Today’s article comes from Dan Andrews, host of the Lifestyle Business Podcast (an incredible MUST-have resource!) and one of our core faculty members at Digital Nomad Academy. Dan and his business partners are currently offering their third Tropical MBA internship here in Southeast Asia, perhaps a great opportunity for one of you to move abroad, have some income rolling in, and learn some entrepreneurial skills along the way.

You and Your Laptop Can Be a Multi-National Corporation: 7 Ways Location Independence Can Make You Cash Money

The incredible cocktail that Skype and the Four Hour Work Week has created, and the resulting proliferation of location independent professionals and entrepreneurs has been a total game changer for many. For me, it’s meant the chance to travel the world while I grow a business. A dream come true. 5 years ago I didn’t know this sort of thing was possible, and in many ways it wasn’t. There weren’t the Cody’s of the world showing how it can be done, internet connections in developing countries sucked… I mean SkypeOut was launched in 2006!

A lot of people think blowing off to Thailand to run your consulting business is faddish. A flash in the pan. More of the same.

Bullshit.

Because the costs to re-location and globalization are trending, at a very fast pace, towards zero, businesses and entrepreneurs will more and more focus on optimizing their location. It’s a question I’ve started to ask myself more often as the years go by: am I in the right place? (How deliciously existential!)

I’m assuming most of us are are all sold on the incredible personal advantages of living a location independent lifestyle, but what about the incredible business advantages? Multi-nationals have been taking advantage of offshoring for decades, and now you can do it, by yourself, with your laptop. Here are some key ways being location independent can help your business.

1. An extra 40K in personal income. WHAT?! (For US citizens) Did you know that if you can keep your pretty buns outside of the USA for all but 30 days in a calendar year (and establish some sort of permanent residence overseas recognized by the IRS) you don’t have to pay taxes on your first $91,500 of earned income? Hot damn that’s HUGE! Saving money is easier than making money, and this is a huge opportunity to save a bunch. [Cody: remember we're not lawyers or tax professionals here, so start with this article from the IRS and consult a professional.]
2. Personal sustainability. If you are on this site and you’ve got an itch to explore the world—to do something exciting—but instead you decide to “pay your dues” and start a business that doesn’t consider your passions, you won’t be getting your best, most enthused, most productive self on a daily basis. Despite what people say about automation and processes, you are more than likely the most critical element in your business. Get yourself excited and passionate about your lifestyle, and I believe you’ll see it on the bottom line.
3. Set up corporations in tax-friendly countries. Tax rates in countries like the Philippines are much lower than in the west. Why not run your operation from overseas? Even if your main entity is in your home country, you can use your foreign corps to increase your spending and reduce your tax load. (If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how this works, subscribe to my blog, I’ll be showing how I do this in the coming months). This is the type of financial landscaping that was previously only realistic for rich dudes and big corps, now you can implement it in your business.
4. All your travel is 35% cheaper. YEP, that’s right world traveler. If you are traveling on your business, every single line item is up to 35% cheaper (depending on your tax rate). That’s because you are spending money before it’s taxed by your government. That’s balla!
5. Insource your talent. Universally, travel is one of people’s biggest desires. Tap in to that by offering intelligent people a seat next to you on that train. If you are living a remarkable lifestyle, and running an interesting business, people are happy to be compensated with experiences rather than cash. This can help you scale your business faster, and I promise you’ll have tons of fun in the process. Check out my Tropical MBA internships to see how this can work.
6. Outsource your talent. You are probably well aware of how outsourcing to places like China and the Philippines can help your business by keeping your labor costs much lower as you scale. Why not go meet those people? Make them a part of your business and life. It’s fun, and you’ll learn a ton and be exposed to opportunities you can’t predict.
7. Cash Runway. Got an idea? Got a buddy? Got some programmers? Ready to make that start-up happen? If you are sharp, you can survive for 6 months in Southeast Asia on $5,000 bucks in relative luxury. To an entrepreneur, runway is freedom. It’s the chance to be creative, work hard without distraction, and build something great.

I’m out of reasons… those of you doing this overseas, what other advantages have you come across? I’m taking notes!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 7 Ways Location Independence Can Make You Cash Money

Patrick Lockton is a lawyer for digital nomads and entrepreneurs whose Matrix Law Group practices what they call Law 2.0—a flexible, on-demand, virtual legal practice—an alternative to big law firms that’s rooted in notions of mobility, technology and efficiency. One of the questions clients have for him most frequently is ‘How do I raise seed capital if I don’t know any investors?’

I know there are several of you who will one day seek funding for your own big business venture, so I thought it would be of great value to get some of his expert knowledge about the early-stage and legal aspects of forming a business here (hopefully with more to come soon). Everything that follows is from Patrick–

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Long gone are the days of pitching investors with hot new ideas and having money thrown at you. Entrepreneurs are now much more likely to dive into their own pockets and battle hard to start up and stay alive. But if you don’t have the cash and need money to pay for the development of, for instance, costly new software and a complex website, what do you do?

Luckily, there are still options for funding, but finding and securing the cash will take time, research, good negotiating skills, and, above all, a strong commitment to your new business.

There is no easy, one-size-fits-all formula, but I have developed a short checklist that I use when meeting digital nomads and entrepreneurs.  It has taken me years to put together, but it seems to work every time.  It is designed to spark ideas and inspire confidence.  Some of the items may seem obvious and some obscure, but if you start at the beginning and work your way through, you will stumble upon something that can make all the difference.

1. Do you need as much as you think?

This seems obvious but you can build a small business without a huge amount of funding these days.  Sometimes entrepreneurs think they need more money than they actually do.  You can structure the development of a business so that you start small and build it up with the income your business earns.  This is a good way of ensuring you don’t waste money and develop strong foundations before you invest more money.

Angel Investor Howard Greenstein, a Social Media Strategist and President of the Harbrooke Group, remarked in a recent interview:

“Build something (anything), put it in the hands of customers and get some traction before raising money. Any hardware/software/whatever startup can do this thanks to lean startup and customer development techniques and the decreasing costs of doing everything.”

One of my clients was starting up his own brokerage firm.  He wanted to spend money on an expensive office, logos and branding, PR and sophisticated IT system when all he needed was a website, an online trading account, an internet connection, a laptop and his client’s confidence.  His overheads were so low that he had more money and time to invest in getting clients and the long-term development of the business.  His business has become a huge success.

2. Borrow from people, not banks, credit cards or yourself

Don’t cash in your investments or pension, don’t use credit cards and avoid banks at all costs.

Even a very well run startup involves risk.  You always hear success stories about entrepreneurs who max out credit cards, take out second mortgages and borrow from their retirement funds and then go on to become millionaires. The truth is that a lot of people who take great risks lose everything. You can start with a simple loan.

Try the obvious and easiest options first—approach family and friends with an investment opportunity

This doesn’t mean asking mom and dad.  This means tapping into personal ties to raise cash for a business that’s either too new or too small to get financing elsewhere.

Your personal network is a lot wider than you think.  A few emails and calls, using Facebook and LinkedIn can elicit a startling amount of interest.  A few tips on how to do this based on clients’ experience:

• Approach the issue with calm confidence, don’t appear desperate. You have to inspire confidence in your business’s biggest asset—you.
• Offer an investment opportunity, don’t ask for a loan.
• You should still follow professional standards in structuring and documenting loans or equity arrangements. Get a good affordable lawyer who specializes in working for entrepreneurs to do this for you quickly and cheaply.
• Give investors letters acknowledging their investments.
• Pay out attractive interest—say, 1% a month on a $10,000 investment. In setting an interest rate, consider how much money you are saving by borrowing from friends rather than a financial institution.
• Include a clause that allows investors to get their money back at any time. All they have to do is let you know and you will pay them instantly.

Try P2P Lending

Try the following P2P (Peer-to-Peer) online lending communities that are mostly made up of open-minded entrepreneurs.

• Zopa (UK only): where you can borrow between £1 and £15,000 from people.
• Prosper: USA’s largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace.
• The Lending Club:  offers some of the most competitive rates.
• First Funding: allows you to choose a lender from an online community of business angels.

Tips on getting a line of credit for your start-up ASAP:

• Get a good accountant to help you tell your story in numbers.
• Avoid conducting meetings with lenders at their offices. Try somewhere neutral.
• Do a team presentation, involving people you know  who will excel at them.
• Maintain, or clean up, your credit rating.
• Offer some collateral.
• Cut or eliminate your salary (i.e., don’t look for a loan to pay yourself).

3. Apply to Angel Investors, Mentorship and Seed Capital Programs

Angel Investors

Angel investors will want to have a lot of input into the way your business is run but they will share their money and knowledge. Think about this carefully; it is not free money.  If you raise money, it’s difficult  or impossible to take a small exit from your business, or run it as a cash business. This can be a godsend for many entrepreneurs, but I don’t often recommend this to mobile entrepreneurs because their lifestyles aren’t negotiable and can often rub Angel Investors the wrong way.

To find an Angel Investor, try:

• Angel List or
• Record yourself and upload your pitch to the investment community on My Pitch. Be precise, professional, use reliable accounting to tell the story as much as possible and focus on the figures.

Mentorship and Seed Capital programs

These typically include teaching, coaching, seed capital and introductions to investors.  So, if you’re a first-time entrepreneur and have little experience, money or contacts, these programs offer a good opportunity.  My top picks include:

Y Combinator: The Rolls Royce of mentorship programs.  They pay your expenses while you’re getting started and make small investments (rarely more than $20,000) in return for small stakes in your company (usually 2-10%). Entrepreneurs must move to the Silicon Valley area to participate in a three month program. These guys have funded over 200 startups, including Loopt, Reddit, Wufoo, Scribd, Disqus, Dropbox, Justin.tv and Posterous.

TechStars: TechStars is a similar three-month program offered once per year in four different cities: Boulder, Boston, New York and Seattle.  Startups receive up to $18,000 in seed funding for a 6% equity stake, intensive mentorship and the chance to pitch to investors at the end of the program.

Other Programs.  Below are some of the other good mentorship programs:

• Founder Institute – all over the US, Singapore, Paris, Brussels and Berlin.
• Capital Factory – Austin, TX
• LaunchBox Digital – Durham, NC
• SeedCamp – London (and mini-events throughout Europe)
• Launchpad LA – Los Angeles, CA
• DreamIt Ventures – Philadelphia, PA

4. Look into Government and Microfinance Programs

• Contact the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a government agency that awards millions of dollars annually through its Advanced Technology Program.
• Kiva, the Opportunity Fund and Grameen Bank now support US businesses and have always lent money to entrepreneurs around the world.
• In addition, last year’s economic stimulus bill granted $54 million to the Small Business Administration for lending and technical assistance to microlenders.

5. Ask your lawyer, accountant and clients

If you don’t have any personal investor connections, ask your lawyer, accountant or one of your actual or potential clients if they do. If you don’t have a lawyer or accountant or client, contact me and I will see if I can put you in touch with someone.

6. Look for a business partner

Rather than borrowing, perhaps you can get a partner who can inject some cash, new ideas and contacts into the business.  You may not have much money, but if it is your idea and hard work driving the business forward they might be happy to stump up the cash.

7. Last, but certainly not least—learn to be a schmoozer

If you’re looking for seed capital, but don’t know any investors, you need to learn how to schmooze and build relationships.

Learning to schmooze means getting out there and starting to meet the right people, and knowing how to get their trust and attention.  It is not going to be easy but this is not necessarily a bad thing. One of the reasons so many companies went bust during the dot com bubble was that financing was too easy to get. Getting seed capital is a good testing ground for your business idea.

The goal is to get introductions to investors, i.e. an introductory phone call or email from a middleman whom the investor trusts and respects.

It takes time and patience to build relationships and trust, this does not happen over night, so don’t get impatient.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, met with about 60 private investors over a six-month period in early 1995:

“I talked to all the people I knew who I thought could afford to invest $50,000 …. Ultimately that $1 million was raised, $50,000 at a time.”

A year later, venture capitalists began to line up outside Bezos’ door.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How to Raise Seed Capital When You Don’t Know Any Investors

Sean Ogle is the man.

Sean is someone who quit his office job, working in finance in Portland, Oregon, and took a huge leap. He moved to Asia and started a new life abroad, experimenting with working as a digital nomad.

Sean submitted a remote work proposal to his firm in Portland, and when they wouldn’t negotiate with him, he did it his way anyway. He was going to experience life abroad, one way or another.

He ended up being selected for the first Tropical MBA internship, working remotely with Dan Andrews of the Lifestyle Business Podcast and a team in Manila, Philippines, and his business partner in San Diego, California. Sean also helps manage affiliates for Chris Guillebeau—who just recently launched the hugely successful Empire Building Kit—and has many personal projects of his own on the way.

Sean soaked at Songkran festival in Bangkok (photo by Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com)

Sean’s blog Location 180 is where you can see this entire life transformation unfold over the last year and a half.

Sean took a huge risk, and made a big life change. I was lucky to get to know him pretty well and spend a lot of time with him here in Bangkok, Thailand for the last six months.

A few weeks ago, it was time for him to return home for a while, so I took the opportunity to sit down and catch up with him on video to ask him some questions about his travel experience, get his advice for other folks who want to make the jump into working remotely and living abroad, and share how he’s successfully built a location independent career and designed his ideal lifestyle.

• 0:45 – What catalyzed the change Sean wanted in his life
• 1:40 – About the Tropical MBA & bootstrapping a product development company from the Philippines
• 3:45 – Sean’s travel itch before redesigning his life
• 4:35 – Advice for taking the jump from corporate life into self-employment
• 6:55 – How to stay productive & accountable when you work at home
• 8:30 – Changing your mindset for a location independent lifestyle
• 9:25 – What Sean does to earn a location independent income
• 11:55 – Sean’s upcoming course to help you Overcome the Fear of Uncertainty
• 16:25 – About Location 180 & seeing Sean’s personal growth as he turned his life around 180 degrees
• 18:05 – Sean’s favorite travel experiences in Southeast Asia: Ubud, Bali, Koh Tao, Thailand and Puerto Galera, Philippines
• 20:00 – Expat life in Bangkok & meeting entrepreneurial people from around the world
• 23:05 – What’s next for Sean Ogle?

UPDATE: Sean’s product Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty is NOW available, and it is indeed an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to start their own freedom business or work location independent. Fear of the unknown is the only barrier between you and the life you want to have, so I’m certain nearly anyone can get something out of this. If you want to take action to break each of your fears into much smaller, actionable items, to facilitate change and actually take control of your life, I highly recommend Sean’s program. (P.S. Click here to learn more about my own experience with petrifying fear.)

Learn more about Sean’s ultimate guide Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty by clicking here→

You can connect with Sean on Twitter, and also be sure to subscribe to his mailing list at Location 180 to get a great free audio interview all about how to craft a remote work agreement.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How Sean Ogle Quit His Job and Became a Location Independent Rockstar

For this month’s 11th edition of the Digital Nomad Blog Carnival, I’m bringing it back home for once. It’s a traveling online carnival that’s hosted at a new blog each month to round up the month’s best posts for readers interested in the live-anywhere, work-anywhere digital nomad lifestyle.

Submissions for this month were a bit sparse, and BlogCarnival.com’s system is unfortunately rather overrun by irrelevant spammers—so I went scouring the web for this month’s best posts (i.e., submit your best stuff for next month’s roundup, and please help spread the word about the carnival). There is a great collection of quality links about the mobile lifestyle here, so please visit the sites and leave your comments, Stumble, Tweet and Digg your favorites to support these helpful, inspiring writers!

Will You Fulfill Your Dreams to Be Location Independent?

Check out this great photo of Ricardo from NuNomad relaxing on his own beach cabana, checking email and getting work done while he gets his base tan on what I assume is Koh Lanta island in the Andaman Sea. If you want the same great lifestyle, read what he has to say about the hard work you’ll need to do first to earn it.

Being A Digital Nomad

My blogger buddy Dragos Rua talks about his experience as a nomad, providing value through writing and mobile consulting. He describes the kinds of places he works wherever he goes, the kind of work he does, and some fascinating tips on overcoming the challenges of the digital nomad life and relationships on the road.

The Entire World Is Knocking At My Door

A lot of my online friends are finally making the transition to a location independent lifestyle, applying lifestyle design tactics to visualize their ideal life, building mobile business, and going traveling around the world right now. Raam Dev writes from Heathrow airport on his way to India about his newfound freedom to roam and the emotional and relationship challenges he had to overcome to get there.

How I Live and Work in Southeast Asia

My new real-life friend Sean Ogle from Location180, who I’ve been spending a lot of time with the last few months, came out to Bangkok to work with Dav and Ian from the Tropical MBA, having no idea what to expect. Here he discusses the skills he’s learned and finds necessary to achieve the work-anywhere lifestyle, and talks about his income and expenses and lifestyle out here in Asia.

Another Day In The Life Of A Travelling Entrepreneur (Costs Included)

Jonny Gibaud of The Life Thing, another traveling entrepreneur and engaging writer who I got to meet while he was out here in Thailand recently, after he left Bangkok went to I spend 3 weeks living in Bangalore, India. Here he shows us his typical day in India, with tons of good photos, and breaks down the cost of living.

17 Reasons Why Living in Developing Areas of Asia Kicks the Crap Out of Living in the West

Dan Andrews at Tropical MBA, who lives in Manila, Philippines, wasn’t the first to say it—but he is one of the loudest voices right now discussing the benefits of geoarbitrage and bootstrapping your business from Asia. Here he and Sean Ogle discuss some of the reasons why they love living in Southeast Asia. (By the way, have I mentioned that Sean Ogle is the man!?)

Chris Guillebeau & Sean Ogle in Bangkok

How to Develop a ‘Virtual Business’ Mentality and Create a Lifestyle Design Strategy of Your Own!

My man Greg Rollett from Rockstar Lifestyle Design delivers an excellent guest video blog for Chris Ducker’s Virtual Business Lifestyle site, all about how you can take control of your life by working backwards from visualizing your ideal situation and what you really want out of life. Chris’ site is rockin’, and has tons of quality vids you should check out.

An In-Depth Guide to Online Business Revenue Models for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs

Corbett Barr at Free Pursuits reviews the four most common online business models—selling services, selling products, affiliate marketing and advertising–and compares them on startup time, how passive the income can be, and other important metrics to help lifestyle designers choose the right business for their digital nomad traveling.

Long Term Family Travel = Homeschool Roadschool World School

Jeanne at soultravelers3 shares all about the details and advantages of educating a digital nomad kid and doing lifestyle design as a family from someone who’s been doing it since 2006.

6 Undeniably Unconventional But Exceptionally Effective Tips For Breaking Free

Another awesome piece from Jonny Gibaud! In a guest post at Untemplater, Jonny quit his “boring ass but stupidly high paid project management job” around 8 months ago, started a company and went off traveling the world and claims that he still hasn’t died yet. This is what worked for him.

Next month, we’ll host the roundup on a new site, so make sure you submit your own best posts to the Digital Nomad Blog Carnival page. Enjoy!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Digital Nomad Blog Carnival #11

Some might be familiar with the term “digital nomad“, “vagabond“, “tech nomad“, or simply “web worker”. And then of course there is Tim Ferriss, who made the concept of “mini-retirements” popular in his book The 4 Hour Workweek. Whatever you call it, there have been a few smart people living this way for quite a while. Steven Roberts, for example, has been working remotely via bicycle, kayak, and ship since 1983! Check out his beautiful new sailboat HQ, the Nomadness.

Location independence is a form of lifestyle design, consciously building a business that one can operate from anywhere in the world to support you in your ideal lifestyle—whatever that means for you. Although the popularity of this lifestyle is seeing some big growth right now, it’s definitely not a mainstream concept. So I wanted to start off our journey with a video introducing myself and my experience with living nomadically, and talking about why you should care about location independent living.

Since taking my business on the road in November 2008, I’ve traveled to Hong Kong, throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

What were my motivations for building a location-independent income stream? And what might motivate others to pursue a location-independent lifestyle?:

To see the world, of course! (2:40): Obviously, a lot of people simply like the ability to travel freely, experience foreign cultures, and expand their worldview. Many people dream of “saving up enough money,” but slow travel is actually much cheaper than you might think. So why follow the deferred life plan and wait until retirement?

Geo-arbitrage (3:05): For any serious business owner or freelancer who’s bootstrapping his own venture, extended travel and living overseas presents some advantages if you can leverage the economics of geoarbitrage: cultivating the ability to earn in strong currencies while you live somewhere where the cost-of-living is low.

Freedom of location, time, choice (4:30): For many “LIPs”, a big motivating factor is the freedom to choose where you live—some dream destination, permanently traveling, or even simply a remote community where you grew up. Additionally, if the exchange rate is in your favor, it is possible to be more picky about what projects you take on and free up more personal time to spend on non-work activities or projects that don’t earn you income (I work with my friend Dwight on charity fundraising for causes throughout Thailand and Southeast Asia, for example).

Personal growth (6:15): Becoming an expat—living abroad for an extended period of time—will change your paradigm. Being in a new environment will spark your creativity, and getting outside your comfort zone will expand your resourcefulness and self-reliance.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos of my travels, and future thoughts and insights on working and traveling anywhere.

Feature photo credit: Stuck in Customs

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: What is Location Independence? A Video Introduction to the Work-Anywhere Lifestyle