Embracing The Challenges Of Online Entrepreneurship With Jolien

“It’s a process and you just need to go through it.”

Meet digital nomad and multi-passionate entrepreneur Jolien

Embracing the challenges and messiness of entrepreneurship

We also asked her for tips on how she manages her day-to-day creative entrepreneur life and well-being rituals. All digital nomads have their own well-being nurturing strategies and we love asking how others do it.

Jolien shared the following tips in this podcast episode:

💙 Pay attention to what you tell yourself and always talk nice to yourself
💙 Focus on the process and fully trust your unique growth process
💙 Be selfish and make decisions that are good for your well-being
💙 Stay true to yourself, your desires and your freedom goals
💙 Leave open spaces in your calendar so you get to enjoy life
💙 Make disconnecting from your screen and work part of your routine
💙 Connect with your emotions and don’t avoid them.
💙 Reach out for help when you can’t process things on your own
💙 Connect with other people in your industry or space

We loved having Jolien on the podcast and we truly hope these mindset rituals will help you in your day-to-day digital nomad life.

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Meet digital nomad Jolien

Find her on Instagram @joleneonthego

 Connect with her on LinkedIn @Jolien Raemdonck

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #01: How to Thrive in your Digital Nomad Relationship with Anat & Orr

🎧  Episode #05: Dealing with High Anxiety While Building a Successful Online Business with The Remote Yogi

🎧  Episode #07: Overcoming Fears and Building Community with Digital Nomad Magali

🎧 Episode #21: 10 Years Of Traveling The World With Daisy

How To Get Back Into Your Flow When Feeling Stuck In Life With Nienke Nina

“If you are not curious, stay home. This lifestyle only works if you are curious and constantly tapping into your curiosity.”

The digital nomad lifestyle is an ongoing self-development journey and it’s not always as sexy and fun as it looks like online. That is the truth and on The Digital Nomads Daily Podcast, we share what is going on behind the scenes with experienced digital nomads.
As a digital nomad for over five years, Nienke Nina also experiences ups and downs and sometimes, this is very challenging. She is not alone in this because everyone experiences this in life and the digital nomad lifestyle isn’t a cure for never-ending happiness. So what can you do when you are feeling stuck in life? Or when you are unsure what your next steps are?

Journaling is a great way to understand yourself better and reflect on things in life. There are many different ways how you can journal and Nienke Nina recently had a clarity week, well ten days, where she was home alone and asked herself some deep questions.

7 reflection questions for digital nomads

Reflection question #01 What is really going on?

Maybe you are feeling uneasy or what is going on is crystal clear. Writing it down and dissecting it helps you deepen your understanding of what is truly on your mind. Sometimes it’s related to a specific event, but it can also be small things making you feel uncomfortable and stuck in life.

Reflection question #02 Why am I so worried or anxious about this?

Now that you understand what is causing you this nagging feeling, you can dive deeper into what makes you anxious. Nienke Nina looks at life as different pillars like health, financial security, giving back, professional growth and relationship. Your worries impact the health of each pillar so instead of thinking everything is jus bluuuh, focus on how your worries are impacting each pillar.

Reflection question #03 Where do I feel this emotion pop up in my body?

Whatever goes on in your mind impacts the body. The brain signals all sorts of things to the body every millisecond so your mind and body are undoubtedly connected. So if you feel happy, your body could feel lighter and when you feel anxious, your stomach could get upset. This differs from medical conditions; you should always consider seeing a doctor. The essence of getting to know your body better is finding signals whenever worry, anxiety or stress arise because sometimes the body can tell us more than the mind does.

Reflection question #04 What do I need to nurture myself?

Self-nurturing is super important because you don’t want to know what is going on but actually move forward. Remember that self-nurturing is not only about solving problems but could also be simply understanding them and accepting the situations. We live in a world where we always need to solve or improve something, but that isn’t always the best way to go about it. So create guidelines for yourself so that you can act on your feelings the next time they arise.

Of course, staying in a negative headspace isn’t healthy so your self-nurturing strategy will also focus on shifting the energy to a more positive state of being.

Reflection question #05 Which actions can I take to nurture myself?

So the next question focuses on shifting your energy. 4 action types can help you break through patterns and move towards a more comfortable and perhaps even more positive headspace.

Tap into your:

🌟 Playfulness: go for an adventure, play sports, or do something active outside the house
🌟 Nurture: Give back to people, animals, or the planet and join activities where you do good. If you want some inspiration on how digital nomads give back, check out the episodes below:
08: Leaving the corporate world behind and reinventing yourself with nomad Tarek
46: The 5 Best Ways To Find Friends For Digital Nomads With Marina
🌟 Lust: Focus on your relationship with your loved or go on a date so enhance your feelings of lust.
🌟 Curiosity: Get excited and do something new, like meeting new people or learning a new skill.

Why digital nomads want to have two notebooks

The last two questions in this process are focused on nurturing yourself. Self-awareness and personal growth are popular topics in the digital nomad community, including reflecting and focusing on learning. Not just when you feel stuck, but digital nomads have a habit of constantly tuning in with themselves so they can design and live the best lifestyle.

Growth doesn’t exist with our learning so while you are living life, you want to keep track of your learnings too. Especially during a clarity weekend, capturing your learnings can superpower you.

Nienke Nina travels with two notebooks. One tracks her overall well-being and is more like a journal, and her second notebook focuses on positive thoughts and exciting new ideas for her personal and professional life.

Reflection question #06 How am I feeling after nurturing myself?

Reflection question #07 What did I learn?

Looking for a remote job and you are totally stuck?

In this episode, Nienke Nina also shares a personal story about her remote job and career shift. If you are a remote job seeker or are switching careers, the episodes below are super insightful and inspirational.

53: Must-Know Resume Tips To Land A Remote Job with Michelle
12: The Secret Of Finding A Remote Job With Jordan Carroll
37: How To Find A Remote Job And Take Ownership Of Your Career With Juliana
48: How To Set Boundaries and Why You Want to Go Slomad with Kristin

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #:75: The Life-Changing Benefit Of Living Abroad With Nienke Nina

🎧  Episode #77: 5 Key Questions Before Starting A Side Hustle with Nienke Nina

🎧 Episode #79: How Side Hustles Boost Your Freedom Lifestyle Goals With Nienke Nina

How To Supercharge Your Brand With Compelling Copy With Nicole

How to write compelling brand copy for your business

Digital nomad Nicole is a professional copywriter who helps businesses write copy. Her clients are usually solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who are really good at what they do, but they need help putting together clear messaging and compelling copy. Her role as a copywriter isn’t just writing nice words, but capturing their voice, telling their story across different platforms and resonating with their audience through text.

The different types of copywriters

Copywriting is a broad profession and within this field, you can specialize in certain channels or a specific niche. Digital nomad John who joined episode 28: How Digital Nomads Can Become Successful Entrepreneurs With John title is, for example, a specialist in technical writing in the crypto and blockchain industry. On the other hand, Steve, who joined episode 49: 8 Freelancer Mindset Challenges to Overcome For Success With Steve  is focused on copywriting for SaaS companies.

Other than industries, you can also specialize in specific channels. Let’s have a look at the different channels:

👉 Website text for a brand website
👉 Websites pages with specific objectives like sales pages
👉 Email campaigns like regular campaigns and newsletter
👉 Email lead generation campaigns like lead magnets and follow-up emails
👉 Email sales campaigns
👉 Advert copy for google ads, Facebook ads and other advertising platforms.
👉 Podcast show notes like we have on Digital Nomads Daily
👉 Testimonials from clients
👉 Event copy like the description and promotion posts
👉 Articles and blog posts
👉 Scripts and course content
👉 Social media copy

The list of copywriting gigs is much longer, but you can get a pretty good idea that within the profession of copywriting, there are a lot of different directions. Copywriting is done from your laptop and doesn’t require expensive software compared to video editing and it’s a popular service among digital nomads.

The two ingredients of writing engaging and compelling content

Copywriting is so much more than pretty words and Nicole shares that in her line of work, she sees two key objectives

Create a connection through brand copy

This is all about creating the brand voice and find words that help resonate with the audience and show how you stand out from the crowd. This type of copy is focused on building connections rather than boosting sales.

Convert and drive sales through copy

Once you have a clear brand voice the copy, you can dive into getting leads and driving sales. Depending on the business goals, this style might have a different tone of voice and strategy.

Do you need to hire a professional copywriter?

We asked Nicole at what moment of your business it’s time to think about bringing on a professional copywriter. Hiring a copywriter, especially a senior copywriter, is smart when your business is running and you have a budget to improve your digital marketing strategy.

If you are starting and you struggle to write your own text, this episode is for you because Nicole shares handy business copywriting tips for small business owners.

😎 Have a “Better done than perfect” approach so you don’t get stuck

😎 Interview people, you have worked with to understand how they perceived working with you, aka testimonials. Make sure to have questions prepared instead of an open testimonial.

😎 Find keywords that describe your business and services and use this across your marketing assets like your website and social media.

😎 Intimidated by a blanc page? Record yourself and get a transcript and use this to write your copy.

😎 Always make sure that every page on your website has a call to action so it’s easy to get in touch with you or buy your services.

😎 Use the language of your audience and the words they use will make it much easier for you to write.

😎 Focus on the humanness of your writing so your brand voice has personality
😎 Be patient and allow yourself to build your brand voice

“I would also say as well just to know that it takes time. It took me actually a really long time to build my own personal writing voice because I got so in the habit of writing for clients. So even you know someone that does it professionally can be difficult, vulnerable and a little bit uncomfortable. “

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Connect with Digital Nomad Nicole

More tips her work via @www.nicoleelliott.co

Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn @Nicole Elliott Copywriter

🎁 Get a copy of her free 5 step quick tips guide

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #:75: The Life-Changing Benefit Of Living Abroad With Nienke Nina

🎧 Episode #77: 5 Key Questions Before Starting A Side Hustle with Nienke Nina

🎧  Episode #79: How Side Hustles Boost Your Freedom Lifestyle Goals With Nienke Nina

How To Find Your Perfect Digital Nomad Home with Nienke Nina

Living in different locations, discovering gorgeous homes, and having unique experiences are like a dream to many digital nomads. Finding those special homes isn’t the most challenging part of this lifestyle, but finding the right home is. There are many details to consider, which could take out the fun of the home searching process.

Over time you will get the hang of it and learn what your must-haves are and which things are nice to have. This all depends on the location, the type of home, and your budget, but more importantly, it relies on your personal desires and the way you want to live your life.

Beauty isn’t perfection: how do you know if it’s suitable for digital nomads?

The stunning nomad homes that are popping up on your screen aren’t always the best homes. To most digital nomads, a villa with a pool in the middle of nowhere isn’t always a great pick. Why? Because it’s not where other nomads hang out so you may feel lonely.

To find the right home, you have to think about what you’re looking for in a home. Pick a place that is set up to be comfortable to work from home. Does it have a decent chair, table, kitchen supplies, and perhaps enough daylight is also important to you? A house could be stunning and Instagram-worthy while totally impractical to get work done. In other words, don’t pick a pool over Wi-Fi speed.

You will learn that some destinations have great houses on offer and there will be times it will be much more challenging. Lina talks about this in episode #11 as she and her partner have struggled to find the right home. To figure out what home works for you depends on your personal needs, which fluctuate over time. This is why you’ll have to constantly check in with yourself and your personal and professional needs.

Search and find a digital nomad house that is catered to your needs

In this episode, Nienke Nina shares some personal stories with questions she asked herself whenever searching for a new home. These questions can serve as your digital nomad home checklist for your next digital nomad home.
🌟 How long will I stay? One week, a month, or are you not sure yet, but if you like it, you’re open to staying longer?
🌟 What is my monthly/weekly budget for housing?
🌟 Where will I work from? Home/cafe/co-working/all three?
🌟 What do I look like in a neighborhood? Bars or quiet?
🌟 How far am I from the center/main area?
🌟 How can I get around?
🌟 What specs of the house are important to me? Desk, chairs, daylight, separate bedroom, comfy couch, Television, garden?
🌟 What do I need in the kitchen? Coffee machine, fridge, oven, microwave, blender?

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as finding the right home, but some houses will be better than others. This is one of the many learning experiences of the digital nomad lifestyle. What helps is prioritizing the questions from top to bottom, highest to lowest priority. The goal is not to check off all the boxes but check off at least 70% of them.

Get more daily digital nomad tips

The digital nomad lifestyle is a self-development journey that takes much trial and error. Nienke Nina has been nomadding for 5 years and, together with our digital nomad guests, uncovered many of these daily things on the podcast. There is one more place where you can get tips and answers to 101 daily digital nomad questions: her book Digital Nomads with confidence.

It includes topics like finding your next digital nomad home, building a community, tips to build your online business or search for remote jobs and so much more.

Get your copy now via this link and let’s make your digital nomad journey happen!

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #:75: The Life-Changing Benefit Of Living Abroad With Nienke Nina

🎧 Episode #77: 5 Key Questions Before Starting A Side Hustle with Nienke Nina

🎧  Episode #79: How Side Hustles Boost Your Freedom Lifestyle Goals With Nienke Nina

Daily Digital Nomad Struggles And How To Overcome Them With Pat & Maddie

“We are almost 7 years together, but it took travel to really get to know each other.”

Meet digital nomad couple Pat and Maddie

Traveling the world full-time for one year was their dream. About two years ago. Pat and Maddie followed their dreams by selling all their stuff, including the house, to explore the world. The pandemic hit just before they were ready to go, and they had to postpone their dream.

They decided to head to Mexico and realized they wanted to continue traveling. To make it work, Pat became a remote freelance writer. They already documented their travels on YouTube and Instagram so Maddie focused on growing their social channels. Their main income comes from freelance writing gigs, but they have already celebrated their first milestones as content creators and want to continue growing this business.

What they love about content creation is working with small businesses that don’t necessarily have the marketing tools or budget, but through their channels, they can help promote it. This results in fun and beautiful experiences like tours and hotel stays.

What are the typical digital nomad struggles?

The digital nomad lifestyle looks flawless and easy online, but on the Digital Nomads Daily Podcast, we show you what is happening behind the scenes to help you on your journey. Some of the typical digital nomad struggles Pat Maddie points out are

Contstant rebuilding your basic needs per location like workstation, groceries, and routines.
Finding locations and accommodations with good Wi-Fi
Creating and maintaining a schedule

How to conquer the typical digital nomad struggles?

The list of challenges is endless and Maddie shares that everything that you could think should not be an issue becomes an issue when you are in a new place every week. As a couple, you both experience this, so keeping up the good vibes in the relationship isn’t always easy. Here are some helpful tips on how to embrace the digital nomad struggles.

Wi-Fi struggles

✔️ Ask the accommodation or the Airbnb host for a screenshot of their Wi-Fi speed before booking.
✔️ Create a bank of tasks or things you could do without Wi-Fi.

Routines

✔️ Be diligent about creating a schedule for yourself.
✔️ Build your own routines and it’s okay if that doesn’t include your partner.
✔️ Take time for yourself and connect with your thoughts and feelings.

Mental health

✔️ Be fluid and kind to yourself.
✔️ Keep breathing and stay calm.
✔️ Remind yourself that 9 times out of 10 there is a solution to that problem.
✔️ Ask for help if you can’t figure it out.
✔️ Don’t try to fix everything because having a bad day is okay.
✔️ Connect with like-minded people online and offline.

Travel tip from Nienke Nina for digital nomad couples

As a traveling couple, you can quickly rely on the other and while that is comforting, Nienke Nina’s tip is always to have your own space. An example is creating and maintaining your own habits and routines. Another suggestion is to make it easy to zone out by using headphones and prioritizing making your connections. Just because you are together doesn’t mean you are living one life. You are your own person and this is your unique experience. You just get to share it with someone, but YOU are your priority 😘

Going your own way

This episode was recorded in February. Shortly after the interview, Pat and Maddie decided to continue this lifestyle on their own and separated. Together with Pat & Maddie we decided to publish this episode because it was an extremely valuable conversation.

If your relationship is hitting some roadblocks, please know that many digital nomad couples are out there, including Nienke Nina, to support you. Feel free to send us a message with any digital nomad questions. The easiest way to get in touch with us is on Instagram @digitalnomadsdaily.

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Meet digital nomad Maddie

Find her on Instagram @maddie.travel

Check out her Youtube channel @MaddieTravel

Other episodes you might like:

🎧 Episode #63: Navigating Through Life When It Goes Upside Down With Daisy

🎧 Episode #64: Tips For Organizing Your Daily Digital Nomad Life with Eddie

🎧 Episode #65: How to Travel the World As A Digital Nomad Couple with Dom and Jo