Note: This is part three of my 6-part series on How To Travel Alone as a Woman. Note: The first part discusses travel safety tips for solo female travelers, the second is about how to travel on a budget.

Text by Prime Sarmiento

Photo by: Nina Sarmiento

 

A location independent professional is someone who can earn money by working just anywhere in the world. It means that you don’t need to be tied to an office or particular geographical location in order to make a living.

 

One of the common frustrations of female travelers is the fact that while we want to travel more and explore more places at our own pace, it’s very difficult to do it as we’re tied to our jobs. We can only get four weeks of vacation leaves each year and we feel that this isn’t enough to go on our own journeys.

 

The thing is, we can’t just quit our jobs and travel around the world. Sure, when you were in your early twenties, and still confused on your career path, you didn’t mind waiting tables to earn money, save it and use it to backpack in Asia or Central America. You didn’t mind staying in a grotty hostel, not having health insurance, eating dirty and greasy street food every day and making do with cold showers.

 

But once you got a “real” job with benefits, nice paycheck and a career path that you’re keen to pursue, then waitressing for a few pennies gets a little bit old.

 

Even if you’re willing to quit your job because you hated it anyway, traveling without a sustainable source of income is not something that you want to do. You are after all, accustomed to a certain lifestyle. You might be willing to simplify your life but I doubt if that simpler lifestyle by choice involves begging for coins and going through the dumpster to look for something edible.

 

Let us all be honest here: even if we saved a lot of money, that won’t be enough to finance our travels for a long time. We need a way to earn money while traveling. Anyone who doesn’t subscribe to this principle can stop reading this post now and unsubscribe from the blog. I’ll give you a moment to do just that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still there, huh?

 

Anyway, let’s go back to the money question. And the million dollar question is: can you get paid to travel?

 

Well, no one will pay you to just travel around the world. If someone said that this is possible please run away from this scammer.

 

 However, there’s actually a way for you to earn money while traveling. So yes, you you get paid WHILE traveling.

 

That will happen if you decide become a location independent professional.

 

A location independent professional is someone who can earn money by working just anywhere in the world. It means that you don’t need to be tied to an office or particular geographical location in order to make a living.

 

Based from my own experience and interviews with other so-called digital nomads, there are three surefire ways to become a location independent professional.

 

1. Pick a mobile career

There are just careers that are inherently location independent, because you can just do it anywhere. And with wi-fi, smartphones and netbooks, it’s easier and cheaper to lead a more mobile career.

 

I for one chose to become a journalist because aside from the fact that I love to write and a news junkie, I also wanted a job which I can do anywhere since I always wanted to travel. Other mobile career options include being a web designer, consultancy of any kind, teaching online etc.

 

An alternative to this career path is to pick a job that will allow you to leave your hometown and work overseas a.k.a. becoming an expat. This is not exactly a location independent gig but it will give you a chance to live abroad, experience other cultures, pursue your career and live comfortably.

 

My lil sis for instance has managed to land job assignments in Singapore and later in Ireland, because she is a computer programmer. This kind of job gives her an option to look for opportunities outside of our own country as there’s a global demand for it. The same is true for nurses, therapists and chefs.

 

2. Take a career break

 

I highly recommend this option to female travelers who are experiencing burn out or want to change careers but don’t know how and where to start.

 

Quit your job, travel and give yourself the gift of time and space to do what you want.

 

Navel gazing, however, won’t pay the bills. So most career breakers opt to become english teachers – it’s a good way to immerse yourself in a foreign culture and earn money. Other career break options include travel writing/photography, editing, international house sitting, working in a cruise ship, etc.

 

3. Build your online business

 

This for me is the best option if only because

a. I’m building an online business myself.

 

and

 

b. I came from an entrepreneurial family who lives by the dictum that financial security will only come from being your own boss and not from being a mere corporate employee. In Filipino, we say: “ang taong mayaman ay hindi namamasukan” [loose translation: “rich people don’t need to go to the office in order to earn money”].

 

But anyone who has set up a business knows how hard it is, especially if you’re still in the start up phase. You just can’t go gallivanting somewhere and let others take care of it.

 

The thing is, this is only so if you’re building a brick-and-mortar business like setting up a restaurant or putting up a manufacturing plant.

 

In the information age, there’s another way to do business – and that is to take it online so you can do it anywhere.

 

By the way, this is not another how to make money online advice. Nor am I suggesting that you blog everyday, build your traffic and cash in via adsense. That is sooo not a business model.

 

When I talk about setting up an online business, I’m talking of offering products and services to people who are willing to PAY for it and using your website as a way to offer these products. Your website is your storefront online and you can market and sell from just about anywhere with an Internet connection.

 

But like any kind of business, it will take time to successfully launch an online business. You need to learn the ropes if you want to mitigate your risk and increase the chances of netting a profit.

 

I for one invested thousands of dollars and nearly two years of my life learning to do this online thing. I bought e-books and subscribe to e-courses, some of them, frankly, are just a waste of time and money. But thanks to my persistence and determination, I managed to find useful resources in building an online business.

 

One of these e-courses that I highly recommend is WE Mastermind* where I got a chance to be mentored by successful online women entrepreneurs Natalie Macneil and Natalie Sisson . I also got valuable feedback and support from other charter members of the WE Mastermind group. 

 

Apart from availing of affordable group business coaching, one thing I love about WE mastermind is that it shortened my learning curve. I learned all I needed to learn from this six-month course – from developing a success-oriented mindset to marketing to launching an online product. I often lovingly refer to WE Mastermind as my custom made MBA.

 

But more than acquiring the needed business skills, WE Mastermind allowed me to fulfill my life long dream of being an indie travel publisher!

 

I bet you have those dreams too. So if you want to know more how WE Mastermind* can fulfill your dream of location independence or you just want to know more about the following:

 

-How to capitalize on the huge opportunities offered by the internet

– What are the most profitable info-products that generate the most money.

 

– How to create your own products and make money marketing your passion

 

– How to create your own products even if you aren't the expert

 

– How to create multiple-streams of income from one product idea

 

– Real life examples of women doing this right now!

 

If this is your thing, then sign up now for WE Mastermind and make your location independent dreams come true. 

 

                                                                                                   

                                                          

 

 

*****

 

Another  valuable resource that I recommend (and this one is lighter on the pocket but full of oddles of information nonetheless for those wanting to create a location independent business ) is Leonie Dawson's  * Business Goddess E-course*.   

 

Leonie Dawson is a mentor to women wanting to create + grow massively successful and heart-centered creative + soulful businesses. She is also an author, retreat leader, visual artist, mama and guide for the tens of thousands who receive her free “SHINE IN YOUR LIFE + BIZ” ezine each week.

 

Now, I'm a very big fan of Leonie – I love that she's into this Goddess energy. I love that she's a hippy who loves to make art and do soulful hippy things. I love that she built her business slowly but steadily, working on a cubicle job while nurturing a business on the side – making meditation kits and e-courses on creativity and health. .She later quit her job to further grow her online business which has since balooned into a half million dollar a year company.  I love that kind of pragmatism and ambition and creativity.

 

The Business Goddess e-course is everything she learned along the way about how to become a Business Goddess. This is a complete guide–over 190 pages – and contains everything you need to know how to make money online, the blueprint of how she did it, 100+ ways to market magically, mindfully and joyously, and how to be sane and joyful when business gets BUSY!

 

It comes chock-full of bonuses too: profiles of inspiring business gods & goddesses & the Magic Money Maker kit. 

 

So If you want to become a Business Goddess, then do sign up for the Business Goddess E-course* now and start creating the (online) business of your dreams. 🙂

 

*******

Enjoy your journeys!

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