Many people telecommute – they work at home, instead of driving to an office every day. Now a growing number realize that “home base” can be anywhere in the world with the right technology! Think of them as “extreme telecommuters”!
On The Bigg Success Show today, we were honored to talk with Carmen Bolanos. She is an executive coach and the founder of NuNomad.com – the place for people who live and work remotely. Carmen travels with her family for several months each year, while working her coaching business. She also contributed to the book, Quit Dreaming and Go.
Here are some of the highlights from the show:
George: Obviously, some occupations work better than others. You’re an executive coach. What characteristics of coaching make it ideally suited for working remotely?
Carmen: A lot of coaches work by telephone already; that’s one of the reasons I got into coaching. The telephone makes us mobile. We meet with our clients by telephone and use the internet between calls. So we can work wherever we want, whenever we want.
Mary-Lynn: Have you ever been somewhere where the call wouldn’t go through or you couldn’t get online? How do you know before you go that your location will support your biz?
Carmen: The funny thing is every call I’ve lost has been in my home in Austin, Texas. You have to do your homework upfront. Find out what internet access you’ll have. What is the phone access? Be prepared before you leave to work with whatever you have available.
Mary-Lynn: So on your site, NuNomad.com, is there a place where you can do some research like that?
Carmen: Yes, we’re developing destination pages. I think we have eight right now for the most visited countries. We talk about internet access, phone company service, mobile phone service, and how to get SIM cards specific for the country you’re visiting.
George: What are some of the most popular destinations?
Carmen: It depends on what you’re trying to do. Some of the most popular destinations for travel are the traditional ones – France, Italy, and Spain. But if you want to lower your cost of living for the long haul, Asia and South America are good choices. Thailand is very popular.
George: In the States, we’re facing a recession and higher energy prices, which is putting a damper on travel in general. Has that had any effect on the NuNomad lifestyle?
Carmen: As prices go up, people are thinking twice about everything they do, including travel. They’re more careful about where they go. You can offset a lot of your costs by choosing a destination where the costs of living are low.
Live like a local person, instead of a tourist. If you’re a homeowner, look into home trading. If you’re not, look into house sitting opportunities. You can also stay in one destination longer as opposed to moving frequently.
Mary-Lynn: That’s just like home ownership here! So Carmen, how do I get started as a NuNomad?
Carmen: The advice is like that for any business owner in any business.
First, you have to develop your business to the point of stability. You want to have a stable income, a stable cache of clients, and a good word-of-mouth referral system.
After that, look into how you break the chain – from your brick-and-mortar office to a mobile office. Move from a desktop to a laptop. Understand the technology available like Skype, and other technology that allows you to back-up and view your computer remotely.
The last thing is to start shedding your life of things that might keep you trapped. This includes things like clients who insist on meeting face-to-face, heavy debt, and pets that need a lot of care.
We hear there are more tips in the book, so check it out!
Our bigg quote today is by William Bolitho, who must have been thinking of his childhood and a little red wagon when he said this,
So run away to your home office away from your home office!
On our next blog, we’ll talk about bridging the generation gap. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
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(Image by Jesse Gardner, CC 2.0)
