Meet Carolin, a digital nomad from Germany who quit her job to build an online business. Check out her interview below…
1. Please introduce yourself.
Hi there, my name is Carolin, originally from Germany, and today travelling the world full-time. I was just in Japan for a month, now spending a month in Bali before heading on to Australia. I am travelling solo.
2. When did you start working from home? What inspired the change?
I became a digital nomad over three years ago and today still work entirely location independent. I worked in a marketing agency in Germany prior to becoming fully nomadic. I actually quite liked my job but I didn’t like to be stuck in an office and a 9 to 5 rhythm.
I always loved travel and was first bitten by the travel bug on a high school exchange when I was 16 and traded my small country town in Germany for surf beaches and koalas and lived with a host family in Australia for a year while going to high school there. This has changed my entire life!
I am adventurous at heart and have lived, worked and studied abroad in different places over the years. The world is my home.
3. What different ways have you tried to earn an income working from home? What do you do now to earn money?
I have started out freelancing offering web design, social media, content and overall digital marketing services. It was a steep learning curve in the beginning but building my own blog at the same time helped.
I played around with affiliate marketing and I’m thinking of selling my own products in the future.
Right now, I am fully focused on developing awesome social media strategies and Facebook advertising management. I still run my travel blog breathingtravel.com too where I work in partnerships with companies across the globe and write about remote work life.
4. How long did it take you to earn enough money to quit your day job?
I actually quit before I earned money, I had some savings and took off to live on the cheap in Thailand and figure things out from there. It took me less than two months to secure my first client, which I randomly met in Chiang Mai.
5. What tips would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you first started working at home?
Build up some good systems and automation fast!! It also helps to set clear times, they don’t have to be the same every day, but a max hour per week helps as I am still struggling with work life balance sometimes.
6. What has been the secret to your success?
Resilience. My path hasn’t been easy but I have not given up! Remember, you can always change your direction – and you totally should if something isn’t working… this is how you keep learning!
7. What mistakes have you made along the way?
Not setting up systems or even thinking or systemizing things in the beginning. Also, hiring the wrong tax person, not a great idea and slows down success.
8. What is the best part about working from home?
The flexibility and freedom it gives me, to work from anywhere whenever I want to! It’s unbeatable to be able to get up early and work or late and surf before work, spend time with friends over lunch and work at night instead.
9. What is the worst part about working from home?
Not having anyone who pulls you out of your chair. I am pretty good at keeping deadlines and focus, but I also see myself working a lot, especially when there is nobody around to get me out of my mind space for a while, I sometimes have to really force myself to get up.
10. What advice do you have for anyone starting out?
Set up systems!!! I wish I had them in the beginning. And don’t be everything for everyone, in the beginning it’s easy to jump for shiny objects even though they may not be within your passion or expertise.
