Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Peter Fabor (@faborio), the founder and CEO of SurfOffice which facilitates remote working retreats for some of the top remote companies.

During this episode, Peter shared how a surf trip to Gran Canaria inspired him to start a coliving and coworking business, why coworking is a terrible way to make money, and some ideas on what the future of hospitality and workspaces could look like. 

💬  Topics Discussed:

• What are some cultural differences between the US and Europe?
• Some of the challenges of working from home as a pet owner
• How did Peter start SurfOffice?
• Why doesn’t SurfOffice have its own properties for rental purposes?
• Coworking as a business model
• Using coworking spaces to build your network
• Building a community in a coworking space
• Ways of earning money in the coworking industry
• When did SurfOffice start with its first location?
• The growth of the coworking and coliving industry
• Developing and growing your ideas
• Efficiently organizing offsites with SurfOffice
• What do companies usually look for in an offsite?
• What are the red lines in terms of travel time to an offsite?
• Organizing individual flights VS Organizing flights for large groups
• What is the future of working spaces and hospitality?
• Developing solutions for digital nomads with kids
• The future of education for digital nomad kids
• Being a digital nomad together with your partner
• Can glamping be the next big thing with digital nomads?
• What’s the future of SurfOffice?

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.surfoffice.com/
• https://twitter.com/faborio
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabor/
• https://www.peterfabor.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-n8R1eQ020&ab_channel=aboutabroad
• https://share.transistor.fm/s/8401d8c1
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-warrington/
• https://www.kiwi.com/en/
• https://www.google.com/travel/flights
• https://share.transistor.fm/s/40ddb282
• https://share.transistor.fm/s/98b8c08c
• https://www.boundless.life/
• https://basecamp.com/

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Weh’yee Barkon (@wehyeeba), a founder and investor, focused on developing the future of work in Africa. Weh’yee has been living in Africa for several years and in that time has used his start-up experience in the US to start multiple businesses, from a strawberry farm to a transportation business all while helping to popularize the African continent as a source of remote work talent and as a destination for digital nomads.

During this episode, Weh’yee shared how he transitioned from working with startups in the US to investing and founding African businesses, how to get started micro-investing, the best African countries and cities for digital nomads, and why Africa will be the next big source of tech talent.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• Having weird-sounding names in the US
• How Weh’yee got interested in startups?
• Why did Weh’yee move from the US to Senegal?
• Developing and fine-tuning your idea as an entrepreneur
• How did Weh’yee make the transition to being a consultant?
• Weh’yee’s tips for kickstarting your consultant career
• What made Weh’yee decide to stay in Africa long-term?
• What makes Senegal a great spot for remote workers?
• The cost of living in Senegal
• Hotspots for digital nomads and remote workers in Africa
• The development and rising popularity of Zanzibar
• Cape Verde as a digital nomad spot
• What is micro-investing?
• How did Weh’yee get into micro-investing?
• Finding micro-investment opportunities
• What micro-investments is Weh’yee currently focused on?
• Weh’yee’s approach to spotting investments opportunities
• Understanding when people are trying to take advantage of you
• Starting a transportation company in Senegal
• Raising money from the US to invest in Senegal
• The growing talent pool in Africa and the opportunity remote work provides to the continent
• How did Weh’yee come up with Internally?
• What is the goal Internally?
• How did companies react Internally?

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/wehyeeba/
• https://internally.co/
• https://twitter.com/wehyeeba
• https://www.instagram.com/wehyeeba/?hl=en
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYHkkKpj-JUXy4IZoRSxliA
• https://www.teachforamerica.org/
• https://www.amazon.com/Smart-People-Should-Build-Things/dp/0062292048
• https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/06/this-digital-nomad-left-the-us-for-bangkok-and-lives-on-8000-per-month.html
• https://share.transistor.fm/s/98b8c08c
• https://www.nomadx.com/community/cabo-verde
• https://www.heygo.com/

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Isaac, the founder of Overemployed.com. If you haven’t heard of over-employment yet, strap in, because this is wild. Overemployment is the idea of having multiple full-time jobs as a knowledge worker. At the time of this recording, the over-employed subreddit has over 135,000 members that earn top salaries from 2 or more full-time jobs without their employers having any idea.

During this interview, Isaac shared how he stumbled into over-employment and why he decided to start the website and Reddit community, the most jobs he’s ever heard someone holding on to at the same time (it’s way more than you think), how to hide that you’re over-employed from your boss, and how people manage to juggle so many full-time jobs at once.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• What does it mean to be over-employed?
• How did Isaac find out about the over-employed movement?
• What are some industries where over-employment is a regular occurrence?
• What are some of the craziest job stories Isaac has heard from the over-employed community?
• How do companies react when they find out about a person working multiple full-time jobs?
• How prevalent is over-employment in tech?
• What kind of income can people expect from having multiple jobs?
• Managing multiple jobs at the same time
• Efficient ways of organizing your work
• Can there be reference blowback if people find out you are over-employed?
• Shifting your mindset from the traditional, one-job approach
• What is the endgame for people partaking in the over-employment community?
• Balancing your costs when having multiple jobs
• Building an ideal work environment when you are over-employed
• Juggling multiple meetings at the same time
• Why not start your own business instead of working multiple jobs at the same time?
• Why did Isaac start the over-employed community?
• Defining the future of work

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🎒 Resources:

• https://overemployed.com/
• https://discord.com/invite/a8VGhbZyek
• https://www.reddit.com/r/overemployed/
• https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357

Today on the podcast, Mitko is joined by Sid Pandiya, the co-founder and CEO of Kona, a burnout prevention platform for remote teams which live in your company’s Slack.

During this episode, Sid and Mitko discussed what burnout actually is and some of the main causes, how Kona helps remote teams avoid burnout, and what you can do to help yourself if you think you are suffering from burnout. 

💬  Topics Discussed:

• What is Kona and how does it work?
• How does Sid define burnout?
• What are some of the main causes of burnout?
• Is the rise of burnout connected to the rise of remote work?
• Why does Kona aim to solve burnout through Slack?
• Using Slack efficiently
• Ways Kona is battling burnout
• How does Kona avoid burnout in-house?
• Activities that minimize and reduce burnout
• The importance of rest in combating burnout
• Delegation as a significant burnout avoidance tool
• Talking about burnout and asking for help
• The negative impact of constantly wanting to prove yourself as a remote worker
• Can Kona be used by freelancers and individuals as well?

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidpandiya/
• https://twitter.com/pandiyasid
• https://www.heykona.com/
• https://slack.com/
• https://about.gitlab.com/
• https://www.helpscout.com/
• https://doist.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenmurph/
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-burned-out-summer-im-ready-talk-yen-tan/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card
• https://www.masterclass.com/
• https://www.canva.com/
• https://www.equinix.se/
• https://www.goodrx.com/
• https://aircall.io/
• https://postscript.io/
• https://www.helpscout.com/
• https://buffer.com/

Today on the podcast, Mitko is joined by Jordan Carroll, one of the top remote work recruiters and the author of the new book “Remote For Life: How to Find a Flexible Job & Fast Forward to Freedom”.

During this interview Jordan shared why he decided to write his new book, why networking is so important and how to become a master at it in a remote setting, how to use the 555 LinkedIn technique to increase your reach, what role freelancing plays in the economy of the future, and much more! 

💬  Topics Discussed:

• How does Jordan feel after publishing his first book?
• Keeping focused and having tunnel vision
• Why did Jordan decide to write a book at this stage in his career?
• What was the impact of COVID on the remote working space?
• What does professional networking mean?
• Networking as a remote worker
• Developing and fostering your networking skills
• Using your network to your advantage
• Exercises to improve your networking skills
• Using LinkedIn to efficiently connect to people and companies
• The 5 by 5 by 5 technique
• Contacting people in a company when applying for a job
• Being creative during the hiring process
• Jordan’s formula for building and growing your personal brand
• Ways people can show off their skills and creativity
• Efficient approaches to job searching
• Leveraging your brand and working to your advantage
• Transitioning from being an entrepreneur to working at a company
• Does the job market favor people who have a more developed entrepreneur mindset?
• What role does freelancing play in the job market going forward?
• Having brand name backing of your personal brand
• Parts of his book that Jordan really wants his readers to focus on
• Improving your mindset and believing in your abilities

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Life-Flexible-Forward-Freedom/dp/1544536798
• https://theremotejobcoach.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanscarroll/
• https://www.youtube.com/@JordanCarroll/featured
• https://share.transistor.fm/s/c498af9d
• https://safetywing.com/
• https://www.focusmate.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fevO0W3MWaI&ab_channel=JordanCarroll-TheRemoteJobCoach
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRiOsXv99Y&ab_channel=SelfMadeMillennial
• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/13/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-charged-sec-crypto-exchange
• https://www.amazon.com/Freelance-Your-Way-Freedom-Corporate/dp/1119893232
• https://remote.com/
• https://www.oysterhr.com/
• https://www.deel.com/
• https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQczzPGlK1Y&ab_channel=JordanCarroll-TheRemoteJobCoach

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by a travel writing legend - Tim Leffel (@timleffel). Tim has been a travel blogger since the early 2000s and is the award-winning author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations, Travel Writing 2.0, and a book on living abroad long term - A Better Life for Half the Price.

He is also the editor of the narrative web publication Perceptive Travel which was named “best online travel magazine” by the North American Travel Journalists Association and “best travel blog” by the Society of American Travel Writers. He has contributed to more than 50 publications as a freelancer and runs 5 online travel magazines and blogs. He is also the editor of the Nomadico newsletter which he cofounded with Kevin Kelly and publishes tips for working travelers.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• Why did Tim decide to set up his home base in Mexico?
• The advantages of living in Mexico for US citizens
• How has travel and travel writing changed over the last years?
• The process of starting and then maintaining a travel blog
• Knowing to define and exploit your market
• What are some challenges and difficulties people face when they want to become travel bloggers?
• Can traveling as a job make you dislike travel after a while?
• Tips for people wanting to get started as a travel blogger and writer
• Should you get started as a full-time travel blogger/writer right away?
• How would Tim start his career in travel writing if he was starting out now?
• Choosing the right platform for yourself
• The complex and competitive travel market
• Is the budget traveling space too competitive to write about?
• How has the remote work revolution affected travel?
• Do rent sites like Airbnb have a more unified price structure around the world?
• What are Tim’s predictions for the future of remote work and travel?
• Finding places to visit and stay beyond the popular nomad destinations
• Defining your expectations from a city or country when traveling
• Tim’s tips on taking advantage of geo arbitrage
• How did Tim end up working with Kevin Kelly on his new newsletter?
• Is there potential for a dominant digital nomad newsletter?
• Managing multiple projects at the same time
• Knowing to define your priorities

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🎒 Resources:

• https://timleffel.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/timleffel/?originalSubdomain=mx
• https://twitter.com/timleffel
• https://www.instagram.com/globetrots/?hl=en
• https://www.youtube.com/@TimLeffel
• https://www.cheapestdestinationsblog.com/
• https://rolfpotts.com/tim-leffel/
• https://practicaltravelgear.com/
• https://www.tropicalmba.com/living-the-dream/
• https://www.worldscheapestdestinations.com/
• https://www.hotel-scoop.com/
• https://www.expedia.com/
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/
• https://www.travelocity.com/
• https://www.groupon.com/
• https://www.luxurylatinamerica.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/goncalohall?originalSubdomain=pt
• https://www.amazon.com/Better-Life-Half-Price-cheapest/dp/1505651697
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795129/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2
• https://www.getrevue.co/profile/nomadico/
• https://kk.org/
• https://www.wired.com/
• https://www.perceptivetravel.com/
• https://archive.recomendo.com/
• https://www.morningbrew.com/daily
• https://thehustle.co/
• https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357
• https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Cheapest-Destinations-Countries-Fortune/dp/1621419479

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Paul Slater (@Paul Slater), the co-founder of BillionMinds, a training program that uses behavioral science to help maximize your professional and personal effectiveness as a remote worker.

During this episode, Mitko and Paul discussed why some people feel ineffective when working remotely, the five key skills you need to help you stay productive and maintain your overall well-being, and how to manage your energy and avoid burnout as a remote worker.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• What is the main mission of Billion Minds?
• How did Paul come up with the concept of Billion Minds?
• Why do some people feel ineffective when working remotely?
• How did people benefit from suddenly having to work from home during COVID?
• Separating your work life from your personal life when working from home
• Having and building your own work structure
• Common work schedules and practices that people use
• Five key skills that help you stay productive and maintain your overall well-being
• Why is burnout becoming an increasing issue amongst remote workers?
• Can your passion for your job and doing what you love decrease burnout?
• How do you reverse burnout?
• Fostering relationships outside the work sphere
• Warning signs of burnout
• How burnout can affect those around you when you work from home
• Building skills in order to have a more balanced schedule
• What are the Learn-Do cycles at Billion Minds?
• How each skill can be individualized and taught differently
• The availability of remote jobs
• Has the number of available remote jobs peaked?
• Services and activities at Billion Minds

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🎒 Resources:

• https://billionminds.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-slater/
• https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280
• https://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-Procrastinating/dp/162656941X
• https://www.amazon.com/Grit-Passion-Perseverance-Angela-Duckworth/dp/1501111108
• https://amzn.to/3j6NVet
• https://www.amazon.com/AM-Club-Morning-Elevate-Life/dp/1443456624
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/has-remote-work-peaked-get-hired-by-linkedin-news/
• https://tulsaremote.com/

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Ric Pratte (@ricpratte), the founder of AVL Digital Nomads, a group dedicated to promoting Asheville, North Caroline as a digital nomad destination and helping connect nomads and remote workers in Asheville.

Ric and Mitko discussed why Asheville is a great US base for digital nomads, the economic impact of remote workers in a city like Asheville, and why not talking about work is the #1 rule for a remote worker meet-up.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• How did Ric become aware of the digital nomad movement?
• Getting the idea to build a digital nomad community in Asheville
• What was the initial reception of the AVL Digital Nomads group?
• The exponential growth of AVL Digital Nomads
• Why is Asheville such a great place for remote workers and digital nomads?
• The cost of living in Asheville
• The benefits of living in small towns and communities around Asheville
• The growth of Asheville and neighboring communities
• Coworking spaces and places to work from in Asheville
• The economic impact of remote workers moving to Asheville
• Does the local government and the city of Asheville support, remote workers?
• How does the influx of remote workers affect social life in Asheville?
• What do AVL Digital Nomads events look like?
• The diversity of the Asheville remote worker community
• The importance of socializing with other remote workers
• Creating a space for digital nomads and remote workers

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.meetup.com/avl-digital-nomads/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricpratte/
• https://www.milb.com/asheville
• https://ventureasheville.com/
• https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/
• https://www.mojocoworking.com/?public=&page=54
• https://hatchinnovationhub.org/
• https://www.ashevillechamber.org/

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Matthew Grollnek (@MatthewGrollnek), the Lead in Employability and the Future of Work for the Mastercard Foundation in Africa. His work focuses on exploring ways that future economic trends, new forms of work, and emerging technologies can help young people access dignified and fulfilling work across Africa.

During this episode Matt shared why he decided to live in Zambia after working for the Peace Corps, the opportunities and issues facing Africa over the next 30 years in terms of the future of work, the best cities and countries to check out in Africa as a digital nomad, and the biggest business opportunities around creating services for nomadic families.

💬  Topics Discussed:

• Why did Matthew decide to spend much of his time in Africa?
• Growing up in the digital nomad lifestyle
• What is a third culture kid?
• The advantages of being a child of digital nomads
• What is Matthew’s role as the Employability and the Future of Work Lead?
• How does the future of work look in Africa compared to other places in the world?
• The freelance potential of the African continent
• Implementing technological infrastructure in Africa
• The impact of time zones on remote work
• The freelancing space and trends in Africa
• Improving the image and brand of African freelancers
• The potential of Africa’s youth population
• Investments in the freelancing sector in Africa
• Places in Africa that are great to visit as a remote worker
• Activities that are available in Africa
• The way Rwanda is developing and rebranding itself on the global stage
• How Nigeria became the cultural center of the continent
• Tips for families that are nomadic and travel a lot
• Providing proper education for digital nomad children
• Building and maintaining relationships as a digital nomad
• The growing number of families that are getting into the digital nomad lifestyle
• Services and online solutions for nomadic families

*Note, the opinions expressed in this episode are personal alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Mastercard Foundation

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🎒 Resources:

• https://twitter.com/matthewgrollnek
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgrollnek/?originalSubdomain=ke
• https://www.peacecorps.gov/
• https://mastercardfdn.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dorsey
• https://www.vw.com/en.html
• https://www.boundless.life/
• https://tayorockson.com/
• https://www.youtube.com/@TayoAinaFilms/featured

Today on the podcast, Mitko (@mitkoka) is joined by Alex Harling (@AlexanderHarli7) from DynamiteJobs.com.

Alex has been living in Colombia with his wife Lina for the last 2 years and during this episode, the two discussed why Colombia is so attractive for digital nomads if Colombia is a safe place to set up a home base, and what Alex’s top recommendations are for cities to base from why in Colombia. If you’ve been curious about Colombia, this is the digital nomad guide you’ve been waiting for!

💬  Topics Discussed:

• How did Alex end up spending much of his time in Colombia?
• Colombia’s improved reputation over the last years
• How did Alex explain going to Colombia to his family?
• U.S. State Department Travel Advisories
• Staying up to date thanks to the U.S. State Department’s alerts and notifications
• What makes Colombia a great spot for digital nomads?
• The cost of living in Colombia
• Apartment hunting in Colombia
• The process of getting a Colombian visa
• Dealing with immigration when entering
• Nomad Visas VS Tourism Visas
• What intrigues U.S. citizens about South America?
• Places to visit in Colombia
• Unique attractions in Colombia
• The diverse culture of Colombia
• The variety of available outdoor activities
• Locations in Colombia that have potential as a digital nomad hotspot
• The limitations of Colombian infrastructure

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🎒 Resources:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderharling/
• https://dynamitejobs.com/
• https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
• https://step.state.gov/step/
• https://citizen.com/
• https://www.wework.com/
• https://cabify.com/en
• https://www.traveloffpath.com/colombias-new-digital-nomad-visa-is-one-of-the-easiest-to-apply-for/
• https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/
• https://colombia.travel/en/practical-information/visas-and-embassies