It’s the ideal situation for any bona fide free spirit: Earning money through satisfying your urge to spread your wings and experience everything this wonderful planet has to offer. And while it sounds like wishful thinking to some, I like to think of myself as living proof that it’s possible.
And it’s encouraging to see there are more and more nomads out there living the dream. Like Kach Medina and Jonathan Howe, who have been traveling the world together since 2013. What’s so remarkable about their story is that they’re not simply funding their travels; they’re thriving financially and plan to set up a business based on their globe-hopping exploits next year – Medina and Howe spoke to Business Insider Australia recently to explain how they do this.
The exchange is worth reading, and serves as an inspirational and educational article which I will elaborate on below, beginning with some words of wisdom from Medina:
“If you want to sustain your travels, you really need to invest in your skills. Jon was already invested in his certification to teach English before quitting his job – aside from savings, you need to invest in skills.”
She’s right. And with the right measures of skill, determination and of course, a bit of luck, you can transform your passion for exploration into a career. Read on to find out how…
Paid Exposure
Virtually all travelers carry a camera like an extra limb. More often than not, however, the films or digital pics end up being no more than personal, visual diaries of the countries visited, the sites seen and the friends made.
Now, rather than wielding your camera like a tourist, you can turn it into a professional, money-making tool. Wherever you go, take an extra minute or two to create stunning and interesting photos of the one-of-a-kind, spectacular, or highly evocative scenes you encounter. Why? Because there are lots of people all over the world willing to pay you for it.
Getting your portfolio enough exposure could lead to stock image suppliers purchasing your work, or exclusive art sites such as Lumas, which search the photography scene for rising and talented artists, putting you on their payroll as an official photographer so they can turn your photos into artworks and sell them.
Blog for Cash
This one is similar to monetizing your camera, except in this case it’s words that bring home the bacon. If you write a diary as you go, then it’s really worth transporting it to the online world and devoting those extra hours to make it sparkle so it looks and sounds like a real blog or website. You’d be surprised how many people out there are genuinely interested in your experiences.
A large enough readership goes hand in hand with lucrative commercial deals from companies which can leverage your hit rate to generate a healthy amount of profit for both parties. Even if you don’t land a partnership quickly – which is likely to happen, as growing a readership requires time – then bread and butter paid ads from Google, for instance, can bring in the kind of cash which supports your blogging business and keeps the momentum going, and, in turn, funds more trips.
Trip and Trade
It’s no secret that I make my money trading and I get to travel as I go about it. Yet, I still get asked the question: Is day trading and traveling really possible?
My answer is always the same: As long as you have an internet connection – no matter how flimsy, even if it’s from your phone – you can do it. There are even companies out there that facilitate remote trading, such as Plus500, a commission free online platform which allows you to trade using PayPal.
Hopefully this post has erased any doubts you may have had about your capacity to simultaneously explore and make money – I hope even more so it inspires you to start the process as soon as you can.
