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Leer más →Digital nomad: what nobody tells you about working from another country
Being a digital nomad isn't a holiday with a laptop. It's proving your company works even when you're far away. And that's prepared long before you get on the plane.
I run my company from Thailand.
When I say that, a lot of people picture a hammock and a cocktail.
The reality looks more like a schedule, a well-organised support inbox and a lot of things written down.
What is a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is someone who works remotely, thanks to the internet, while living in or travelling through different places.
They might be an employee, a freelancer or run their own company. What defines them isn't the place. It's that their work doesn't depend on being in a particular one.
What nobody tells you
1. It isn't a holiday
You work just as much. Sometimes more, because time zones force you to be available at odd hours.
What changes is what's around you. The work is the same.
2. Your company has to work without you in the room
If everything goes through you, going far away is a problem. If the company has processes, a team that decides and customers who know where to write, going far away is just changing desks.
Being a digital nomad is, above all, a test of how well your company is put together.
3. One channel for customers
If customers reach you by email, WhatsApp, phone and social media, distance complicates everything.
If everything arrives in one place, it doesn't matter where you are.
4. Time zones are an ally
Well organised, they let you do deep work while your customers sleep and be available when they wake up.
5. Discipline matters more than location
The best place in the world is useless if you have no routine. Clear hours, a space to work and boundaries.
Working from another country isn't escaping your company. It's proving your company doesn't depend on where you are.
How to be a digital nomad (for real)
- Prepare the company before the suitcase. Write processes, delegate, centralise support.
- Try somewhere close first. A few weeks away before going for months.
- Get the legal side right. Visas, residency and tax depend on the country. Many countries, Spain included, now have specific digital nomad visas. Ask a professional.
- Pick somewhere with good internet and a routine you can keep.
- Measure whether it works. Do customers notice anything? Does the team decide without you? If so, go ahead.
What it's taught me
That a company isn't a place.
That freedom is prepared with order.
And that the best sign you've built something solid is being ten thousand kilometres away while everything keeps working.
P.S. I wrote about it in more detail in working from Thailand isn't a holiday.