Welcome back to The GenerationXit Podcast. Today I'm pleased to introduce you to an inspiring couple, Susana and Luke Hancock. The Hancocks are a location independent husband and wife team, currently based in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. In 2016 they set up a coaching, training and consultancy business which empowers people to lead more meaningful, purpose-driven lives, called www.coachingselfempowerment.com. Since they started in 2016, they have supported over 500 individuals through their work.

How The Hancocks Developed Their Online Coaching Business

Susana and Luke have an interesting background. Now in the early forties, they both left high-flying corporate careers in Europe after experiencing burnout in their respective careers. After spending time as individuals travelling and reflecting on what they wanted in life, they met in 2011, got married, and moved to Asia together to set up their dream business.

www.coachingselfempowerment.com uses an holistic approach to deliver coaching-led training around personal development, self empowerment, career development and nutrition. The business also provides consultancy to organisations on urban sustainability, personal development and healthy nutrition. The business also provides 1:1 coaching to individuals.

Please note, this interview was recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold and as such it makes reference to a few 'in room' training courses in various Asian cities, which no longer occur. Now the couple are focussing entirely on their online coaching and they are also in the process of transitioning their 'in room' training to an entirely online course.

This podcast contains the following content:

• The Hancocks' former corporate careers, and how they independently used burnout to transform their lives for the better. 
• Their relationship story: how they met and fell in love in 2011, and decided to create a purpose-led, location independent life together in Asia.
• The different parts of their coaching, training and consultancy business. 
• How the business uses an holistic approach to support people with their physical health, mental health, emotional health and spiritual health.
• The Hancocks' views on how important it is to undertake personal development if you are living a location independent lifestyle. 
• How self limiting beliefs can impact on your performance as a digital nomad entrepreneur or freelancer - and how personal development work can free you from that.
• How people can achieve a more purpose-driven life through finding their community. 
• How their business is going and their plans to deliver more online training in the future. 
• The habits required to lead a purpose driven, satisfying life. 
• Their tips for others who are thinking of becoming location independent: 'find out what good looks like' and understand that failure is part of the process.

Learn more about Susana and Luke on their website, www.coachingselfempowerment.com. You can also watch the video of this interview here. 

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Today I'm excited to introduce you to a very inspiring digital nomad, Ed Rich, the Managing Partner and Founder of lodochairmassage.com.

58 year old Ed has a fascinating story to tell of his journey into location independence. 12 years ago he founded his corporate wellbeing company in Denver, Colorado. Since then it has grown into a $4M turnover business, providing chair massage, chair yoga and meditation on site in large corporate clients in 42 cities across the United States.

Running a business remotely as a digital nomad

In 2018 he moved the management and running of his business to a fully remote model, allowing him to travel and work from Bali, Colombia, Russia, Turkey, Tel Aviv, Vietnam and Mexico.

Ed credits these business decisions - to become location independent and the transition to a remote business model - as the reason why his employees are happier than they've ever been. He's also found that becoming location independent has given him energy, focus and an ability to embrace innovation like never before.

As is sometimes the way with podcasts that I record in different places, there is a little bit of feedback on this recording. Apologies in advance for that. Luckily this doesn't impact on the content at all, which you can clearly hear.

Running a service business remotely - podcast interview with Ed Rich, CEO and founder of lodochairmassage.com

This podcast contains the following content:

• Ed's background running a large IT business, and where he got the idea for lodochairmassage.com from.
• How he grew his wellbeing business in the early years.
• An outline of his clients and the types of companies his company serves.
• How the employee wellbeing industry has boomed in recent years.
• How Ed moved the business to a remote model after signing up to Remote Year.
• The effect that running his service business remotely had on his team. 
• The communication tools that Ed's team use to stay in touch with one another.
• Ed's hacks for working productively as a location independent entrepreneur.
• How being location independent has encouraged Ed to think innovatively.
• The habits that Ed keeps whilst working as a digital nomad. 
• Ed's advice for other entrepreneurs aged 40+ who are thinking of becoming location independent.
• The best piece of advice that Ed has ever received.

Learn more about www.lodochairmassage.com. You can also connect with Ed on his LinkedIn profile.

Want more information on how to run a business from a distance?

Read this Entrepreneur.com article on how to make your business fully remote in 7 steps.

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Joining me today from the gardens of Kohub, a co-working space in Koh Lanta, is Ryan Champion, a 41 year old business coach from the UK. 

Ryan specialises in supporting solopreneurs and freelancers as they start their location independent journey. His practical, outcomes-focused coaching helps folks to create a credible business offer, enabling them to reach income generation goals – and to avoid burnout while doing so. Ryan understands what it’s like to take the leap into working in a location independent way, because he’s been a digital nomad himself for four years. 

Today’s podcast is in the style of a business coach surgery. Questions focus on topics commonly asked by Ryan's clients. 

Podcast discussion with Ryan Champion, Digital Nomad Business Coach: 

• Ryan’s background and how he became a business coach. This includes his early work with corporate clients, and how he transitioned to working with solopreneurs.
• How his business coaching supports freelancers and solopreneurs.
• Business idea generation, and how to reduce many different ideas into a single plan for the future.
• How to avoid pitfalls by starting with the end goal in mind.
• How to maintain momentum by connecting with other entrepreneurs and freelancers.
• How to use market evaluation to decide whether an idea is good or not.
• How the location independent ‘sector’ is likely to grow in the future. 
• The importance of developing the right mindset, knowing yourself and thinking through how you will be productive when you’re overseas.
• How to overcome imposter syndrome through thinking realistically about your situation.
• How to find support from peers and invest in self-development for the least amount of money while on the road.
• Ryan’s tips for other people who are thinking of becoming location independent.
• The best advice that Ryan has ever received.

Want to know more about Ryan Champion, the online business coach?

Reach out to him via his website www.ryanchampion.me or send him an email to [email protected].

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On today's episode of the GenerationXit Podcast I’m delighted to catch up with Elissa Jane Mastel, a 50 year old American who is living in a van full time as a digital nomad marketer.

Elissa Jane is a really inspiring guest. After many years of being a single mum, she decided to opt for a digital nomad lifestyle when her son left home last year. So she sold her apartment, and in April 2019 she bought the van so that she could work on the road, travel and snowboard as much as possible.

Living in a van and working full time

Since then she has journeyed across North America, spending as much time as possible in nature and on the mountains - sometimes even listening into client meetings as she snowboards down-piste. 

Podcast Interview: Living in a Van Full Time as a Digital Nomad Marketer

In the audio interview we talk about:

– Why Elissa Jane decided to purchase the van when her son left home.
- Her reasons for opting for van living, as opposed to a digital nomad life without a vehicle.
- What it's like living in a van and working full time
- How her business, Chill Media North, operates, and who her ideal clients are.
- How she has been able to be more creative and more productive since living in the van.
- How she has undergone a personal transformation since her son left home, as a result of her new freedom, redefining her identity as a van living woman whilst also remaining a mother.
- Elissa Jane's advice for other people over 40 who are thinking of becoming location independent.
- The best advice she has ever received.

How to reach out to Elissa Jane:

Get in contact with Elissa Jane via LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chillmedianorth/
Or email her via [email protected].

Follow Elissa Jane's van life on social media:
Like Water for Brisket Blog
Like Water for Brisket Facebook
Instagram

Join the growing number of people aged 40 and above who are location independent, working from their laptops from anywhere in the world. Download my short, free eBook which shows you how to make a plan which is realistic and works for you.

Today on the GenerationXit Podcast I'm delighted to be speaking with Marc Cronin, a 44 year old former mechanical engineer from the UK. Two years ago, Marc left his career and set up a new, location independent business selling online courses.

Marc explains how he's used his knowledge and expertise to create online courses for other mechanical engineers. These teach people how to programme CNC machines, which are used in the aerospace and car manufacturing industries to manufacture parts. Now he lives a digital nomad lifestyle, selling his courses through his website, gcodetutor.com.

By steadily marketing his courses over time, Marc has been able to replace his full time income as a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineering is very much a 'location-based' profession, so it's really interesting to learn how Marc has transformed his knowledge into an entirely digital business, which he runs from his laptop.

At the moment he's expanding his courses to include hobbyists, as well professionals. Marc relays his experiences around how he got through that difficult first year, what to do when you feel like giving up, and how his personal motto is "never stop learning".

We recorded this interview live in the garden of Kohub, a digital nomad community on the island of Koh Lanta, Thailand. With this in mind please excuse the sound of live cockerels!

In the interview we talk about:

 - How Marc made the transition from being a mechanical engineer to niche online course creator. 
- How going through a divorce prompted him to re-evaluate his life and what he was trying to achieve with it.
- How he has had to learn a huge variety of skills since becoming an entrepreneur.
- What his grown up children think of his new venture.
- How he has learned from other location independent entrepreneurs along the way. 
- Marc's advice for other people who want to start a business and become location independent. 

Further information:

marccronin.com

gcodetutor.com

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Would you like a free copy of my new eBook ‘Becoming location independent over 40’? Get yours here.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 8.

Samantha

If you’re at the beginning of your journey to become location independent, and you’re considering how to achieve that – perhaps through freelance work, or setting up your own business – you're already aware that having the right mindset is absolutely crucial. Today’s guest will provide you with some inspiration on that front. 

Four years ago, 57 year old Steve Appleton left his career in real estate development, retraining online to become a drop shipping entrepreneur and a digital nomad. Now his ecommerce store – reallygoodebikes.com is netting $4,000 a month, a figure which Steve can comfortably live off in Mexico.In addition to talking about how his business model works, Steve gives his thoughts on why it's important to be clear about purpose and open to change as we get older, and developing the right entrepreneurial mindset to succeed.

This is a wide ranging discussion. In the interview we talk about:

01.38 - Introduction to Steve and his ecommerce site, www.reallygoodebikes.com
02.40 - What dropshipping is and how it works 
05.15 - How and why Steve left his career in real estate four years ago to become a digital entrepreneur
06.28 - How he took courses on entrepreneurship, software as a service and dropshipping before starting his ecommerce store www.reallygoodebikes.com
12.05 - Who his target audience is, and how he manages each purchase
13.30 - Why dropshipping isn't the best business model for making a passive income
14.55 - Why it's important to think like a business owner, and to delegate 
16.29 - How the store is doing and whether Steve is reaching his goals
18.11 - Why Steve decided to become location independent
20.50 - Why being an entrepreneur is about mindset, more than anything else
22.00 - Why it's important to be of value and to help others 
25.00 - Why getting started is the most important thing
25.40 - Steve's advice for other new entrepreneurs who are just starting out 

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Would you like a free copy of my new eBook ‘Becoming location independent over 40’? Get yours here.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 7.

Samantha

Joining me on the podcast today is Meegan Harp, a 42 year old digital nomad therapist. Meegan specialises in online therapy. Her client groups include people from her native state of Oregan, as well as digital nomads from across the world. She's grown a profitable business whilst on the road, and her success partly stems from the fact that she is location independent herself.

Meegan explains how she made the jump from being a regular therapist to online working, around the same time she made the decision to become location independent. She gives her honest opinion on the challenges that the lifestyle presents, citing relationship problems, loneliness, isolation and stigma as issues that affect the nomadic experience and reduce happiness. She also gives her view on what nomads can do to help themselves when these issues present in their lives.

Podcast discussion on Digital Nomads and Mental Health 

In the interview we talk about:

• How Meegan became a regular therapist, before transitioning to online therapy 
• Who her ideal clients are
• Why she decided to become location independent
• How she markets her business through facebook groups 
• How being a digital nomad can affect your mental and emotional wellbeing
• Her view on how to address common issues and problems which come with the lifestyle 
• Her business goals in 2020.
• The best piece of advice someone has ever given her

Find out more about Meegan's business, Still Waters Counsel. 

Liked The GenerationXit Podcast? Subscribe today:

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Would you like a free copy of my new eBook 'Becoming location independent over 40'? Get yours here.  

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 6. 

Samantha 

Joining me on the Podcast today is Wendy Keir, a 50 year old location independent business coach and mentor from the UK. Wendy has built up a profitable business by providing intensive, high ticket 1:1 business coaching with female entrepreneurs who specialise in 'personal transformation'. She explains that her ideal clients are coaches, experts, speakers, consultants and authors aged 40+, who help other people to change their lives.

Wendy’s coaching business is built around three parts:

1. Helping her clients to develop the right abundance mindset towards money and business.
2. Helping her clients to articulate their offer and to value it correctly through the right pricing.
3. Helping her clients to market effectively, utilising interactive social media such as Facebook Live . In these events, a host can interact in real time with Facebook followers through a live video, answering questions that they ask in real time. She then encourages her clients to follow this up with a sales call.

Each client earns her up to £5,000 and she’s made £83,000 in revenue over the last two years.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Wendy’s offer is that she uses the exact same process that she coaches to market and secure her own ideal clients. First she asks her audience what topics they would like her feedback on. She then plans a Facebook Live event, and lets her audience know about it. The audience sends in their questions to her whilst she is broadcasting, and she answers them. She then follows this up with a link where people can book in for a further call for more assistance from Wendy. It is at this point that Wendy will sell her business coaching services.

Currently based in Thailand, Wendy has been location independent for nearly two years and is travelling with her husband.

Podcast discussion with a Nomad Business Coach

In the interview we talk about:

• How Wendy’s business works.
• Who her ideal clients are.
• Why Wendy and her husband decided to become location independent.
• How she uses Facebook Lives to market her business, and why it works for her particular audience.
• Her 20202 business goal – to host a virtual summit.
• The challenges of being location independent.
• Her tips for other entrepreneurs who are thinking about setting up a nomadic business.

Find out more about Wendy’s latest programme – The #SHINEBRIGHT signature talk immersion on her website www.getclientsonline.co.uk 

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Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 5!

Samantha 

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On The GenerationXit Podcast today is James Clark, a 47 year old Australian infopreneur who owns a number of niche websites which he generates income from.

James is a very experienced nomad having started his travels in the early 2000s. Over the years he has developed two niche websites: a travel and location independent lifestyle site called nomadicnotes.com, and livinginasia.co, a website about infrastructure and new construction developments in SE Asia. Both generate a comfortable income for him through paid affiliate links and display advertising.

James' business model revolves around him writing about niche subjects that he is  interested in and where there is a current lack of information available. Having been based in Vietnam for a number of years, James has a wealth of knowledge about new infrastructure and urban design projects in and around SE Asia, and so his latest blog (livinginasia.co) focuses solely on that. The blog enables James to offer display advertising to new housing and serviced apartment developers throughout the region, some of whom are specifically targeting the digital nomad community. 

In the interview we talk about:

• How and why James started travelling.
• How nomadicnotes.com and livinginasia.co started.
• Whether James feels that affiliate marketing and display advertising through niche blogging is still as lucrative and easy as it was in the past. 
• James' insider knowledge about new areas of development in SE Asia - including what places might make the next 'nomad capital'.
• How his approach to travelling has changed over the years, as a result of his business approach and his need for a more established base.
• James' tips for other entrepreneurs who are thinking about setting up a nomadic business. 

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Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 4!

Samantha :)

Today we have Meredith Wilks on the show, a 53 year old location independent entrepreneur from Australia, who owns a boutique travel agency called Tiwari Travel. Meredith has successfully turned her love for independent travel and her personal connections into a profitable business which allows her to travel the globe. 

Meredith's business model involves using local partners to create outstanding, ethical travel experiences in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. The bespoke tours result in amazing feedback from her customers and also put money back into the pocket of the local community. 

Meredith goes out of her way to deliver a personal experience and sees her customers as "her personal friends". It's a successful approach because she rarely relies upon marketing to obtain clients - her tours are so fantastic, all her referrals come from 'word of mouth'. 

In the interview we talk about:

• How and why Meredith started her business
• How she runs Tiwari and how she acquires customers
• How she bases herself out of three countries - Australia, Thailand and the Lebanon
• How she keeps links with family and friends back home
• How being a digital nomad has changed over the years
• Her tips for other entrepreneurs who are thinking about setting up a nomadic business
• Meredith's plans to scale what she is doing in the future, including her intentions to set up a sister agency

Liked The GenerationXit Podcast? Step this way for more interviews. 

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you in Episode 3!

Samantha