This entry is a kind contribution from Mohit Sharma.
Working while travelling is like mixing work from home with traditional working. You are travelling, that you do when you are in a traditional job and you can work according to your will and at the time that is suitable for you.
The COVID-19 situation made us realize that we can work as efficiently from home as we work at our offices. So, if you have the will and dedication, you can definitely balance your online business while travelling full time. Imagine, the efforts that you put in your project, you can start ecommerce business of yours with these efforts.
If you are a travel lover or a travel freak, this is the best option for you. If you think that daily commute to your work and sitting the whole day at the office is not what you want, you should try an online business, but it comes with its own consequences.
Imagine that you are at a beach surfing and raving, when will you work? Will you look after your business? Will you keep it closed? You should understand that all the travelling will cost you and unless you are extremely rich, you cannot afford to skip business. Well, no one wants to work with someone who is irregular and cannot stick to their commitments.
Let’s say you want to work, but will you be able to work when people around you are forcing you to come to their festival? These are some things that you should consider. You are doing online business because you want to travel the world and enjoy life, but the business will need a commitment from your side and some sacrifices. You have to provide it time, no matter what the situation is or else your business will start making zero profits and your dream of travelling the world will come to its end.
We are talking about a new type of struggle here. You will have to face different situations while you still have to stick to your project planning. It will totally go south of what you imagine it to be. It will not be as easy as sipping margaritas on a beach and working. There will be issues like wifi failures, client frustrations, passport dramas, time zone cope up, etc. and among all this, you have to keep working. Nothing is free, right? You have to pay for all this travelling by going through the extra struggle.
But, nevertheless, the life cycle that we know consists of grinding ourselves in the juicer of a job where we have to work as anything. We are told that this is life and we should get used to it. But why should we adjust to their definition of life? We will live and work together. There is a struggle and so here is also struggle, but at least by choosing this road that is less taken, you can fulfil your dreams and you will be happy to your soul.
Here is a good fact for you: according to a study conducted by Upwork, 60% of freelancers who left traditional employment now earn more. Of those, 78% indicated they earned more freelancing within a year or less.
You just need some tips and some discipline to conquer this. So, here are some tips that will help you in efficiently balancing your online business while travelling full time:
1. Maintain a schedule:
It is less about maintaining a schedule and more about knowing the right time to do the right thing. In this tip, you have to understand your project scope and you have to act accordingly.
Proper work can be done only if everything is scheduled earlier. Imagine going to Disneyland without a proper plan. This will just leave you with a not so good or fulfilled experience. You have to dedicate certain hours of your day to your work and you have to commit to your meetings according to your schedule. Sometimes you may work at night and sometimes in the morning or evening, therefore you have to schedule your work accordingly.
Using your phone or Laptop as soon as you wake up is not a good idea. Relax a little bit, meditate or workout and then you are good to work. Just remember, your business is your sole way of earning and therefore you cannot miss a single day. Become your own boss and give yourself no leaves. You can work less on days that you don’t feel well or like working, but no holidays or you will become habitual to it.
You will have to adjust to both the sides, if you are a Flipkart Seller or Snapdeal Seller you will have to think about your orders at the same time, you can enjoy being at the beach! So it is all about balance.
2. Travel slower and smarter:
You are your own boss, you can stay at a place for as much time as you wish, so what’s the hurry?
Travelling hurriedly can lead to some serious burnouts and then you won’t be able to enjoy your travelling. You are not travelling only for roaming at a new land, you have to work also. Therefore, plan your stay accordingly. The schedule should let you travel as well as complete your work. You should get proper rest and then only you should go somewhere else.
You cannot enjoy or work when you are exhausted, therefore, don’t be a hurried baby and provide yourself with enough time.
A friend of mine is a Shopclues Seller and I am fascinated by how he manages work and travelling at the same time!
3. Take a day off from the road:
As the name of this blog suggests, it is about balancing your travelling and your online business. There will be days when you are on the road with no network or you are on a plane for the whole day. This means that you won’t be able to work for the whole day.
An eye for an eye, therefore a day for a day. If you miss a day and you do no work , you have to dedicate the next day to your work. This will help you to catch up on things and will give you time to think about how you can grow your business.
You can use that time in doing something that you love, I love blogging so I will use that time in writing up my blogs such as how to use paytm or sell on amazon, or how to become a Paytm Seller.
You can either enjoy or you can work. In order to grow your business, you have to come up with some ideas and this is possible only if you are fully focused. Therefore I suggest you dedicate a day per week to just work and you should think about expanding and growing your business.
4. Learn the importance of “NO”:
There are two types of “NO” that you must learn.
The first is to say no to things that will not add up any value to your business. You should learn to say no to interviews, guest posts, phone calls and the like, which add zero value to your business. When you are working and travelling, each second matters to you and if you waste it, you are simply causing an effect to your fun.
The next no is for the people that you meet while travelling. You should learn to say no to their plans as you should understand that they are here for vacation and they will travel the whole day and on the other hand, you cannot do the same. If their request will have consequences for your work, say no.
5. Outsource some work:
You should simply outsource all the work that you do not enjoy doing. This will eliminate the element that holds you back from enjoying work and it will give an extra hand as well.
This will free up your time and you can enjoy and travel more, without any tension. It is advisable that you should focus on more important work and on your genius and you should outsource the work that you don’t love.
Whether work should be outsourced or not depends on 2 things. Time and money. Consider both the factors and then decide whether you should outsource the work or not.
Author Bio:
Mohit is an ECommerce Enthusiast and Owner of MohitECommerce. He is Working With Many Vendors in Different Categories of Products Across Various Marketplaces. He is Very Good at Amazon Seller Training, Amazon FBA, Amazon Seller Registration, Amazon Brand Registry, Amazon Account Suspended (Making Plan of Action). He Likes To Help All Type of Businesses Mainly Small and Medium Businesses Which are eager to Step in Online Business.
