How to Navigate Your Desire to Travel While Being a Responsible Adult

Truth bomb: You don’t have to abandon being a responsible adult to travel around the world full time. It’s 2019, you can take care of your responsibilities AND travel full time. Usually, this is the part where you see someone insert something like “quit your job and travel the world. I’ll show you how…blah blah blah.”

Yeah, that’s what I’m not here to tell you…sorry.

What I am going to do is let you in on a secret. The “f’ word saved me, ya’ll! If you’re wondering what the “f” word is, it’s not what you think it is, it’s freelancing. Lol Freelancing is the move. I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects for people online all over the world in places like the Netherlands, Ireland and here in the States.

Freelancing is awesome for several reasons. You get to decide your rates (hello getting paid what you’re worth!), how often/when you want to work, and you also get to choose the projects you want to work on. All of these things are what sold me on the idea. But there are challenges that come with freelancing as well. I’ll cover those in a separate post later. For now, I want to share how you can get started freelancing online if you’re wanting to earn extra money or if you plan to turn it into a full-time career. And yes, freelancing full time is REAL THING.

If this is something you are considering. Here’s how you can get started:

1. Figure out what you enjoy doing

Think about something you like doing. This may even be something you currently do at work. What most of you may not realize is a lot of things you’re currently doing at your 9-5 job are things people are already doing online.

2. Determine whether that job can be done online

Again, it’s 2019. Almost anything can be done via the internet. Things like social media management, email list management, copywriting/proofreading, graphic design, marketing are just a few skills people are always looking for that can be done remotely. But honestly, there are so many things! Use your creativity.

3. Join Freelancing Groups on Facebook

This is probably my favorite secret. I don’t receive anything by telling you to join these groups, I just want to share what’s worked for me and how I’ve landed paid freelance gigs. Here are a few groups I recommend joining: Freelancing Females, The Bucketlist Bombshells Tribe, and the Creative Lady Collective. People post opportunities in these groups several times a day. Definitely check them out.

4. Create a Website to Showcase Your Skills

I LOVE social media. But after Instagram and Facebook crashed yesterday, I think we can agree that you can’t rely solely on social media to market your skills. You will need to build your own platform where you have complete control over the content and you can market your services 24/7 and it won’t be controlled by some silly algorithm. If you’re like most people and you don’t want to deal with the technical parts of the setup, check out my WordPress Web Installation services where I build WordPress websites for entrepreneurial creatives who would rather just focus on adding their content.

5. Use Your Network to Find Freelance Gigs  

Tell people what you’re up to. A lot of businesses thrive off word of mouth (#wom) advertising. WOM is one of the most valuable sources of advertising. Think about it, if someone you trust recommends a product or service to you, you’re more likely to try out that product vs. seeing an ad for it somewhere. This is actually how I got my first freelance gig through someone I knew.

Starting a freelanced-based side hustle while working your 9-5 is totally possible. I run into people all the time who have used these tips to start freelancing on the side. Just like anything else, it takes hard work and dedication to get it going. Don’t be discouraged during the process because it is a process and I’m constantly learning new things every day. As I learn new things, I’ll share everything here with you guys.

Share this post if you found the information here to be helpful. 

Until next time…ciao!!

Xo