Can You Build a Business Working From Anywhere?
Have you dreamed about working from anywhere? Have you thought about creating a business that lets you earn income no 
matter where you are in the world? Working from anywhere gives you a freedom based lifestyle and the flexibility that many workers are searching for.
I just spent 31 days on the road, traveling over 20,000 miles to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia and talking with dozens of business owners, workers, and entrepreneurs. Today I’m sharing my takeaways – 5 success tips for entrepreneurs that are trends now in the “working from anywhere” mobile entrepreneur workspace. Here’s my 12 minute video (with pictures from the trip!) OR you can read the article below the video if you prefer.
Abed walked quickly from the inter-island terminal in Honolulu over to the domestic departures, pushing a cart loaded up with 8 bags and a fold-up stroller. He knew the elevators, where to drop transferred bags, where the closest VIP lounges were. He makes the half-mile trip from terminal to terminal about 30 times a day. Abed arrived in the US from India 3 months ago. For 2 ½ months he’s been working his porter job at HNL. He’s learned everything he can possibly learn about the Honolulu airport, even its history. He told me, “Helping confused and tired travelers is my industry now. I smile and help them and tell them this airport is confusing. In 2 months I’ve made enough in tips to get a bike and a room of my own in an apartment. Life is good.”
After 31 days on the road and just under 20,000 miles Bill and I are home in Florida. I’ve talked to dozens of entrepreneurs just like Abed – some with huge businesses, some with small. The point is, Abed doesn’t feel like he works for the porter service at HNL. He knows that he works for himself. We all do, whether we think so or not. We all can “make life good.”
We’ve talked quite a bit about our experiences working from the road and how our experiences changed us. Because – travel changes life. It’s the fastest and best way I know to boot yourself into a fresh frame of mind, It’s the best way to let something go for a while and come home to a new perspective. It’s the best and fastest way to grow.
I’ve got 5 things to share with you from my 31 days to the other side of the earth and back, talking and working with entrepreneurs as I went.
- People are moving around to find work and even more so to find a freer and more flexible lifestyle for themselves and their families. They want out of the grind. The upside of no loyalty from corporations to employees is that virtually everyone is a free agent. The folks I spoke with get that. They are more willing to move away from the known (family and friends) to the unknown in order to reach for the life they dream of. They realize the world is a small place.
- Free agents need marketing skills. Because – you are selling yourself, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, your expertise. Great interpersonal skills, open-mindedness to new ways of working, and the ability to speak succinctly about what you do – all of these are critical to a freedom-based lifestyle.
- There are opportunities to create businesses everywhere! So many little niches that go unserved, that with time could be built into a nice little business.
- People are tired (and I mean REALLY REALLY tired) of hype. I think the US election affected many people not just in the US but in other countries, as well. People want simplicity, connection, and calm. They are tired of constant drama and over the top behavior. They are scared and need reassuring. They are hungry for human kindness and honesty.
- Attitude and mindset are everything – so much more critical than “more training” or “more experience.” If you think you can’t, you can’t. It’s so easy to spot the folks who hang on to (supposed) safety and feel they are stuck versus the people who see themselves as free agents willing to massively change their habits to gain the lifestyle they want.
Bonus Tips
- Service business will continue to be huge. There’s vast opportunity in all kinds of service based businesses.
- Product based businesses will in some cases still be huge (think health and beauty) and in some cases not.
- People are into owning less stuff, owning smaller homes, having fewer cars. They are into experiences, not stuff. Think about how this might impact your business, and how you can benefit from this continuing trend.
- Get your technology set up to be mobile. Get help with that from my blog post about 8 ways to work mobile.
The women (and men) who benefit the most from this type of world economy are those who are willing to say “no” to work that doesn’t suit them, work they dislike, work that pays too little. As one entrepreneur said to me in Australia, “I took a risk and gave up my 60 hour a week $15 an hour job – but what was I risking? Total overwork for not enough pay to make it. I SHOULD have been willing to risk it!”
Hustle and the ability to see an opportunity will never, ever go out of style. Being flexible and nimble will never, ever go out of style. Virtually everyone I spoke to had some type of part time side hustle going, ready to make their leap when they could. It inspired me! Successful attorneys were making craft beers. A dentist I met started a “supplements for healthy teeth” side business. A coffee lover opened a craft gallery with special coffees.
The New Year is right around the corner. What’s going to change in your life and your business? Because, like it or not, it WILL change. Riding change rather than being dragged by it – that’s the entrepreneurial mindset. Need help thinking through what your next year will be like? You can work with me in a two hour virtual meeting and we’ll figure it out together. To set that up click over to this page.
