Tips for Building a Career as a Digital Nomad

When you need to work while you travel, turns out choosing where to live isn't just about pretty Instagram backgrounds (shocking, I know) 📸 I've spent the last few months deep in nomad research mode, and let me tell you - my criteria list looks VERY different from what I thought it would when I started dreaming about this. 𝐌𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟): ✅ Internet speed tests (because a dead Zoom call = dead client relationship)  ✅ Co-working space reviews and day pass options ✅ Local creator communities and networking events  ✅ WiFi reliability (I had our hosts send me screenshots of the internet speed tests)  ✅ Time zone math for client calls (my brain still hurts) 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝: 🛫 Proximity to major airports (for those "oh crap, I need to fly back" moments) 🕐 Time zones that don't make me take calls at 3 AM 🏥 Healthcare accessibility & being able to bring my meds into the country... (adulting is fun, right?)  💰 Cost of living vs. quality of life balance  🗣️ English-speaking coworking communities (we’ll try to learn local languages but I’m being realistic here…) 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲: This isn't just a "let's go see the world" decision. I'm positioning this as a business investment. Meeting creators in different markets, understanding global audiences, creating content from new perspectives, and honestly? Testing if my systems are actually as location-independent as I think they are. 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐬. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥: 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: • Reliable internet (like, actually reliable, not "pretty good usually") • Reasonable cost for short-term housing • Active professional communities 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥: • "Digital nomad hotspots" (sometimes these are just tourist traps with WiFi) • Instagram-worthy cafes (pretty doesn't mean productive) • "Cheap cost of living" (if the internet doesn't work, it doesn't matter how cheap it is) Real talk: I've spent more time researching internet speeds than scenic views, and I'm not even sorry about it 😂 The goal isn't just to work from somewhere pretty - it's to maintain (and hopefully grow) my business while having experiences that make me a better creator and human. Anyone else done the nomad research rabbit hole? What factors surprised you? --- ✨ Follow me, Tara Knight 🧩 for more content on LinkedIn Creator Marketing, Creator Operations Strategies, Entrepreneurship & the Digital Nomad Life

How to Travel the World & Build a 6-Figure Marketing Career For all of the digital nomads or wannabe ones… I'll tell you straight away… Even though being a digital nomad allows you to choose where you want to live, it’s a pretty difficult lifestyle to have... For the last 3 months, I’ve decided to stop moving around so much, and stay longer in one place. Yet, I wanted to share some things I've learned, travelling and working in 9 different countries. (while building a 6-figure career in less than 1.5 years): 1. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟭 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. I’ve fallen into the trap of working too much. Coming to a new place and spending 40-60 hours in front of my laptop. Eventually decided to take weekends off to go and explore the local cultures and find new hobbies. This has given me the most ideas, insights and motivation for my weekdays. 2. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁. Coming to a new place, I feel very excited, and work takes the back seat. Usually, it lasts 5-10 days until the effect of a new place wears off. Just embrace it. 3. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲. Travelling light makes it easier, and it doesn’t overload my brain thinking about what I should wear daily. All my life can fit in one backpack. 4. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 - 𝗡𝗢𝗪. The sooner I go into routines - the sooner I see my productivity increase. The more headspace I have to focus on what’s the most important, the better results I get. 5. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 - 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. It usually takes me 2-3 weeks to get into routines. This means I'm using a lot of my brain power to search for these things instead of focusing on the business. Being a digital nomad has been fun, but scaling businesses fast became a priority. So I’m trying to concentrate on it more, stop travelling that much and settle down in one place longer, where 100% of my focus would be building & writing. Are there any other digital nomads (or aspiring ones) here on LinkedIn?

When you're working remotely from cool places, the temptation to, well, not work can be overwhelming. Aside from the obvious (discipline), I think the best way you can set yourself up for a successful remote work trip is to plan your days thoroughly. My days usually flow something like this: 5 AM: Wake up for coffee and the sunrise. 5:30 AM: Start my workday. 10 AM: Breakfast break. 2:30 PM: Wrap up work and eat a light lunch. 3:00 PM: Hit the hiking trails (yesterday I did the Grand Canyon!) 7:00 PM: Dinner and sunset views at a local restaurant. 9:00 PM: Bedtime. I am a task-oriented person, so as I end one workday, I create a to-do list for the next, whether it's sourcing a certain number of candidate profiles, sending follow-ups, conducting interviews, etc. I also plan out my hikes/local excursions in advance, including drive times. Having those scheduled gives me a reason to work efficiently and get things done! Lastly, I think you have to be willing to make sacrifices if you want to be a successful digital nomad. For example, there's a 9-hour hike into the bottom of the Grand Canyon that I would LOVE to do. If I was here on a weekend, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But I'm working, so I stuck to a more manageable 4-hour hike around the South Rim that I could knock out in an afternoon. I also don't do much at night- I haven't hit any bars or stayed out late, because I want to get up early for work the next day. I don't consider that a sacrifice (total grandma over here), but I know some might. Any other tips for being a successful digital nomad? I'm still new at this, so would love to hear them!