The world has become more interconnected than ever, allowing you to work remotely and enjoy the perks and freedom of a digital nomad lifestyle.
The most important question to answer before jumping on the plane is How to Make Money as a Digital Nomad?
In this article, we will show you different ways how you can earn money and work on building your wealth while traveling the world.
Earning money with freelancing or a remote job
One of the most popular sources of income is to find remote jobs or start freelancing. It's a great way to work on your terms and has more control over your schedule. You need a strong internet connection and good skills to manage your schedule.
I mention them under the same category since they are similar in the core. The main difference between freelancing and remote working is that freelancers are self-employed and work on a project-by-project basis for multiple clients. In contrast, remote workers are employed by a company and work from a location outside the company's physical office, often with regular hours and a salary or hourly rate. With a remote job, you usually get a more steady income.
How to start with freelancing or a remote job
You should create a professional online presence for both freelancing and remote jobs. This is essential before looking for digital nomad jobs or offering your services. This includes well-written online profiles, an updated resume, and a professional website or portfolio.
You must showcase your skills, experience, and achievements to your potential employers.
Many online job search platforms cater specifically to remote workers, Remote.co, FlexJobs, and We Work Remotely. You can find freelance jobs on Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and similar.
You should create a profile that stands out and show all your skills and testimonials of your previous project.
Some, like Upwork, offer built-in tools and resources to help you build careers and manage your projects, including time tracking, payment protection, and dispute resolution.
Joining online communities, attending meetups and events, and engaging on social media platforms can help you connect with like-minded individuals who can offer job leads, referrals, and advice.
Research companies that offer remote work opportunities or are looking for freelance contractors and contact them directly with a well-crafted presentation. You can also use LinkedIn to connect with hiring managers and recruiters in your expertise.
What kind of job can I do as a remote worker or freelancer?
As a remote worker, you can apply to any position that fits your skill sets and is in demand by hiring companies. You should be confident and try to sell yourself. Be bold and apply for jobs that may not fit your skills entirely. There is a lot you can learn fast if you are willing to.
The most popular areas companies offer remote positions are programming, DevOps, design, sales and marketing, finance, customer support, product development, and social media for full or part-time contracts.
On the other hand, more and more companies and individuals require freelance services, such as graphic design, writing, programming, virtual assistance, customer support, web development, social media management, digital marketing, and many others. The benefit of hiring a freelancer for a company is a more flexible contract and fewer expenses than regular employment contracts.
Freelancing allows you to work on a project-by-project basis, providing flexibility and the freedom to work from anywhere. But it also offers you less financial stability, as often you are not paid regularly on month-to-month salary, but per project.
But based on your interests and skillsets that you currently have or are willing to learn, the sky is the limit with current offers on the market, be it for remote job opportunities or freelancing.
E-commerce
In the last years, E-commerce has flooded the markets; however, with good research skills and a mindset, starting an online store is still a good way to build a profitable business. Platforms such as Shopify allow you to set up an online store in just a few clicks.
There are different types of e-commerce you can dive in:
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a popular e-commerce model where you don't hold any inventory. Instead, you list products on your online store. When a customer orders, the supplier ships the product directly to the customer.
The key to success with dropshipping is to find a profitable niche and market your products effectively.
Print-on-Demand
Print-on-Demand (POD) is a business model where you sell customized products without holding inventory. You can design your products, hire a designer, and then list them on your online store.
When a customer orders, the supplier prints and ships the product directly to the customer. POD lets you sell products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is earning a commission by promoting other people's products. As an e-commerce affiliate, you can promote products on your website or social media channels and earn a commission for every sale you make via your affiliate link.
This is a very saturated and popular space for digital nomads, so you must work hard to find the right affiliate programs and your niche.
Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy allow you to sell products without setting up your website. You can create a seller account on these platforms and list your products for sale.
Online marketplaces have a large audience, which can help you reach more customers and make your journey to a successful online business easier.
Digital Products
Digital products such as ebooks, templates, courses, and software are a great way to earn passive income. You can create digital products in your niche and sell them on your online store or through online marketplaces.
Digital products have the advantage of being easy to distribute and can be sold repeatedly without any additional costs.
Blogging/Vlogging and Content Creation
You can start a blog to share your knowledge or a travel blog where you write about your nomadic lifestyle or create content on video and audio, such as YouTube videos or podcasts.
The first step in starting a successful blog is to choose a niche. This involves selecting a specific topic or area of interest that you are passionate about and has expertise in. By selecting a niche, you can establish yourself as an authority in that area and attract a loyal following of readers. You also need to have a clear plan for monetizing it; by advertising, selling products, offering services, etc.
The next step is to build a blog and create high-quality content. You must also create engaging, informative, and relevant content for your target audience.
Building a blog and making it visible in search engines is difficult. In many areas, the competition is very high as there are a lot of travel bloggers out there, so you will need to stay consistent if you want to be successful. This involves regularly creating high-quality content, promoting your blog, and engaging with your audience on social media. You need to acquire skills in different fields until you grow to the point that you can afford to higher new team members.
Online Courses and Coaching
If you have a specific skill set, such as photography, marketing, yoga, or any other interesting area for people to learn, you can create online courses and offer coaching services.
Many platforms allow you to sell courses, such as Teachable and Udemy, while coaching can be done via Skype or Zoom.
Like blogging, with dedication and hard work, you can turn your passion into a profitable business that allows you to work while traveling from country to country.
Rental Arbitrage
Short-term rental business or rental arbitrage involves renting out a property on a short-term basis, typically through platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Agoda, and making a profit.
Depending on the cooperative agreement, you can make a profit on the difference between the rental income and the renting costs or a pre-agreed percentage of the monthly profit.
You can also create your management platform to help people rent out properties.
To build a profitable arbitrage business, you will need strong management skills and build trust between yourself and landlords to take over their properties.
After acquiring the properties, you can put your Airbnb properties on auto-pilot and take care of the business anywhere.
Investing in cryptocurrencies and stocks
Investing in cryptocurrencies and stocks can be risky. Still, it can be a great way to make passive income as a digital nomad. If you're new to investing, you must do your research and proceed with caution.
Always invest the money you will not miss if you lose it. This means you should only invest so much that you would be able to survive or pay for food or accommodation.
Before you start investing, you must understand the basics of cryptocurrency and stock markets. You should also stay up-to-date and invest not just money but a lot of your time into research and the latest news and trends. This will help you to make more informed decisions.
Both the stock and cryptocurrency markets can be highly volatile, meaning prices can change quickly and dramatically. It's important to be prepared for this volatility and not panic when prices drop.
In general, it helps if you have a real passion for investing. You must spend a lot of time reading, researching, and keeping surrounded by everything happening in this ever-changing space.
Develop and offer a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) or a Microservice
This is a type of business where you create software that can be accessed and used by clients over the internet.
You should start by identifying a problem that can be solved using a software solution. It can be anything from automating a process to providing a better user experience. Once you have identified the problem, develop a solution that can address it. This may involve writing code, designing a user interface, and integrating different components.
When your solution is ready, launch it and market it to potential customers. You can use social media, paid advertising, and other digital marketing strategies to promote your product. Once you have customers, you need to provide ongoing support to ensure that they are satisfied with your product. This can involve fixing bugs, adding new features, and responding to customer inquiries.
By developing and selling SaaS or microservices, you can earn a steady stream of passive income. However, this requires a high level of technical expertise and a willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies. It's also important to keep up with industry trends and be able to pivot quickly if necessary. With hard work and dedication, SaaS and microservices can be a profitable and rewarding way to make money as a digital nomad.
Final Thoughts
Earning a living as a digital nomad is definitely achievable, but it takes perseverance and effort.
Depending on the type of digital nomad you want to become, you have endless possibilities to ensure a regular income while living your digital nomad dreams. The most optimal way to build wealth is to have multiple income streams.
To achieve that, you need to expand your horizons and seize every opportunity; investing time in personal and professional growth is crucial. This makes you more adaptable and empowers you to take charge of your life; nobody can take that away from you.
If you want to learn more about how to become a digital nomad or improve your digital nomad lifestyle, weirdo.rocks team has you covered!
We created this free email course to help you learn everything from finding remote work opportunities to managing your finances while gaining invaluable insights from people already on this journey.
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