Connections Stronger than Wifi With The Bucket List Queen Nini

“I figured out that as much as I like being free and working from any place in the world, it can actually feel very lonely at times.”

Meet digital nomad entrepreneur Nini

Nini started her travel journey by ticking off her bucket list. It was her dream to live in Australia and while she was there, Nini joined a coaching company called The Bucketlist Company. One of the reasons for joining this company was her interest in a special bucket list coaching license. At the time, Nini couldn’t afford it as she was using her savings. Instead, she joined the company and got the license in exchange for her work. She also landed a remote marketing manager job at The Bucketlist Company and enjoyed her life abroad.

She really loved Australia and had no intention of leaving but during her visa run to Bali, Nina couldn’t return to Australia. This was at the beginning of the pandemic and since the Australian borders closed, Nini was basically stranded in Bali. The marketing role didn’t feel like her true calling and she focused on remote team building through interactive virtual workshops using her bucket list coaching license and this is how Theworklifehappinessproject.com started.

Like many digital nomads, Nini fell in love with the Bali lifestyle. Her ideal way of living is enjoying the summers in Europe with family and friends and heading to Bali when winter kicks in.

How digital nomads can design better balanced days

Tips on how to turn your life’s mission into a thriving business
Nini’s mission is connecting people and this is what she has been focusing on. Of course, this has been challenging and finding the right balance is challenging. We interviewed digital nomad Ali in the previous episode about finding balance and if you want to learn more about that, make sure to check it out. Click here to listen to episode 51: How To Live A Balanced And Joyful Remote Life With Ali

Nini describes her entrepreneurial journey as a rollercoaster. There were moments when she felt super creative and passionate and did not feel any spark of magic. It’s common to feel this way, and we hear that creative and passionate digital noma entrepreneurs deal with the ups and downs. Nini shares some mindset tips that have been helpful for her.

🌟 Accept that there are always roadblocks that you cannot control.

🌟 Know that whatever happens, it always makes you stronger even though it doesn’t feel like it and helps you grow.

🌟 Entrepreneurship and starting something new always involve trial and error. So be patient and see what works and doesn’t before jumping to conclusions.

🌟 (We love this one) Be grateful for all the baby steps

🌟 Focus on maintaining your connection and surrounding yourself with like-minded people.

🌟 Create routines, including daily movement, meditation and use affirmations.

🌟 Be in alignment with what you say you will do and what you are actually doing.

Creating deeper connections with the EyeConnect Game

Looking at the tips we just shared, appreciating the baby steps is really important because there is so much to learn from your own entrepreneurship journey. Nini developed her game eyeConnect during her workshops and this was a stepping stone to how it looks today. It wasn’t an overnight process and we love your humble honesty about this.

So eyeConnect – Connections stronger than Wi-fi is the conversation-sparking game she just launched. It’s an offline social networking game to help you disconnect from your phone and reconnect with the people around you. You can play it with your family, friends and your co-workers. By playing this game, you will get to know your environment differently and learn unexpected things about the environment. So this game is perfect for anyone who prefers real smiles over likes and true emotions over emojis.

Our Digital Nomads Daily community now gets a 10% discount on the website. Go to www.eyeconnectgame.com and use the code ”DND10” and have more meaningful and fun conversations!

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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 the digital nomad Nini

Follow her on Instagram via @nini_quarantini

Follow eyeConnect on Instagram via @eyeconnectgame

Follow her journey on LinkedIn via @Nini Fritz

Check out her website and buy the game via www.eyeconnectgame.com

Other episodes you might like:

🎧 Episode 49: 8 Freelancer Mindset Challenges to Overcome For Success With Steve

🎧 Episode 41: The 5 Key Ingredients To Work Remotely Effectively with Anna Maria

🎧 Episode 22: Facing The Realities Of Online Entrepreneurship with Anne

🎧 Episode 04: How to Combine Entrepreneurship and Travel With Kristina

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Creating Your Career Around The Lifestyle You Want To Live With Natasha

“It comes back to believing in yourself and getting clear about you are worth and what your skills are worth and know your value and standing your ground.”

Meet digital nomad content creator Natasha

Natasha saw many places growing up and traveling around the world wasn’t a new concept for her. In fact, she was a 3rd culture kid and kind of a nomad growing up. Traveling with family is very different from exploring the world on your own and Natasha also had to design her digital nomad life.

At the beginning of her solo journey, she chose to teach English online. She was a teacher in the USA and doing it online made the most sense at the time. While teaching English, she also worked on her passion for becoming a full-time content creator. Many digital nomads approach the lifestyle this way because a online job is safe and secure so you have time, money and energy to build out your next big thing.

Before her dream kicked off Natasha wasn’t feeling fulfilled in her teaching job was just enough to pay the bills and live comfortably. Remote work was popular (and we all know why) and she got a remote full-time corporate job. This was a huge shift and very different from her life as an online teacher. A big lesson for her was that the job and demanding work culture wasn’t her thing and completely burned her out. So she quit her job, took time for herself, and rethought her strategy.

Hard work and willpower paid off; today, she is a full-time digital nomad content creator. She talks about travel, self-care and balance, and you can find her on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

The life of a full-time content creator

Many people, including digital nomads, dream of becoming a full-time content creator. We already learned on the podcast that this job is not for lazy folks and an uncertain path. Digital nomad Isabel talks about this in episode #32 How To Become A Travel Blogger And Make Money Online. We love Natasha’s tips in this episode and here are 4 things she shares with us:

Since she quit her job cold turkey, she did not have a plan. Natasha had some savings but felt the pressure of performing and really making it happen.

Charging for brand deals and collaborations was a new way of making money. So in the beginning, she needed to figure out how much to charge and set her rates. Doing research, asking around and slowly bumping her rates up is how she did it.

Knowing your worth is a big confidence booster. So this is something that happened after her first bigger deal. From then, she started asking for more with confidence.

Natasha describes her content creator career as an iceberg. What people see of her and her confidence didn’t happen overnight and it’s almost 10 years of hard work and a rollercoaster ride. What people see is just the tip of the iceberg.

Tips on how to prioritize work-life balance

One of the most important things we need as a human is self-care. In the digital nomad community, many people talk about this and topics like mental health, physical health, and well-being are openly discussed.

At Digital Nomads Daily, we love asking our guests what is important for them and how they do it. Natasha shares what works for her:

🌱 Prioritizing her health and sleep is essential to be productive and feeling good.

🌱 The digital nomad lifestyle often allows you to set your own schedule and she includes things to nurture and respect her body’s needs.

🌱 Always do more self-care than you think you need. So make sure to move your body and mental nurturing like meditating or journaling.

🌱 If you don’t have a schedule set in stone, try to do what tasks feel most natural to you at that time.

🌱  Lastly, if you are a digital nomad girl, experiment to work with your cycles. So approach your cycles as seasons and use your natural energy in your everyday work and personal 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 the digital nomad Natasha

Follow her on Instagram via @thenatashaibrahim

Follow her journey on LinkedIn via @Natasha Ibrahim

Check out her YouTube channel via @Natasha Ibrahim

Get a copy of her e-book here

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #51: How To Live A Balanced And Joyful Remote Life With Ali

🎧  Episode 10: Working Remotely From A Van With Digital Nomad Chelsea

🎧  Episode #04 : How to Combine Entrepreneurship and Travel with Kristina

8 Freelancer Mindset Challenges to Overcome For Success With Steve

“You have to have a deep pool of self-belief resilient to the tremendous amounts of lows you will probably experience.”

Meet digital nomad and freelance writer Steve

Steve has been traveling since 2014 but he only started her digital nomad journey 3 years ago. He has worked in tourism and was a photographer and video maker. When the pandemic hit, he couldn’t produce much so he shifted careers and decided to become a freelance copywriter. Even though he has experience in the creative industry, copywriting was a new career for him and came with its own set of challenges. Challenges he had to overcome as a creative freelancer.

A simple hack that worked for Steve was sharing his news with his sister. He shares that by saying it out loud to someone else, it would keep him accountable.

The first thing he did was tell his sister that he was going to be a writer, just for accountability. He needed to say at loud to someone that he was going to be a writer. The next step was registering for a freelance platform so he could get his first gigs. With so many online job platforms out there, Steve focused on only one platform: UpWork.

We wrote an article about the best job platforms for freelancers and remote jobs. Click here to see the list of 10+ links.

Steve focused on sharpening his profile and started with very low-paying jobs. Digital nomad Jaimi did the same thing but this is how they both gained practice, built a portfolio and got positive reviews that led to more work with less effort.

We understand that it doesn’t sound great but the truth is that you can learn many things along the way which are essential for your success. Steve shares:

It’s part of the mindset you can’t get paid well until you get paid poorly.

Common mindset challenges every freelance experiences and how to overcome them.

Freelance life advice #1 Be conscious about your working hours

One of the biggest challenges he encountered was being resilient to the tremendous lows you will experience. We get it! This doesn’t sound sexy but it’s part of the freelancer life and even more so when you are a digital nomad freelancer. So how to overcome this? Here are a few more challenges and tips Steve shares in this episode:

Freelance life advice #2 Connect with your willpower

Keep on trying no matter how hard it is. You basically have to be able to take all the losses and say let me try one more time and one more time. Tweak your process little by little and start finding what works and what doesn’t work but don’t give up.

Freelance life advice #3 Accept the learning curve

Have an open mind and accept that any new career is a huge learning curve so you can learn from the good and uncomfortable experiences. So be easy on yourself and approach everything as a new learning experience.

Freelance life advice #4 Build a thriving community

Surround yourself with like-minded people and folks who relate to your work and your lifestyle. This means you will look for a community where the focus is on things that matter to you. For Steve, it meant surrounding him with people interested in mindset, personal growth and professional growth.

Freelance life advice #5 Be critical of your flaws and superpowers

Identify the things you can improve in your work and how you can become a more successful business owner. Next, you need to take action and learn how to solve it so it doesn’t become an obstacle to your success. For example, Steve didn’t feel confident in the business side of things. So he took on a business coach that helped him with simple but important things like contracts and his sales process.

Freelance life advice #6 Working on your mindset

You don’t have to be always happy because this journey will have ups and downs. Working on your mindset and engaging with things and people that will help you grow will create a perspective contributing to your success.

Freelance life advice #7 Don’t be afraid to start your freelance career

The last piece of advice Steve shares is that you shouldn’t be afraid to start, especially when it comes to writing. There is so much work available these days and there are two things to keep in mind, according to Steve:

Freelance life advice #8 His final advice is simple but true: believe in yourself and stay hydrated.

That might sound fluffy but the truth is that if you don’t believe in yourself, other people cannot believe in you. So continue to work on your confidence so you can.

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 the digital nomad Steve

Follow his on Instagram via @Finally.made.it

Follow his journey on LinkedIn via @steve Tsentserensky

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  50: Creating Your Career Around The Lifestyle You Want To Live With Natasha

🎧  18: Selling Sheep To Start A Travel Lifestyle with Micaela

🎧  49: 8 Freelancer Mindset Challenges to Overcome For Success With Steve

🎧  35: Building A Successful Creative Freelance Career With Suzanne

🎧  32: How To Become A Travel Blogger And Make Money Online With Isabel

🎧  09: How To Achieve Financial Freedom With Digital Nomad Dean

How To Set Boundaries and Why You Want to Go Slomad with Kristin

“The coconuts do not hydrate enough for a soul-sucking job”

Meet digital nomad slomad Kristin

Every digital nomad has a unique way of designing their lifestyle. Kristin’s digital nomad journey started 4 years ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was already living abroad and loved immersing herself in new cultures and experiences. So her travel journey continues and with that, she became a digital nomad.

Kristen is passionate about helping people find answers to tough questions and challenges. She does this through coaching and she started her career as a lifestyle coach. Many coaches are working for themselves but Kristen was a remote worker at the time and part of a company.

A big life transformation many people face is career-related and she also underwent a huge change. She left her job, focused on remote careers and the digital nomad lifestyle and started working for herself. So today Kristin is an entrepreneur and she shares that this comes with its own challenges.

Remote work and the digital nomad lifestyle

The way you earn a living is a huge part of your awakening time. This means for the majority of the Gen Z generation, liking your job and getting fulfillment from your work is one of the many non-negotiable. Digital nomads are no different in this and the same goes for remote work.

The concept of the perfect job is pretty glamorized these days. Again, the same goes for remote work. What is important though, is that you like your work and its environment. This process can be pretty overwhelming but Kristin shares two important steps.

First, you want to connect with your core values and transform these into your non-negotiables. Once you have clarity around your unique core values, you can look at things you are passionate about. With this information, you can start looking for a (remote) job or even start a business connected to what matters most to you.

“We have jobs for phases in our lives and for versions of ourselves that best serve us and we grow and evolve in our careers.”

Other things to look at are your skills and external factors. Kirstin shares that the coaching piece could be life-changing in this process because of its powerful questioning, which could easily create clarity for you.

What is the difference between a slomad vs digital nomad?

Many digital nomad entrepreneurs who joined The Digital Nomad Daily podcast already stressed the challenge of combing building a business and travel. Kristin is also experiencing this now but something thas that helped her feel more grounded and connected with her goals is to slomad.

A trending word that we see more these days is the term “slomad” or the self-made verb “slomadding”. So the difference is basically the pace of which you are traveling or switching locations.

Slomads prefer to stay longer in one place for various reasons but for Kristin it’s about feeling more grounded, making deeper connections and feeling more productive because she can focus on work without the pressure of travel and adventure. She has time to do everything she desires because she stays a few months in each location.

Other digital nomads like Tim Martin and Marcel enjoy slomadding. Your host Nienke Nina is also on team slomad for similar reasons.

Tips for setting boundaries for digital nomads and nomadic entrepreneurs

Everyone needs boundaries but unfortunately, it has a strong or even negative connotation. We love Kirstin’s approach towards setting boundaries. She says it’s about creating guidelines to help you and others navigate life.

This goes back to your core values and how they come to life in your personal and work life. Think about what the non-negotiables are for you and what makes you feel comfortable, happy and loved. Kindly sharing these guidelines with your close environment and constantly checking in with yourself is what will help you navigate through life.

Suppose you want to learn more about setting boundaries at work. In that case, you definitely want to listen to our episode with Anna Maria. She shares how to set boundaries in a remote work environment in a kind way which is incredibly helpful for freelancers, entrepreneurs and remote workers.

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 Kristin

Follow her on Instagram via @kristincvierra

Follow her journey on LinkedIn via @kristinvierra

Join the slowmad Facebook Group digitalnomads.slomads.traveldeeper

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #54: What Makes a Remote-First Company Culture with Chase 
🎧  Episode #51: How To Live A Balanced And Joyful Remote Life With Ali

🎧  Episode #40: Understanding Digital Nomad Visas In 2022 With Tim

How To Maximize Your Remote Lifestyle and Business Abroad

“You have to understand that life is first and business is second. You cannot build your life around your business because business is a tool to help you live the life that you want. ”

Meet digital nomad entrepreneur Denys

Living in different locations, building a business abroad, and creating a lifestyle where you maximize your freedom – that’s Denys’s passion. Over the past years, he has been hopping locations while running his video animation company. His company has been remote since day one, allowing him to work from anywhere, including popular digital nomad hubs like Bali.

Today he is still operating his business and Denys is the founder of the Freedom Business Summit. It’s a network of people interested in how they can continue to live remotely and benefit from different systems and infrastructures. Think about getting a second residency, building assets in various countries, banking and so much more.

Business advice for digital nomads

Denys shares in this episode valuable business advice for anyone who is interested in creating a freedom lifestyle. He shares that there are two ways to build a business.

You can sell your time so that is mostly how remote employees, freelancers, and consultants work.

You can create a system so your business can operate without you wasting time.

The second way sounds more exciting and definitely gives you more freedom. There are only 24 hours in the day and only around six hours you can dedicate to work. So the first idea is a great way to start but it has a limit so it’s not total freedom for some people. On the other hand, Denys shares that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, so being part of a company can give you the comfort and freedom you seek. Keep in mind that every business takes time and it requires dedication.

Focus on your core values instead of your mind

How you design your life and make money depends on your core values. So before you start any business or find a remote job, you must look inside yourself and be clear on what you value.

Digital nomad Denys’s best advice is not to run a business just to run a business but to find something that has meaning. It could be connected to your purpose or how you want to impact people’s lives. Creating something close to your core values is how you can bring real value to your own life and others.

The key ingredient to living a long-lasting remote lifestyle

Life comes with ups and downs and while you can have a vision of what you want in life is not always going to be how you designed it. That’sThat’s why you must set yourself up for success as much as possible and this starts with your “structure”.

Remote and location-independent could sound like you just hop around and don’t have to take care of anything but the reality is different. If you want to keep living this lifestyle, you must understand that the world is changing rapidly. So you want to make sure you do your due diligence regarding where your base will be, what country you can incorporate your company and where you create other assets. So the key ingredient is to find those locations where you feel comfortable.

This is a complex process and there are different concepts. Denys has been going through this himself and created a network of people in the same boat. This is how the Freedom Business Summit was created as more digital nomads and location-indepentent folks join the community it’s a common topic.

So if you are interested in this and want to learn more about how to maximize your remote lifestyle and build a business abroad make sure to join the summit.

It’s a free event happening on November 9-10 with experts and speakers from all over the world. Some experts you have already seen on our podcast like Tim Martin from Citizen Remote and Tarek.

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 Denys

Find him on Instagram @denisdovgal

On his website Freedomsummit.net

Other episodes you might like:

🎧  Episode #51: How To Live A Balanced And Joyful Remote Life With Ali 

🎧  Episode #53: Must-Know Resume Tips To Land A Remote Job with Michelle

🎧  Episode #48: How To Set Boundaries and Why You Want to Go Slomad with Kristin