Digital Nomad

Inspiration Shot September 2023

You can take a Digital Nomad off the plane but you can’t take the travel out of a Digital Nomad… I was planning to be in The Netherlands for the whole month of August, but… I wanted to go see my dad in Miami, and also to Puglia for a few days, to arrange everything there for the 3 Airbnbs. From September I will be ‘on the road’ all winter anyway, so this seemed like a perfect time for another Inspiration Shot with tips about location-independence and entrepreneurship.

CONFESSION: I am not a digital nomad, I am a LIE!

The term ‘digital nomad’ has become very popular in recent years; freedom has become more of a status symbol than money. Journalists often call me the first and/or most famous ‘digital nomad’ of The Netherlands. But I have doubts about whether that is a compliment. There are two completely different groups of people who identify as Digital Nomads:

1. ‘Backpackers with a laptop’ who want to travel the world, visit the highlights, party and sip cocktails while posing for Instagram pictures on an exotic beach. They do that for as long as they can stretch their budget and then return to a ‘normal life’.
2. Location-independent entrepreneurs who combine entrepreneurship and travel in a sustainable way, with the intention to maintain this lifestyle long-term.

More experienced entrepreneurs often want to make an impact and give back to society, while many ‘backpackers with a laptop’ type digital nomads have no such aspirations. So we need a different word to distinguish the two groups. Unfortunately, ‘Location Independent Entrepreneur’ doesn’t sound so ‘sexy’ and it is much too long. So why not abbreviate it? L.I.E.? I am a LIE, and I am proud of it!

Where to get started with Remote Work
(or where to find an assistant)?

For anyone who’s been asking me how to become a Virtual Assistant or where to find a remote job, I have made a list of websites where you can start your online career. Whether you’re looking for a remote job, or someone who can work remotely for you or your company, this is your starting point!

I also wrote some general tips for remote work.

How to travel on a budget

Travel does not have to be expensive. First of all; choose your destination wisely. Scandinavia, Northern Europe, countries like Switzerland and cities like London are quite expensive, but southern Europe, parts of Asia and South America are very affordable. Instead of staying in a hotel or Airbnb, try home-swapping (there are many home exchange websites, and I personally love this design one: behomm.com), housesitting or petsitting (many platforms connect people and houses), co-living or a workation. Travel slow; the longer you stay in one place, the cheaper. If you move around a lot (like me), then it is more expensive. The more flexible you are about when you travel or where, the better prices you can find. Join e.g. ‘Jack’s flight club’ for cheap ticket alerts.

Where to go during the European winter?

I sometimes arrogantly say “I don’t ‘do’ winters”. And why would you, if you don’t like winter? There are so many places to go during the cold, grey, wet season in Europe. Normally I go to Thailand, for the Dynamite Circle conference. During Covid, when Asia was ‘closed’, I spent two winters in Cape Town.

Last year I spent my first winter in Europe in 15 years; in my Tiny Trullo in Puglia. Because I had floor heating it was quite comfortable. I (re)discovered how a winter, with shorter days, and less activity, gave me the opportunity to restore, like a winter sleep.

This year I will go to Thailand again in Oct / Nov for my writing retreat on Koh Phangan island and after that, I have not made plans until my writing retreat in Curaçao in March. Maybe I’ll go to Argentina to dance tango, maybe I’ll spend some time in Puglia again, maybe I’ll go skiing in France like I planned last year, but then my eye problem happened. Who knows, I may combine all these things…

What are your favourite winter locations and activities?

How do you use ChatGPT?

The AI developments are going so fast right now, that if you haven’t yet stepped on the’ train’ it is about time to do so. Even if you start now, you will still be ahead of many other entrepreneurs. It could even be a business model to help them get started. And of course, you can use AI in your own business. You need no technical knowledge.

I use ChatGPT to generate emails with instructions for guests in my Airbnbs, captions for social media (which inspired me to write a great post, in my own voice), edit blogs and even book chapters, translate text for my newsletter and website and much more. I also did some fun things: I asked ChatGPT to write poems for friends’ birthdays and to thank my VA, for example. Every day we discover new possibilities.

In my live online Digital delegation workshop I show some examples. Every time participants are blown away and start using it themselves immediately.

PS. Upon registration for the workshop, you will receive a recording of the last one, so you can get started right away.

More Digital Nomad tips?

You are now reading my monthly ‘inspiration shot’ which normally deals with a variety of topics. If you are specifically interested in the location independent lifestyle, you can subscribe to my Digital Nomad newsflash; with business & travel tips. There is also a specific newsflash about book writing and one about Tiny Trullo.

The themed news flashes are sent 2 times a year

Workshop alert