I felt strange.

Sometimes I felt out of place sat there with my laptop and backpack in some back street coffee shop eager to work on online projects.

At that point, I didn’t realize there was a community of people that live, work, and travel. Some more advanced and capable than others.

What are Digital Nomads?

Today they call themselves digital nomads or even travelpreneurs, and they all have their own unique ways and styles of living.

If you’ve just discovered the digital nomad lifestyle here is an insight:

When people ask, I don’t call myself a digital nomad. But, you can put me into that category. As with most things today there’s a myriad of labels.

This is Lifestyle Design. A concept I’d heard of but saw as a weird cult.

When I feel somebody is ‘selling me a lifestyle’ or way of living, I revolt.

It could be through a book, an article, or even an intriguing conversation. Basically, I don’t like to be force-fed ideas.

My way is to arrive at new ideas for living through my own trial + error.

Travelpreneur Lifestyle

It took three years before I encountered a digital nomad community.

If I’d found it earlier, I probably would have been quicker to claim the digital nomad or travelpreneur label.

You know it’s ‘a thing’ when people start selling a lifestyle or idea to others in order to make a profit.

The more I got engrossed in online forums, I found myself identifying with the label which can easily happen on the internet.

Travel as a way of life

You could say I stumbled upon this ‘way of life’ by accident and I do find it interesting to see how others live work and travel.

A big change happened in my life when I started traveling through Mexico down into Guatemala and towards Nicaragua back in 2014.

Back when I traveled to the USA in 2013. I started by doing little bits of freelance work. Doing web design and front-end web development.

I spent many painstaking hours working indoors. Mainly inside Starbucks coffee shops and hostels – I now have several library cards.

How I became a Travelpreneur

Since then, I’ve been paying more attention to how I live work travel.

My wants, my needs… and how they affect my productivity.

I’ve alienated friends and family members with this style of living.

Many still don’t fully understand how and why I leave my hometown every year to pursue my wildest dreams.

When I was studying at Hyper Island back in 2011. I was still in a work for a company mindset. I visited the offices at Google and Facebook.

This was one of the main reasons I traveled to the USA. Facebook and Google were two companies I aspired to work with.

What I like about working remotely

One thing I like about working remotely is having my workstation and the ability to change working environments as and when I choose.

I find being confined to one space, one desk, one chair, very disabling!

Now I think about it, working from coffee shops is not always ideal.

Below are some of the pros and cons of working in coffee shops and other public spaces I have experimented with over the last year.

A Backpacking job wasn’t Necessary

Picking grapes in Australia has never been an ambition of mine.

Let’s see why that is…

I needed to learn how to sustain myself whilst on the road.

I’d find myself returning home after three months of travel.

On returning, I had reverse culture shock and an intense feeling of nostalgia, anticipating my next trip with my backpack.

Now, one year later, in 2018. I want to talk about my experiences on the road as a travelpreneur and some of the things I’ve achieved so far.

The Travelpreneur Label

Before I show you the things I did to travel the world and get paid as a travelpreneur. I’d like to say one important thing about this lifestyle.

The word Travelpreneur is just a label as any other thing!

On the internet, we use labels for people to understand what we do.

I like the word travelpreneur because it sums up what I do. I live, I work and get paid via the internet.

As well as build businesses that I can do offline.

Because of the work, I do, I can also be seen as a digital nomad which is another label that explains what I do. See! There are so many labels.

What I did to become a Travelpreneur

A big question I asked myself back in 2013/14 was…

“I want to travel the world where do I start?”

Fast forward 3 years…

I became obsessed with this idea of traveling to Latin America and using my digital skills to sustain my cultural travel adventures.

Do you want to know what are the best travelpreneur jobs and how do you get started? Allow me to share with you what I did.

Below are 3 things I did to allow me to travel for a living:

Set up a Fiverr Account

If you read my old post on how to make money on Fiverr you’ll see that I created a profile to offer various digital media services.

One thing I started to do in early 2017 when over to to live in Buenos Aires in Argentina, is start to build an online service business.

That meant I provided a 24hr service for people who are looking for someone with my particular skills.

Below is a screenshot from my Fiverr dashboard in 2017.

After starting on Fiverr I begin to work with clients from around the world. For example, here are the top 4 countries that my clients live in:

1. 🇺🇸 United States
2. 🇦🇺 Australia
3. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
4. 🇨🇦 Canada

It can be very rewarding to work with these clients and I make them very happy with the service I provide and regularly get tips.

When I first started providing service in early 2017 I had to work really hard to keep up with the fierce competition on the platform.

Are you just learning about working from home sites like Fiverr or, are you thinking of providing some kind of service? It’ll be worth it, you’ve just got to get started.

If you’re still reading you must be interested in getting paid online.

In 2017 Fiverr was one of the main platforms that helped me to invest the funds I made straight into my blog and other online ventures.

Created Various Online Blogs

I created this blog in 2016 but didn’t really start until 2017.

If you read my other travelpreneur articles, I talk more in detail about why starting a travel blog is a great way to find your bliss.

In my mid-twenties, I realized I was more passionate about building relations and learning new things than anything else I’ve done before.

My journey started by me connecting my passion to places. In my case, the place was Latin America. For me it meant doing solo travel – a type of travel that forces you to leave your comfort zone.

I even grew a beard. While at the same time learning Spanish daily, something many people told me I could not do because I was too old.

Set up a chocolate Company

I always knew my success was connected to a place. But I never knew that place was the same place I’d been traveling to since I was a kid.

One of the biggest things that came out of solo travel was learning about myself, who I am, who I want to be, and what I want to have.

I decided to go to backpacking in Jamaica (where my family lives) in 2015 to re-discover the land of my ancestors which resides in the mountains.

Jobs That Require International Travel

During my trip to Jamaica, I discovered the Cacao tree, which I’ll be writing more about here on Layer Culture.

I learned that on our family land Coffee and Cacao grow naturally.

Most had died out but luckily some Cacao trees remained.

Inspired by this new discovery I ended up traveling around Jamaica looking for a way to create my own chocolate bar.

I built relationships with local farmers and even the Jamaican government after having an meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Two of the coolest jobs in the world

Working online providing a service for clients in over 23 countries and making chocolate. I still can’t believe I’ve achieved all this so far.

My goal is to have my own Cacao farm in Jamaica.

As you can see, this is another expression of being a travelpreneur and how I can travel whilst working on business at the same time.

What I love about this type of (farming and developing a product) business, is that it allows me to work offline.

My end goal is not just to work online, but to leverage my digital skills and the things I learn into offline projects.

If I set up an Organic Cacao Farm in Jamaica, would you come and visit?

It’s my dream and it shows how travel for a living is much more than backpacking and staying in hostels and lounging in a hammock all day.

Backpacking is also about spotting new opportunities on the road.

Places I’ve worked Along the Way

Since adopting the travelpreneur lifestyle I have found myself working in a plethora of different environments.

Some of which have developed over the years through trial and error.

Let’s look at where it all started, shall we?

Coffee Shops:

For me being able to live work travel from coffee shops has been a blessing. No matter which country in the world.

I usually find at least one cafe that’s made it easy for me to sit down and get down to work.

Pros

• Accessible and easy to find
• Sometimes you can find great coffee
• Gives you the flexibility to leave at any time

Cons

• Can’t always leave your workstation when needed
• Weak or unreliable internet connection
• Fewer people to work or exchange ideas with
• When the best or most comfortable seats are taken

Air Bnb Rentals:

Working from AirBnb rentals is something I’ve done more lately. They have offered me a place to live and work whilst in a new county.

Up to now, I’ve done this in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Spain.

This is also a strategy to learn Spanish. Speaking with your host adds to your Spanish conversation skills and for me is the best way to practice.

Pros

• Dedicated internet usually faster
• Ability to cook own food
• Combined with living expenses
• Opportunity to interact with local people

Cons

• Overworking in solitude
• Blurred lines between living and working space
• Prone to procrastinate working from home base
• Misleading listings stuck with uncomfortable lodgings

Public Libraries:

Having owned a library card from a as kid. I’ve used my local library as an office while at my base. I have also used libraries in Latin America.

Pros

• Stable and quiet working environment
• Access to a large selection of books
• Sometimes free internet connection
• Access to meet-up groups and like-minded people

Cons

• Not always got an internet connection
• Unfavorable opening and closing times
• Need to be a local or have a membership card
• Old or tired spaces lack of inspiration

One style I have made over the past few years is to mix up all three location types. I like changing environments throughout any one day.

When I’m at my base in Sheffield AirBnb doesn’t get utilised. But it could, as what I’ve found is, these new environments mixed with other elements give me a new boost of unfiltered creative energy.

Going forward

As much as I enjoy it. Working from a coffee shop is a temporary solution. Usually, I plan just one part of my day around working there.

In 2017 I’d like to find more co-working spaces. I’m curious to understand the challenges and benefits for people who live work travel receive from working in these pay as you go office spaces.

4 Things I have learned

Over this last year, I have spent more than 6 months in Latin America building my travelpreneur business. This is how I travel and get paid.

Not for taking photos, though, I’m not an Instagram lifestyle, microblogger or YouTuber.

I don’t get paid to travel

Many people think the term travelpreneur means to get paid to travel and take photos. Or, sat around on the beach working from a laptop.

The Travelpreneur lifestyle can be very rewarding if you can learn how to appreciate the work that is involved in maintaining it.

If you really want to travel the world and get paid, I recommend you start by learning how to work smartly.

My best Clients don’t know that I travel

My best clients in the United States and in the United Kingdom don’t know I travel around Latin America.

I keep this private because people get upset by the idea of you having fun whilst working or question your seriousness and work ethics.

In a world ruled by competition, it’s too easy to be replaced.

We can’t always choose our clients so as travelpreneurs it’s important to be thought of as serious workers.

This is one way to keep clients happy. I like to give them peace of mind that they know where I am and can contact me when they desire.

No more Solo Travel – I’m omnipresent

It all started off with solo travel in Central America. It served a purpose for realizing many things. I do still travel solo from time to time.

However, now I’m much more interested in building communities and concentrating on having a sense of belonging.

Besides, actively working with clients on all four corners of the globe I barely have time to think I’m alone.

Being a Travelprenuer lead me to think about how I communicate with people much more smarty than I did when I was just backpacking.

Working 24/7 – It’s hard to switch off

Being omnipresent is cool. It brings out the magician in me. However, one of the biggest challenges Travelprenuers face is switching off.

Switching off your mind to relax is a skill one must adopt as a Travelprenuer. I must manage my own energy on a daily basis.

Not to mention, my tendency to engrossed in the things I’m working on because 80% of my work is online.

I often blur the lines of work and play and have to actively remind myself when to take a break.

Forgetting to switch off can be very unhealthy in more ways than one.

How you can get started

Have you started a blog, or are you thinking of becoming a Travelpreneur?

If you’re thinking of transitioning from a desk job or 9-5 start to think about what skill you have to offer the world outside of your job.

If you have money saved up, then you’re halfway there. You just need to do something courageous like solo travel to break the cycle.

As you start to travel you’ll begin to get a clearer idea of how you can travel the world and get paid.

For me, the practice of being a travelpreneur is something still new.

From the outset. I’ve found co-working spaces offer an opportunity to do business networking, as suppose to just getting work done.

Will you meet like minded people on the road? Read about some of the Spanish speaking countries you can visit while you work on your passions.

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