RWL224 How to Transition from Corporate Life to Location-Independent Entrepreneurship w/ Niluka Kavanagh Founder, ImagineThat

I'll be sharing case studies of location-independent freelancers , solopreneurs , founders and leaders to give you ideas on what they do and how they're growing . Founders and leaders to give you ideas on what they do and how they're growing .

Imagine waking up in a new city , a new country or even just a new coffee shop every week , with the freedom to work from anywhere in the world . This isn't just a dream . It's a reality that so many have achieved , and it's a reality you can achieve too .

My name's Alex Wilson-Campbell , founder of the Remote Work Life podcast , and this series is dedicated to those at an inflection point in their lives . Maybe you're feeling stuck in a traditional job , yearning for more flexibility and autonomy .

Perhaps you're looking for a way to balance your career with your personal life , or maybe you're driven by a desire to explore the world without sacrificing your professional ambitions . Whatever your motivation , you're not alone .

Throughout this series , I'll share case studies of location-independent freelancers , solopreneurs , founders and leaders who've successfully navigated the transition to location independence , from digital nomads to entrepreneurs , we'll explore a wide array of businesses that can be pursued from anywhere .

Join me as we dive into the nuts and bolts of building a remote work life , tackling topics like finding your niche , leveraging your skills , creating a sustainable income and overcoming the inevitable challenges along the way . We'll also share the tools and strategies that can help you thrive in this exciting new landscape .

So if you're ready to break free from the confines of a traditional office to embark on something that matches your goals , you're in the right place . Today's guest is Niluka Kavanagh , founder of Imagine that . After graduating from Oxford University , niluka had a successful career in consulting at KPMG , where she worked with a number of global clients .

She then decided to take a leap of faith , going into entrepreneurship and having two businesses of her own one , a tech startup , which she took to market , and the other a successful public speaking business where she helped over 500 people improve their presenting skills .

Both these businesses were done fully remote , while living in seven places around the world , from Valencia and Lisbon to Chiang Mai and Da Nang . After seeing it was possible to work for herself and work from anywhere , she decided to create Imagine that , dedicated to helping other corporate professionals achieve the same .

Niluka has previously lectured for Edinburgh Business School , trinity Business School , lis , and has had articles featured by Cambridge University and the World Financial Review . She is also the host of the YouTube channel Breaking Boundaries with Naluka . Thanks for joining us on the show today , naluka , can you just begin by telling us a bit about yourself ?

After that , I decided I wanted more from my career , more for my life , and I took a bit of a leap of faith . I asked myself is it possible to work for myself and is it possible to work from anywhere ? So I decided to go into entrepreneurship and during this time I worked on two businesses of my own One , a tech tech startup , which I took to market .

The other , an online public speaking business where I helped about 500 plus people globally . And I did all of that while nomading in seven places around the world . And that led me on to create . Imagine that , which I'm sure we'll talk more about today , which is the business school for digital nomads and solopreneurs who want to Work from Anywhere .

You asked me what led me to become a founder . I think it's maybe a bit cliche , but I've always loved to build and create . So even when I was at KPMG . Even in my consulting days I guess you could call it I was an intrapreneur , an intrapreneur .

So when I was at KPMG , I built KPMG Future Thinkers , which was a tech initiative that brought in speakers from the BBC , nutmeg , hsbc , etc . And also was one of the founding members of KPMG BSU , which was the behavioral science unit . So I've always , even when I was in corporate , loved to create and build . And then I have my own personal website .

I have my YouTube channel , breaking Boundaries with Naluka . Then , as I said , I had my public speaking business , help me present , which I actually started that while I was working at KPMG , which was very interesting . During the pandemic and even when I was like 15 , I was coming up with this idea to create like a clothing line and all of this .

So I think I've always been someone who liked to build and create . So it wasn't necessarily one thing that led me to become a founder . I think that's just who I am and I'd like to see the direct impact of what I am doing .

I think maybe also I'm not afraid to go against the grain and maybe be a bit different , and I think that is also common of founders too .

But I think I just wanted more , and I say that imagine that is for ambitious but bored professionals , because that is me . That was me a few years ago . I felt very ambitious with my career , but I felt so bored , and I think the pandemic really shifted my mindset .

It made me think look , if I can do my work in London , why can't I take my laptop and do it somewhere else in the world , somewhere beautiful ? That really shifted my mindset and I thought to myself if I stay in London , earn more money , go up the corporate ladder , so to speak , is that going to be it ?

Is that all I am ever going to do in my career ? Not take any risks , not do something else ? And so I would say it was more of a pull move than a push move . What I mean by that is I was pulled towards doing this rather than pushed away from something that I hated , right .

So I had this hypothesis while I was at KPMG Is it possible to work for myself and to work from anywhere ? As mentioned , I've always been quite entrepreneurial , plus , I've always liked to see the world , but I didn't just want to travel and stop my career . I didn't just want to take a sabbatical and travel .

I had never taken a gap year because I wanted to move forward with my career . So I had this quite ambitious goal to see can I progress on both ? Can I start building things and go into entrepreneurship while also sometimes working from anywhere ? So , as mentioned , I worked on two businesses fully remote .

One was a tech startup and the other was my online public speaking business and I nomaded in seven places across the world , in Europe and Asia and I realized , okay , this is really interesting because during that time , I also met a lot of other people like me , whether they were founders or whether they were people working remotely and nomading and I thought , okay

, this is true , you can make money online , work for yourself and have location freedom . Why do more people not know about this ? And I know that there are people out there like me a few years ago . They have an area of expertise they want to do online . Maybe they're a lawyer , financial advisor , tech consultant but they need help getting there .

They need help knowing how do I actually start an online services business , how do I stand out , how do I differentiate myself to win clients . And then , of course , you have the practical side of working from anywhere , and that is why I work with providers in the digital nomad space , whether it is digital nomad , tax , accommodation , etc .

So I suppose I wanted to be that voice , that voice that could help people achieve those two dreams at once to work for themselves , to work from anywhere , and to take their area of expertise and start offering that online and , in turn , gain location freedom .

I felt like why do we have to choose between our career and travel ? Why should we have to settle and why do we have to wait until we retire ? We didn't take a gap year . Why do we have to wait until we retire to go to these cool places or wait for three , four weeks of annual leave to maybe go abroad ?

So I think the first reason was a personal reason . I knew myself right I'm at the stage in my life where I want to be able to work from anywhere . I want to be able to sometimes take my laptop and work in another city or another place and see the world , while also progressing in my career .

Right , I'm getting my weekends , so in my weekends I can go and explore cool places . So that was the first reason . Second reason wider societal reason , which is to do with the world of work and how I can see it changing . So as many as one in three professionals are predicted to be digital nomads or have some degree of location freedom by 2035 .

That's according to the International Accounting Bulletin . The creator economy is set to double in size to 480 billion over the next five years . That's according to Goldman Sachs and we're seeing more and more countries starting to attract global talent .

Only I think it was a couple of months ago Thailand introduced the DTV visa , the Destination Thailand visa , which allows nomads to live and work in Thailand for six months for a very modest fee . So I think the second reason is I can see the world of work changing . I can see that we no longer have to be fixed to one location .

And then the third reason I wanted to create Imagine that and a location independent business is because of commercial reasons . Right , huge potential in this space . So online coaching and consulting set to reach 350 billion a year by 2035 , according to Forbes . So huge market potential .

Secondly , by having a location independent business , you have lower costs up front . You're not paying for an office and all of that . That can obviously really drain your finances . I think the third reason is you also have access to a wider client base , so you're not limited .

Although a lot of my clients and a lot of the people in the Imagine that community are from London and maybe Amsterdam , I do have also people from the US , from Canada , so that global access to clients is really interesting .

And I think also there is a little bit of a hack here that no one really speaks about , which is if you are working online and you have a location , independent business , and you are maybe charging out rates that are common in the US or the UK , but then sometimes you are working in Thailand or Bali , your finances and your business finances are going to go

further . So I think those are the three reasons personal reasons , societal reasons in terms of the shift in how we are working today , and then , thirdly , that commercial aspect .

And I realized it's a little bit like that jam analogy or that study , if you've ever heard about it where they gave shoppers a couple of jam options and they were more likely to buy than if they had like 20 plus jam options .

So I realized , okay , I need to streamline my offering a bit more , and so I went back to the drawing board and I spoke to customers . I took my own advice that I tell people who come through the academy , which is go and speak to your ideal customer , and I identify two key stages in the customer journey .

One is people who are wanting to transition out of corporate and wanting to work from anywhere and start their own business , but they don't necessarily have an online business idea or they're not sure what area of expertise they should offer online , and maybe they aren't sure how to even transition from the corporate space to being a location independent solopreneur .

So that was a really interesting discovery for me , and so that is why I have the career transition program , which is for people who may feel lost , confused , unsure how to pivot , unsure what their business idea should be in , etc .

And then there's another group of people , which are people who are your financial advisors , your tech consultants , your lawyers , who have an area of expertise . They know that they can start offering it independently , but they don't really know how to start .

They don't really know how to differentiate themselves and stand out , and so my mission with everyone who comes through the Imagine that Academy is that by the end of the program , they are ready to start their online services , business work from anywhere and win their first client in six months or less . So that was definitely a big learning for me .

Initially , I had too many offerings , and then I went back to speaking to customers and really identifying where are they in the customer journey , what are their pain points and what can I do to help them .

Instead , there is a lot of smoke and mirrors out there , seen on Instagram , especially LinkedIn a bit

less . I mean the number of online business coaches who are telling you how to start a business , and then you look at their background and they don't really have much that is credible behind them or it maybe feels a bit disingenuous people selling courses saying make 10k a month .

With my course on how to make 10k a month , that ultimately makes them 10k a month right , and then they sell themselves off that claim so really has to be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt . Then Then you also have these digital nomad coaches , which are useful , but , to be honest , I figured out a lot myself when I went nomading .

And then , of course , you have dropshipping , affiliate marketing , these types of so-and-so experts telling you how to make money online . So , in short , I saw that it was like the Wild West out there , to be honest , and so I saw that it was like the wild west out there , to be honest . And so I saw two gaps .

One gap was hang on where is the credible voice here , with a professional background , who maybe has come from corporate , who is realistic on the topic ? And so I just didn't see that . I didn't see that existed when I wanted to take the leap of faith . I haven't really seen it since .

So I wanted to take my consulting experience , my two businesses and my nomad experience to actually bring some credibility into this space and actually help people , using all the experience I have had in my professional life working with different clients and then working on my own businesses .

And what was interesting is that at one of my masterclasses , someone gave the feedback and he said it's great to see someone realistic , speaking sensibly , with a reasonably priced offer that is practical and useful . My compliments . And I read that and I was like , yes , okay , I've done something .

I think also another aspect in terms of how did I identify the niche was I saw a gap . So there were a lot of online business coaches out there .

There are a lot of digital nomad coaches , but if you can imagine a Venn diagram , imagine that sits in the middle , so I help a lot with the business side and run the academy , but then I also work with partners to help with the more practical aspects of being digital nomad tax , accommodation and that type of thing .

So yeah , that's really how I identified the niche .

This was not the case five , 10 years ago . I think another way I assess the demand for a business school like Imagine that is I set up a waitlist on my Instagram account , just a simple type form , and I thought , okay , let me do a couple of posts , let me have this type form , this waitlist , in my bio . Does anyone sign up ?

And I was having people sign up with no marketing spend . That was interesting . I also , obviously , did some market research . I saw the trends in the future of workspace those statistics I mentioned before , the changing customer sentiment , future of workspace , those statistics I mentioned before the changing customer sentiment .

And , of course , I also know that business consulting and coaching is quite an evergreen area . It's not an area that an AI bot can just do for you .

Yes , ai can help with tasks and automation and a lot more than that , right , but the actual discussion with someone about their strategy , how they find their niche , how they find their niche , how they identify their ideal customer , how they stand out and brand themselves all this type of things that I cover in the Imagine that Academy .

That is something that I think is going to be relevant for a very long time and , as mentioned before , online coaching and consulting sector set to reach 350 billion a year by 2035 .

Obviously , that is great for me and with Imagine that , but it's also great for my clients who are coming to me wanting to start coaching independently online or consulting independently online . So , yeah , a couple of different reasons as to how I saw and how I assessed the demand for something like Imagine that .

I tend not to do much cold outreach and I think , to be honest , if you really have something where there is demand , you won't need to do much of that . People will come to you . Obviously , though , you have to be active and out there

. So I do use LinkedIn a lot . I do a lot of storytelling on there . I talk about the experience I've had at . Imagine that I talk about my own journey to building . Imagine that I talk about the experience I've had at . Imagine that I talk about my own journey to building .

Imagine that I talk about some of the experiences I have had through nomading , et cetera , and that attracts my ICA , my ideal customer avatar . That attracts the type of people who are like me a few years ago when I was in corporate bored but ambitious , wanting to work for myself and wanting to work from anywhere . I do similar on my Instagram as well .

Instagram , as you may know , is more for video content , so I create reels et cetera on Instagram , but the more unusual way that I have attracted those in the Imagine that Academy and those in the community is through Meetup . So I created a group . This really surprised me .

I created a group on Meetup called the Business School for Digital Nomads and I sent it to London and people just joined that group , which was amazing because then I ran my masterclasses there , et cetera , and people were reaching out to me through the Meetup app or finding me through the Meetup app , and so that was very unusual for me because it's not really a

very well-known way to market yourself , but I think , for what Imagine that is trying to do and what I'm trying to build here , it really works . So , yeah , that's how I would say I've attracted my first clients in the academy and those in the community is through LinkedIn , instagram , but also this group that I created on Meetup .

So I did what I like to call the three Cs current trends , competitors , customer . So what are the current trends ? And I covered some of that already . But I could see that the future of work is changing rapidly . I can see that for Gen Z , they no longer just want to go to an office and do the nine to five .

They no longer even just want to work from home . They want more . They want some location , freedom . But also the older generation , those who are perhaps a little bit bored later on in their career and they just want a change . They are the type of people who are now thinking well , you know what , I've got a good amount of expertise under my belt .

Why can't I start consulting or offering my service independently online and go work a couple of months a year in South and France ? So trends definitely in terms of our mindset to how we work and the ways we should work . Then , obviously , competitors . So I mentioned previously that gap right . I didn't really see anyone very credible offering a service like this .

I saw that there were a lot of online business coaches and digital nomad coaches , but I wanted to be someone in between and to help people not just with the business side , but also with the practical side of nomading if they want that location freedom .

So that was really interesting , doing my research in terms of competitors and also seeing that there wasn't that sensible , realistic , credible voice who had done it themselves , who could then offer that support . And then the third C my customer . So I went and spoke out to my ideal customer avatar , my ICA , and I mean my background at KPMG .

I really specialized in customer , so that really is my area of expertise in terms of understanding the pain points , the challenges , the needs , the desires of people who are in a situation where they do want to start working for themselves and working from anywhere . So I did the three C's the current trends , customers , competitor , research .

I then went and created a wait list . So I started building a community . I created my website , I started to get a couple of the partners on board , so the partners who are offering that more practical side of being a digital nomad or having location freedom .

And then when I saw I had that in place , when I saw , okay , I'm getting people coming to my waitlist , I'm getting people following my accounts , I'm getting people partners wanting to work with me or wanting to feature on the Imagine that website , I then knew , right , I really have demand for something here . I really knew that there was something .

And then I went and launched , launched it soft launched it on LinkedIn , my YouTube channel and shared my story and the reasons why I launched the business . So I think it's really important to say that when you launch a business , there is a lot that needs to go on before you do it .

And really everything I mentioned there the three C's research , the creating the waitlist , the seeing if there would be partners who would want to you know , partner and collaborate with me that was all really about validation . It was about seeing is there demand for a business school for digital nomads and solopreneurs who want location freedom ?

Is there demand for it ? And I saw , oh my gosh , yes , there is . And then that was when I started to go out more publicly and more formally .

Give value and make it about your audience , not about you . Speak to them in a way that resonates and gets to their point of challenge or their area that they really want to change in their life . And think about your why , not just your what ? So every brand stands for something . If we think about Nike , it stands for action victory .

Every brand stands for something . If we think about Nike , it stands for action victory . Think about Apple stands for innovation , chanel , sophistication , elegance , right . So there is a deeper why behind the products they are selling , and it's the same with me . We'd imagine that . What is the why behind my service ?

Okay , yes , I offer business support and I help people start their online service and , you know , start consulting or coaching independently . But that's the what . What is my why ? My why is about gaining freedom . By doing that , you can gain the freedom to work from anywhere . You can gain the freedom to work for yourself , set your own schedule , etc .

So my aim with everything I do in my marketing or I try to do is to inspire people and to educate them and show them an alternative career path , one of freedom , one where you can work for yourself and work from anywhere . So I think that's really important for anyone thinking about their marketing strategy .

Don't just get fixed on the tactical and the specific actions you're going to do , like I'm going to post on Instagram three times a week and do this LinkedIn post five times a week and maybe do some digital marketing or even some I don't know outdoor advertising , whatever it might be right , that's all great , but before you get to that , you need to think about

your why . What is the deeper purpose or the deeper aspect behind what you are doing ? And again , that's something I help with in the Imagine that Academy with you know , even if you think about a financial advisor who comes and wants to start independently offering their service , that's great , we know what they're doing , but why are they doing it ?

And then that , of course , ties into your niche , etc . So that is the overall thing I would say think about the why , and that has been very helpful for me with growing imagine that what sets you apart from your competitors ? well , I think it goes back to those two gaps .

I mentioned one gap in terms of , okay , there's a lot of online business coaches out there , there are some digital nomad coaches out there , but actually combining the business side with the more practical location independent side has not been done before . So that is what I'm aiming to do with .

Imagine that , yes , there is the academy , which focuses on the business side of things , but if people do want location freedom , hey , here are some partners that can help with that .

I think also , what sets me apart is , as mentioned , my professional background and , hopefully , the fact that I am quite credible my academic background , my consulting experience , my entrepreneurship experience . I've also lectured at Trinity Business School , edinburgh Business School , the London Interdisciplinary School .

I've had articles published by Cambridge University , the World Financial Review , etc . So really trying to be that credible voice in an area where there are a lot of get rich quick schemes .

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors , unfortunately , when it comes to how you can make money online and how you can travel , and I just want to be that voice that people can relate to and say , huh , okay , she was in corporate before . She has done it , she's made it work . She has a credible background in business .

She also has done some of that practical nomad side of things herself . Okay , I want to work with her . That is what I think sets me and Imagine that apart .

I really do want to be that brand and that company that does stand for freedom , but does it in a way that is practical and sensible and isn't making these grand claims that we see all the time on , particularly somewhere like Instagram , that are just nonsense .

Self-discipline is everything , and what helps with that Having a genuine passion for what you do .

So if you are doing something that you really care about , that decision of , hmm , do I want to go to the beach this morning in Thailand , or do I actually want to make progress in X area , is easier , right , you know that you can go to the beach when you want , at the weekend or in the evenings or whatever , like .

I have to have that discussion with myself . But because I love what I'm doing and because I feel I'm on such a mission with Imagine that it is much easier for me to actually choose , no , I really want to work on this task or this aspect of my business today .

I think the second tip for staying productive is to just have a solid work setup . So find a co-working space , find a cafe with good air con and Wi-Fi , don't just work from home all the time . I think that's a big danger if you are working online , right .

So when you go to these places a co-work space or a cafe that's good to work in you can be in the zone when you are there and then when you step out you can enjoy your surroundings , etc . And for me personally , that helps a lot with separating work and play , or work and travel . Third tip I always give is to focus on output first .

So this isn't new , but progress is measured on output and results , not a set number of hours , and I think that can really help when optimizing your schedule right and thinking about what truly matters for your business .

Five hours of deep work with airplane mode on is worth so much more than eight , nine hours of flitting between tasks , being on your phone , feeling distracted , etc . So focus on deep work and focus on the output . And then the fourth thing I'd say that really helps with being productive is to find other like-minded individuals .

So , for me , finding other people who are not traveling but they are working remotely right . If you are someone who doesn't have the location freedom of working from anywhere but you are fully remote , I still suggest that you go and find people like you who are in a similar boat who are working remotely .

When I was in Koh Samui in Thailand , there was a startup Samui group , which was great . I met so many interesting people working on their own projects , businesses , ventures . They're all doing it online . Lisbon , I had similar when I was in Da Nang . Almost every cafe I went to I found other digital nomads there and people with remote freedom .

So being around those types of people really supercharges your own goals and what you want to achieve . So those are my four tips for being productive Do something you actually enjoy , at least you know . I'm not saying you have to every day jump out of bed , right ? I really disagree with that .

I mean there's always going to be bad parts to anything you do , but I think if you enjoy what you do 70 , 75% of the time , that's great . Second thing is have a solid work setup . Find a co-working space or a cafe or somewhere else to work than just home .

Third thing is to always focus on output and that deep flow state of work so that you really achieve what you want , but it's not just about clocking in X number of hours . And then the fourth is around finding those like-minded individuals that I think that you can learn from and work with , and feel productive and motivated by too .

As I mentioned , that currently is a three-month program that is cohort-based At the moment it's live cohorts , but eventually that may become more of a membership or subscription model and the goal of the academy is that everyone who comes through it by the end of it are ready to launch their online business , work from anywhere and win their first client in six

months or less . And I focus particularly on the why . So the why you , the who , who is your customer ? And the what what are you selling ? Another aspect of the B2C revenue stream is the career transition support .

So I mentioned earlier , there are people who aren't yet ready to start an online services business , but they know that they want to transition out of corporate , they want to pivot , but they're not quite sure how to do it . So this is one to one , because it does require more tailoring and everyone's career is different .

And that is , as I mentioned , career transition support . About four weeks currently sessions just with me to really think about that plan of action , to okay , how do you want to work for yourself and how do you work from anywhere , and what are the steps to actually reach that point . Then I have a B2B revenue stream and that is my Imagine that partners .

So this is really important to me to have those practical providers who can provide the help and support when it comes to the more logistical aspect of having location freedom . So the way that this revenue stream works is partners pay to be listed on the website and that is an annual amount , and obviously on the Imagine that website they gain the brand exposure .

So anyone who comes , even if they don't buy from them , are gaining brand awareness of what that company does . So that is a win for the partners .

As well as that , I also have a commission and a referral scheme in place so that if anyone does go and get I don't know digital nomad tax advice through Imagine that or digital nomad accommodation help through Imagine that , then I gain a commission from that . And I think also I'm going to start introducing newsletter features as well .

So as I build up the community of people I have about 500 people in the community now as I build up , as my newsletter and my email list becomes bigger , then I definitely see partners wanting to pay to feature that .

So I'm really enjoying having both those revenue streams , that B2C angle , which is the academy , which is the cohort based how do you actually start an online services business and launch it and then the career transition support , which is for people who not yet at that stage yet but they need a bit of help moving from corporate to solopreneurship , moving from

corporate to location freedom . And then the B2B revenue stream as well , which is working with partners , and I really enjoy having both of those because , ultimately , what I'm doing is that business side , but also that practical location freedom side , and that was really important to me when I created Imagine that to be able to offer both .

You do have to be active , though , and make an effort to go out and seek those like minded people . It's not like you go to an office and you have to mingle and make connections , right , because you literally sat next to people in a meeting room or sat next to people on the desk next to you , right ?

You do have to be more proactive , I think , when you are working for yourself and doing so remotely . But that's also why I'm building the Imagine that community , because I want to foster and create those relationships between people who come into the academy .

What is really amazing is that , despite the loneliness , when you do go out and meet people , it's incredible the people you meet . I mean , honestly , I have met people from such interesting walks of life a former Australian politician . A relatively famous French influencer who's my friend , djs around the world .

Someone who has sold his business in Silicon Valley and he's now pursuing music full time . Many , many , many business owners doing incredible things .

So the people you do meet is really really interesting , I think , because when you take yourself out of the corporate bubble , when you take yourself out of the status quo and you do start gaining location , freedom and maybe working from anywhere and nomading , you get to meet so many people who have very varied and creative careers and backgrounds and I think you

will bond over the fact that you're going against the grain in some ways . So it can be very lonely definitely . The other side of that coin is that when you do go out and meet people , you are most likely going to create some incredible connections from the experience . I mean , honestly , I never thought I would meet the type of people I have met today .

Honestly , I never thought that . But yes , I think that is the hardest part . It can be lonely when you're working for yourself and working from anywhere and nomading in a new place . Of course , there's going to be a little bit of that loneliness when you start out .

What I do , and what Imaginecom helps with , is the online services business . So I would be asking what expertise , skill , service area of specialism do you have that you can deliver online that adds value to others ?

Now , if you can do it online , it means you don't have to be fixed to one location and it gives you access to a global marketplace of potential clients . So again , just try start out . Do some early customer validation right . Pick a destination , go for three months . If you want to nomad , go just for three months . See how you find it .

It doesn't have to be this dramatic career or life change and you shouldn't think of it as that . But make sure , if you are starting a location independent business , that you validate , a location independent business that you validate and you think about the why , the why you .

Okay , what is it about you that is going to make you stand out and make people want to buy from you who is your customer , know that , know your niche , know exactly who you're targeting and what is your offer and what's your unique framework or your business model right ?

These are all things we cover in the academy , but overall , break it down doesn't have to be this massive thing . I think the problem is people get very overwhelmed by everything they have to do and I'm not saying it's easy , of course not .

But honestly , if I thought about everything that could go wrong and every single aspect that I would have to do , I wouldn't have created . Imagine that I wouldn't have created my first public speaking business , et cetera .

You just have to move the pebble every single day and try and don't think of it as this massive thing that either is going to work or won't work . Just say to yourself right , I'm going to give this a shot , let's see .

I feel like I'm no longer needing that or craving that holiday , and I'm no longer counting how many days of annual leave I have left . So that's really interesting . But , to answer your question , I think I have good boundaries . I know myself very well .

I've had periods in the past where I've worked and worked , and worked and worked and my efficiency just goes down . It's like that efficiency curve . Right . At some point the number of hours you do doesn't correlate to your productivity or moving forward , and I know what that threshold is for me .

I think it can be hard , though , as a founder and a business owner , you're always on your phone , even when you're on social media . You're looking at your own business social media account , right , so you are always on .

But I try to carve out when I feel like I'm getting to my limit , maybe an afternoon off , right , and that's the thing when you work for yourself . And I say this to my clients , those who want to coach or consult independently .

When you work for yourself , you can set your own schedule , which is amazing , so that I think can really help with having a balance . But you have to be disciplined with yourself . You have to know yourself , I think , as a nomad too . Right , there is the work you're doing , but also when you're traveling you , you know you're looking to explore the place .

So I'm going to Chiang Mai next week , right , and I'm like , oh , that's going to be so cool . I'm going to be in Thailand , like . I'm going to beang Mai next week , right , and I'm like , oh , that's going to be so cool . I'm going to be in Thailand , like I'm going to be able to see different things there .

But I know that if I just work , work , work and explore , explore , explore , I'm going to burn out . So one thing that I have learned at the start of my journey is I have to factor in rest , right , literal rest , just relaxing , a short walk , watching a movie , whatever it might be , something that's going to recharge you .

That is very important because I think if you are always doing work and play , right , you're always working , or you're always socializing or , in my case , maybe exploring new places , you will still burn out .

You need that time to just rest , be away from everything , take a moment away from your laptop and just have some downtime and some time for your body and your mind to recharge . That really helps .

When I started out , I didn't see this , which is why I created it . So I think that is a big goal for me to build this community , to show people that it is possible .

Now there are a lot of nomad communities out there , but there isn't a community for people who are maybe currently in their corporate roles , thinking about making this change and they haven't quite got to the point where they're going to do it right . So that community of aspiring solopreneurs and aspiring nomads .

I think the second goal I have , honestly , it's to inspire people to change lives , to show people that it is possible to enhance their careers , to no longer have to choose between career and travel , to no longer have to deal with office politics , work a nine to five , hate Mondays , count their annual leave , etc .

But instead create a career that is built around their lives rather than a life built around their career , and it's why I'm such a big believer in work life integration right , because why can't we create a career and a life that complement each other ?

So I would love to be a bigger voice in this future of workspace , a bigger voice in terms of helping channel this message and inspire people , like I did a few years ago , to bet on themselves , to take that leap , to start creating a career on their own terms .