As indie entrepreneurs, sometimes all it takes is a little travel break to remind us why we started our business in the first place.
Travel is amazing for inspiration and perspective.
It would be terrible to make a business that doesn’t allow you to travel.
Just think about that! You put all this work in to get your business WORKING.
- Topic we care about… check.
- Validated unique selling proposition… check.
- Growth channel setup… check.
- Minimum viable product tested… check.
- …
(BTW, all those stages above are taken from our small business roadmap training. If you’re somewhere in that process, it’s definitely worth checking into.)
You do ALL that work just to create yourself into a prison you can never take a break from!? That’d be terrible!
But it happens all the time. And it can happen to any of us if we’re not careful.
So, in this quick article (and, more importantly, the super thorough podcast episode that goes with it) that’s what I want to help you figure out:
How can we setup a modern indie business so we can travel and live with flexibility?
“How to setup an indie business so you can travel flexibly”
Tweet This
“The only fear is uncertainty.”
Sean Ogle created an indie business called Location Rebel to help people do work from anywhere in the world.
He believes there’s only one real fear you need to overcome…
Have you ever noticed how many fears come up when you think about travel? You’ve got to listen to his thoughts on this!
Listen here or in your favorite podcast app. Just look for The Fizzle Show.
Sean’s travel business advice
We asked Sean: what advice do you have to help us all setup our businesses for travel, freedom and flexibility? Here’s some notes from his answers:
1. Figure out if your business is conducive to travel.
Sounds simple, but some businesses just don’t have this built in. If you run a restaurant, you can’t take that show on the road. You can, however, setup roles and positions in your company to run things while you’re away… and you can do the books or something from a laptop in Thailand 🙂
2. Decide if you want a startup, lifestyle biz or a job.
VC backed startups look down on us indie entrepreneurs sometimes, but my freedom and low expenses feel so great to me!
Be sure to make decisions along the way to preserve your ability to travel. Think about this stuff now rather than 5 years from now.
And, by the way, don’t knock getting a job — it’s easier now to get a job with great travel options that also give you the stability you want. If you can have the backing of a job with some of the structure and get your freedom the way you want it, that’s killer!
3. Make a list of all the potential travel hindrances for you and try to find solutions.
For instance, “being able to talk to customers on the phone.” If I’m in a different time zone or if I don’t have access to calls all the time, that’s gonna be bad!
Well, we can find solutions to these problems. One thing I learned was to get a t-mobile cell phone for unlimited text and data from anywhere. What cam you come up with to handle the time zone problem? Maybe an agreement with customers on what times of the day you’re available? What about video or podcasting gear, what do you need for that?
When you identify the problems, you can come up with solutions. A lot of my solutions haven’t been pretty, but they’ve worked!
“A thoughtfully run indie business will equip you for travel, freedom and flexibility”
Tweet This
4. Get clear about what your expenses will be during travel.
Often times my living expenses are lower when I’m traveling vs when I’m at home. But I need to be very clear about my work expenses (hosting, email provider, phone and data, etc.) so I know what to plan for.
Getting clear about costs and expenses is one thing that can help calm the anxiety many of us feel around travel.
6. Ask yourself: What amount of money do I need in the bank to comfortably travel?
10k? 2k? 20k? What’s the amount in the bank that gives you the security you feel you need so you don’t get into heavy worry mode while you’re traveling? Getting clear on that number (and achieving it!) will also reduce your anxiety.
6. Check out some travel hacking resources.
It can be a big can of worms, but there are some useful travel hacking insights out there. Chris Guillebeau’s resources are a great place to start. Sean’s major travel hacking tip in the episode was much simpler than I thought it would be.
“My business will *enable* my freedom and flexibility. ”
Tweet This
Our thanks to Sean for taking some time to share his tips with us in the podcast! Give him some love on Twitter.
Do you guys have any entrepreneur travel tips? Please share them in the comments! I’d love to hear what you’ve learned.
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil’ guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »