How to kickstart your new remote-working lifestyle

Hi Steemers, I’m super excited about this topic and I wanted to share with you guys how it all started for me (and perhaps share some lessons learned that willl accelerate your journey too). Here is a brief break-down of things that led me down the path of remote working, and how that might help kick-start your own journey too. Here we go:  

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From workcation in Kuala Lumpur. I just absolutely loove this city (instagram: '@letsgoexplore)

I found my tribe, then the courage
Maybe some of you caught my first introductory entry where I explained where the whole “corporate gone entrepreneur, now remote worker” started for me? Long story short: I was NOT the born entrepreneur (you know, those guys who always start their intro along the lines of “I sold lemonade at the stand was I was 5, so I guess I’ve always been an entreprepreneur”). Instead, I joined an amazing event called Startup Weekend where I basically discovered that 1) Anyone can be an entrepreneur, 2) I can learn all the skills needed to start my own company, and 3) I should follow my passions and eventually quit my job. It was a mind-blowing experience, and I had finally found a tribe of people like me. You know, people who like starting things. And guess what? Making the jump from corporate to full-blown world traveling entrepreneur is a whole lot easier if have a tribe supporting you.  Things to consider: Is there any entrepreneurial activities happing in your city? Any meetups, hackathons or Startup Weekends? Trust me, these events are magnets for awesome, creative, do-er people.  

I found my first client while making payroll  
If you’re seriously considering leaving your job, be smart about it. I found my first client while I still had a job and made sure there was no conflict of interest. In fact, not only did I let my employer know about it - I asked if I could remain in a 60% position while pursuing this other opportunity (granted, my employer was downsizing at the time so the timing was good). When I felt I had solid traction and new assignments coming in, I decided to quit.   
Things to consider: What are you really good at, that you think people might pay you to do remotely? What kinds of clients are you working with today, that hires remote help? What can you suggest to your current employer that will allow you to experiment building a your own sales channels? (a sabbatical, leave of absence, a collaboration)  
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Coworking in Legian, Bali. (instagram: '@letsgoexplore)

I taught myself how to sell
Hate sales? So did I - seriously. It felt downright wrong to charge someone to speak with me for an hour or to do a small workshop. But if you want to work remotely and run your own business, you’ll need to start charging people a fair price for your services og products asap. I did all the rookie mistakes in sales meeting, so before you do anything else be sure to read books such as Caldini’s “The Pshycology of Influence” and Galford’s “Trusted advisor” and other sales material.  Sales was by far my weakest skill and I am still just a novice.  Things to consider: How do you enjoy being sold to? What things do you think are important and how might you craft your own sales style based on the “best practice” you find in the books above?

I joined forces
After about a year of trying to branch out on my own (together with three co-founders) making a name for ourselves, we realised - the client doesn't care about our company. Really, they don’t. They care about one thing and one thing only: What’s in it for me? So, instead of spending 10 years trying to build some kind of brand and reputation (in the red ocean of brands), we decided to leapfrog by merging our company with a much bigger player (while keeping ownership). Today we’re a part of a much wider ecosystem of micro-companies under the international power house “Innovation Lab” (www.innovationlab.net) and get to work with clients all over the world. It was the smartest thing we did. Things to consider: Who else is doing cool stuff that interests me? What larger organization or network can I be a part of? How might I start collaborating with these people?  

Ok - that's it for now. More to come. Who here is considering going remote? I'd love to hear your stories.

Xx
Mac