(Newswire.net — October 27, 2019) — This 25-year-old #girlboss could be working from a different country on any given day. I interviewed Brittany New to get her top tips and demystify what it takes to become a digital nomad. In just one year, she’s scaled her business up to having two employees while she runs the show from her laptop all over the world. Here’s the formula she gave us:
1. Decide on a skill.
High value skills include virtual assistance, writing, graphic design, voiceover work, video production, photography, web design, and even interior design. I’ve done them all, but now my media production business uses a combination of a few.
2. Decide on a niche.
Don’t market your services to everyone who needs a video. Market to a specific group of people to do a specific job for them. You’ll have better success if you keep it simple! My hot niche is online course creation for entrepreneurs.
3. Position yourself as an expert in your specialty.
Let me back up. When I was just starting out, I had no portfolio for the type of work I wanted to do. I took my first few clients for a super low rate in exchange for good reviews and portfolio pieces. It’s easier to get people to take a chance on you if you offer a huge discount. Then I had the exact type of work I wanted to sell. I used those portfolio pieces to basically say, “Hey, this is what I specialize in! You may find another graphic designer out there, but you might not find one who specializes in this kind of product (online courses).”
4. Use the power of visual branding.
When you present yourself online, it’s all visual. Make it awesome! Have an eye-catching website, video, resume, portfolio. Simply put, the more attractive and professional everything looks, the more you can charge for your services. That’s branding baby.
5. Use free traffic to get clients – don’t use ads.
Ads are awesome if you know what you’re doing, but if you’re just starting out they can be a waste of money. It’s never been easier to use free platforms to get clients such as Fiverr, Upwork to get jobs. Or social media to point people to your website. If you really want to go the ad route, hire a marketing specialist so you’re using them properly.
6. Cold email people in your niche.
Be clever on this one. If you want to start a wedding videography business, who should you contact? Brides and grooms? No! Contact the wedding planners and venues! Contacting a couple might get you one job, but the planners and venues get you a lifetime of work. Find email addresses of people in your niche that can help you get work, and send them a genuine email telling them what you do. Pro tip: they are more likely to respond if you say something that benefits them. For example, “I’m a wedding videographer and I am looking for venues (or wedding planners) in your area that I can refer my clients to. Is this is a good email address to send them if they are looking for more information?” Once they reply to this message with an exciting “Yes, please!,” the door is open and you’ve built a relationship. Take it from there.
7. Outsource whenever possible.
You’re becoming a digital nomad to enjoy life! Not to work all day while you’re traveling. Figure out what tasks in your workflow can be easily outsourced to someone else. Make sure you factor this cost into your rates so that you still make a large majority of the profit. You can find people to work from you on Fiverr or Upwork as well as within Facebook groups intended for job postings. Pro tip: If your entire job can be outsourced, ding! ding! ding! Sounds like passive income! Pay your workers less than you charge and then scale up.
8. Have a community.
The hardest part about being a digital nomad is not the work, the marketing, or the customer service… it’s being self-motivated. You have to be the boss, set the deadlines, and make sure the ship is sailing smoothly at all times. It helps to have a community of people who are in the same mindset as you. I am avid co-working space user when I’m home and while traveling because I like the go-getter energy in those spaces. If there aren’t co-working spaces where you are, it may be helpful to have an online community of likeminded people, mimicking that environment in a digital space. Check out brittanynew.com to learn more about the community I’ve created for that purpose.
Tags: business, entrepreneurship, mindset, digital nomad, travel, freelance