Ever since I started traveling, I knew I wanted to live in other countries, spend months on other continents, explore new places, learn new languages, and not be confined to one location.
Thankfully, I learned early on in my New York City career that the cubicle life is not for everyone, and that there were many alternatives to climbing the corporate ladder.
Since quitting my corporate job and going full-time with The Wanderlover, I have built my online business to a community of over 100,000+ freedom lovers around the world, and helped hundreds of people start and scale profitable online businesses.
Through lots of trial and error, I am now sharing proven business ideas, models, and recommendations for a freedom-based life!
A Freedom-Based Business
Fast forward to today, I am fully enjoying the time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom that my own business enables, bringing in multiple 5-figures every single month.
You CAN have both complete freedom and absolute financial security as an online entrepreneur.
A lot of it was mindset and believing I could do it, and a lot of it was also having clarity knowing exactly what business to start to sustain a full-time travel lifestyle.
If you are curious how to take advantage of the digital age we are in, and leverage the tons of top online business ideas that allow you to become an online entrepreneur, let’s dive in!
1. Start a Blog
Starting a blog (like this one!) is a great way to begin your entrepreneurship journey to make money online.
It forces you to decide who you are online, what your niche is, who your ideal audience is, and what products and services you plan to sell.
It also forces to you learn about what works, what doesn’t, and how to allocate your time. For example, there is no point spending all your time writing articles if they are not ranking or SEO optimized or if no one is seeing them and they’re not being promoted.
It’s also a great way to start earning (passive) income online through affiliate marketing, and the best part is there is no limit on how much you can earn, as blogging is extremely scalable.
This is what I started doing while working at my desk in a 9-5, and I haven’t stopped since.
Starting a blog does take time to get started, and content planning in advance. But if you’re diligent in posting quality content and driving traffic, you can be making six figures or more per year.
✈️ Read How to Start a Travel Blog: Become a Travel Blogger and Make Money Blogging
2. Social Media Influencer
Also while I was working my corporate job, all I wanted to do was become a travel influencer as I was scrolling through Instagram in my cubicle.
I wanted to learn how to create amazing photo and video content, grow my following, learn to negotiate and work with travel brands, and build products and services around my brand.
Because of my love for travel, I wanted to help others find the freedom and be able to travel the world as well.
So I learned everything I could, practiced, pitched, networked, and spent countless hours on social media every day to grow my travel business.
As a travel influencer, you get to work with incredible hotels and resorts around the world, and the tourism industry is only growing.
I have worked with incredible luxury hotels and resorts around the world, and am so grateful that this business allows me to get paid to travel.
I and recommend this business idea to anyone who is interested in getting started!
📸 Download The Travel Influencer Handbook
3. Digital Products
Digital products like eBooks, online courses, and templates allow you to make money from anywhere in the world because they are fully online and scalable.
It also allows you to make money in your sleep!
As long as you have access to the internet, you are able to create these for yourself and start making sales online.
💰 Grab the Freebie: Create Passive Income with an Ebook
4. Online Coaching & Consulting
Think about your past, your experience, and who you are capable of helping.
People from all over the world seek out coaching and consulting on any topic. I’ve helped clients who were coaches who helped from relationships to taxes to wellness to business.
As an online coach or consultant, you are able to build your brand while offering 1:1 or group programs. This is an excellent way to take your work with you when you travel.
I was able to hit my first $10,000 with a combination of coaching, content creation, and digital products, all while living halfway across the world.
👩🏻💻 Learn how in the Wanderlover Business Academy
5. Social Media Management
Next are social media managers!
Did you know that many businesses that appear all the time on various platforms are probably not creating or posting the content themselves?
Many outsource their online presence to Social Media Managers, and you can become one too.
Almost every company nowadays has a social media presence. You would be representing a company that outsources managers to post content across their social channels, showcasing their brand, and driving traffic.
Start with creating a portfolio of skills, browse Instagram and Facebook groups for available opportunities, design a rate card, and you’re ready to do this from anywhere in the world.
🎧 Tune Into an Interview with My Social Media Manager
6. Freelancing
I have countless friends who live a location-independent lifestyle as freelancers, and I’ve consistently hired freelancers from around the world to help out The Wanderlover remotely.
You can freelance in so many categories, from web design, graphic design, copywriting, UX design, IT services. Just look on websites like Fiverr to get an idea of what is possible.
If you have a particular skill, monetize it. You can sell on your own time, at your own rates, and on your own schedule.
This takes the least amount of time to get off the ground as you can start taking new clients as soon as today.
🏝️ Join the Digital Nomad Society
7. Virtual Assistant
Next, we have virtual assistants, and they are my favorite people to hire because they make life so much easier, and are always in demand.
Think about all the people who had assistants in the past, and now all the benefits of having a virtual one.
You can do things such as data entry, calendar scheduling, travel arranging, making phone calls, managing email accounts, just to give you some ideas.
As a virtual assistant, you can really offer any services that you feel competent with, and learn the ones that you aren’t familiar with.
In the end, as long as you and the business you assist are on the same page, this is a top online business idea to consider.
8. Ecommerce
Ecommerce, or electronic commerce, is the act of selling goods online. I have an ocean-inspired jewelry line where all of our sales are made through our online shopping channels.
While I was in my corporate job, I tried out dropshipping and Amazon Marketplace FBA models, where you don’t even have to hold inventory! You simply have to set up a shopfront and make sales.
The dropshipping company (like Amazon FBA) fulfills and ships out the item from the warehouse directly to your customer.
It was my first taste of making money online without having to rely on my corporate salary, and I was addicted.
The Ecommerce world is incredibly fast-growing, and there is always room for people to join in at any time.
It’s perfect for those of you who don’t want your face behind your brand.
If this appeals to you, you can get set up and start making sales from anywhere in the world.
Final Thoughts
Starting your online business is the ultimate key to reach financial freedom and location independence.
Doing so has completely changed my life, as well as the lives of all my clients, students, and community members.
There are SO MANY ways and opportunities you can make money from your laptop in this digital age, and now is the perfect time to start.
If you would like 1:1 guidance to start your profitable online business that gives you the freedom to travel the world, check out my private coaching options!
🚀 Learn More About the Start Your Business Intensive
