Since reading that book, I have had a certain wanderlust for travel and adventure and entrepreneurship. My biggest obstacles in satisfying my wanderlust has been 2 things: 1) My huge amount of student loan debt and 2) Fear. I'm hoping that starting this blog will give me the kick in the ass I need to start pursuing my dream of becoming a digital nomad. Even though the travel of such a lifestyle sounds exciting, I'm more intrigued by the idea of being self-sufficient & free from the 9-5 grind.
A lot of the "gurus" say that in order to be able to break free from the 9-5 and become a true digital nomad, or "Coconut Cowboy", you need to identify areas of pain for your targeted client base, offer a solution to the pain, and build your business offering triage services for that pain.
Someone posted on a digital nomad forum the following suggestion to a law school grad looking to set up shop remotely doing estate/tax/financial planning:
"Want to make a killing? Set up a consultancy for international setups for digital nomads from around the world.
In detail: How can a citizen of country W with business type X set up shop in country Y with banking in Z. Something to that tune.
How can I, as a French citizen, set up shop for my SaaS business targeted towards the US market? Where should I do that? How can I get a merchant account at a trusted bank?
Start with the US market, as this would be easier to study for you. Study everything about legal structures, different types of incorporation strategies, banking, taxation, which payment processors accept which business with which bank account in which country etc. etc..."
You know, that's not a bad suggestion. I think I will file that away as food for thought as I begin to really start to seriously consider the life of a Coconut Cowgirl. Another, related thread, found here, also expanded this idea of a need for people who can set up the right corporate structure for those who are pursuing the location independent lifestyle.
I don't want to entirely give up on the law, but I also don't want to be chained to a courtroom, either. I think it's time for me to branch out and explore new horizons using the skill set I have. For right now, it is just a thought/dream, but I am going to keep blogging about my goal of being location independent.
I have a bit of a disadvantage to others who have chased the location independent dream... I'm a lot older than most of them. But I also have a significant advantage over those who have gone before me: I'm a lot older than those (and therefore have significantly more life experience than the fresh college graduate trying to hide from the real world). I also have a family and have done my share of "settling down" already, so I can sustain a life of a nomad easier than those who are young and seeking connection and "roots". I figure that I have about 7 years before my kids are grown and out of the house. So I'm giving myself a timeline of that long, to get on the digital nomad horse and ride off into the sunset of a series mini-retirements.
