The 5 Steps I Took to Work From Anywhere in the World Starting From Scratch

Here’s how I became a self-employed freelance digital nomad in less than 4 months without any savings or freelancing experience!

If you’ve promised yourself you’ll have traveled to a certain number of countries by a certain age…

Or you dream of leaving your windowless cubicle job and 30-minute lunch ‘breaks’…

Even going as far as avoiding romantic commitments or even getting a pet…

Then you know you have a SERIOUS CONDITION in life!

You don’t just have ‘the travel bug.’ OH NO’s…

You’ve got a serious case of needing-to-see-the-whole-fn-world-before-it-burns travel LUST. ⚡

I hear your caged bird song!

Let me tell you exactly how I broke free from my 9-to-5 lifestyle in less than a year – over 9 years ago today!🤘

What I did and what I did NOT do to make both cash and clients happen as fast as fn possible.

And how I can help you take the first step to do the same at the end of my story here. 😉

How I Became a Freelance Digital Nomad, Able to Work From Anywhere In The World

Funny how in life, you can lose your job, get your heart smashed open, and hit 40 years old until that ONE DIVINE YEAR of your life can come along and suddenly you’re checking off half your life bucket list of dreams.🪄😎

That’s EXACTLY what happened to me.

I hate to call it ”hitting rock bottom” because that just sounds too fn depressing!

So let’s reframe it and call it a RECKONING, ok?😉

Reframing the narrative is a survival skill.

When life is crashing down, it’s probably the universe’s way of kicking you into your next badass evolution.💫

Here’s what I was dealing with at 40:

• A side-hustle, handmade jewelry biz that wasn’t profitable because I loved travel too much to stay chained to my craft desk
• Family back ”home” in the country I grew up in and left years ago because I read too much Noam Chomsky (and already knew where that political shitshow was heading when I voted for Ralph Nader like an idiot who believed a third party had a chance in HELL)
• Loathing my 9-5 conventional lifestyle working for The Man, especially my boss’s business coach in the cigarette-stinking leather jacket who made bacon jokes while I was trying to enjoy that 30-measly-minute vegetarian lunch ”break”🤬
• A 2-bedroom apartment with fairly sizable rent to pay!
• No savings (because of sizable rent)
• A broken heart from a failed relationship (the reason I NEEDED to live alone for a while and suck up the rent on my own)

It was a lot.

But necessity is a fantastic fire that forces you too take action.

So take action is what I did.

Here’s how…

1. I Took an Online Course to become a Freelance Social Media Manager

Social media is, IMHO, the best freelance digital nomad opportunity to get work from anywhere in the world.

Most small biz owners hate doing it, so if you enjoy social media (like those of us with ADHD!), it’s a perfect fit.

I used my credit card (I do NOT recommend doing that!) to buy an online DIY course.

If I had not already had nearly 8 years of experience doing social media for my own business and my job, I would have definitely spent a bit more to get mentored.

Luckily, I already knew enough about social media itself.

But I knew NOTHING about freelancing or working with clients!

The course taught me everything I needed to know about that trickier side of things.

It taught me how to get clients, onboard them, and what to charge. I learned how to invoice them, how to manage boundary and communication issues, and what to put into my contracts.

Doing the social media for business work itself was not difficult to learn, either.

That course took me about 6 weeks to complete.

My former employer became my first client, as my role as the company’s social media manager was one they still required.

2. Networked like Crazy and Found Local Clients

Next, I overcame my ugly duckling imposter syndrome and fears and got my ass to any and all the local network events I could possibly attend.

I knew that the fastest way to get a client was IN PERSON.

In person, people can use ALL their senses to tell if you’re a decent person. (And not, for example, a weirdo who smells like cat pee.)

Because, keep in mind, even though you may get clients who live in your home town, all the work you are going to do is going to be online. You do not have to agree to do ANY in-person work if you don’t want to. Most biz owners don’t need you to.

So always seek clients wherever you are, because you CAN just work from anywhere in the world.

I lucked out at my first event and got two clients because I knew more about Instagram than the speaker did, so when questions came up that she couldn’t answer, I volunteered.

I’ll never forget how people were literally lined up to ask me questions at the end of that event. What a fn know-it-all, hahah!

But god, am I grateful for my past self’s confident ass now!😂

3. Went Full-Time Within 4 Months

When my fourth client came through my personal friend network, I was set.

All my sacrifices finally paid off:

• Subletting out my second bedroom and moving my office into the garage
• Living on literal instant noodles, coffee, and a $4 wine from Aldi called ‘Precious’ that I ALWAYS called ”MY PRECIOUS!”
• Weeks of zero social contact or fun. Just werk-werk-werk-werk!

I had achieved a solid base of clients on monthly retainers.

Now I could comfortably pay my bills!

Every new client from that point meant I could start resubscribing to Netflix and getting my nails done again!

4. 9 months later, I packed Up All of My Stuff Into Storage

Self-employment had been my dream for YEARS, so finally having achieved it made me feel invincible.

I could work from anywhere in the WORLD now! From the US to see my family! Or from Bali on the beach!

Bitch, I wasn’t waiting for anyone NO MORE! ha!

And I definitely did not want to continue living in an apartment that I had only moved into because it was close to a job that I no longer had — after a relationship that I no longer needed to recover from in solitude.

So I made plans to pack everything I owned into storage and ended my lease with GLEE.

GLEE I TELL YOU!

5. Became a Pet and Housesitting Digital Nomad

Next, I signed on to Trusted Housitters so that I could work from anywhere in the world AND not pay rent! Or bloody Airbnb fees! Or hotels! (Use my affiliate link to get 25% your membership fee!)

I purposely chose TrustedHousitters because it’s the best-known international pet-sitting site.

It was NOT the most popular in Australia; that was Aussie Houseitters. Or the one that will pay you to care for pets, Pet Cloud. (Use my affiliate link to get $10 off your sign-up fee!)

But as it turned out, I didn’t even NEED a site to connect me to home and pet owners.

I found great sits mainly from my own personal social network and Facebook page. Especially local Facebook groups.

Read the details about how I became a pet-sitting digital nomad here.

What I DID NOT Do

• Spend a lot of time creating a fancy website or business cards – you really do NOT need them to get your first clients. Just go to in-person events and YOU are the best representation of your services.
• Wait for permission or approval! I gave MYSELF permission to take risks. (ADHD may have helped, but!)
• Charge for my house and pet-sitting. I looked for extended sits where the exchange was even: my pet and house-caring service in exchange for free rent and utilities.
• Ever regret it!

In fact, one of my only regrets is that I did not do more international travel while I had my stuff in storage.

I fell in love with Victoria’s Yarra Valley (a wine region, lol) and spent most of my time there.

The proximity to friends, my romantic interest, and business connections helped me to continue building my freelance business.

Those first few years can be feast and famine challenge until you know what you’re doing and how to get clients easily.

This is something I now help aspiring social media magers and digital nomads to do!

Let me show you how!

Ready to ROAM and work anywhere in the world as a freelance digital nomad?

If you’re seeking a highly experienced, unconventional, and neurodivergent-friendly mentor to help you escape the fluorescent-lit hellscape of Monday mornings pretending to be interested in your co-workers’ batshit boring weekend recounting of where she took her hoard of kids and what they ate and how little Billy smeared poop on the walls, then let’s work together to get you your first freelance client.

Your first step toward FREEDOM!

Being able to take half of EVERY Wednesday off to avoid the weekend crowds at the mall.

Or to sleep in till 9 am and start your day at 10.

And designing an alternative lifestyle where you can fire whiny clients if they are a PITA…

All while exploring the canals of Amsterdam in the afternoon.

Or riding a bike to the Buddhist temples of Sukhothai in Thailand.

And meeting fellow nomads while sipping beers on a hotel rooftop overlooking the glittering evening river lights in India’s most romantic city, Udaipur…😍

Then let’s work together for 12 weeks to turn you into a self-employed freelance digital nomad, little cygnet!

Hexotica’s SWAN Agency freelance service provider mentoring program will take you there!

If you’re tired of watching everyone else build their dream business…

Or if you’re wondering if it’s “too late” for you…

It’s not.

Remember, I was 40 before I transformed my entire life in less than a YEAR. Anyone at any age can do this!

And THE SWAN Transformation Marketing Strategy Agency program is designed to do exactly that.

It was built for bold, brilliant, unconventional women and gender-diverse creators who are DONE trading time for crumbs and who are ready to rise as confident, in-demand service providers.

When you apply, you’ll learn the same step-by-step roadmap I followed to turn your creative brain into cashflow. No experience required, no holding back on the pros and cons, and definitely no “you’re too old for this” nonsense.

This is your chance to claim freedom, financial independence, and the fierce satisfaction of being your own damn boss.

✨ Click here to apply to The SWAN Agency, and let’s build the business that proves everyone wrong (especially that little voice in your head!).

Age and experience are NOT a barrier when you decide to start your own business – only your mindset can stop you.

Set yourself up to work from anywhere in the world before greedy billionaires destroy it.

Not sure WHAT you would want to do as a digital nomad?

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