College Debt and Minimum Wage to Founding the Biggest Online Digital Nomad Community in the World
with Johannes Voelkner, Founder of Nomad Cruise
Johannes Voelkner started as a college student-turned Virtual Assistant working on minimum wage in South Africa before he figured out how to apply the 4-Hour Work Week to his life. After that, he established the biggest online digital nomad community in the world before going on to found the Nomad Cruise - the first floating conference for freelancers, remote workers, and online entrepreneurs.
“And then this Facebook group grew super fast to up to 5,000 people, so then I like, was like okay - I’m onto something here now. There’s a lot of interest, I just need to figure out what I’m going to do and that’s how the cruise started. ”
Johannes and I have a lot in common. Both of us have been nomadic for about 15 years and started living abroad and working remotely before we knew what digital nomads were. We each set up our first remote income streams while living abroad and both of us stumbled into our current businesses almost by accident - because we were looking to meet new people and make friends in foreign countries.
We also both stumbled upon The Four Hour Work Week book in 2007, opening our minds to the possibility that there were other people like us. And the rest is history.
Fast forward to 2020 and things have come full circle. Although we both still love to travel, we have both set up home bases on our home continents - Johannes in Europe (Spain) and myself in the USA (Miami, FL).
Since Johannes has spoken at the Nomad Summit in Chiang Mai this year and recently on the Maverick Show podcast, in this interview, I wanted to go a bit deeper behind the scenes to talk about how he created this freedom to travel for himself and what he’s learned throughout his journey - about himself, the world, and our global community.
What You’ll Learn:
In this episode, we talk about how to study abroad or find a working holiday, how we were able to work abroad right out of college, how to make a livable wage as a self-employed expat or online business owner, all the different weird jobs you can have had in foreign countries, and how to build an online income for the first time. We talk about how to make your own luck in the world, start a like-minded community, and achieve the elusive work-life balance while traveling and working remotely.
We also discuss:
How to start a side hustle while you're working abroad in a location-dependent job.
How to build a remote team from scratch.
How to build your skillset when you're starting from zero.
Why it's better to start your business first (while you aren't traveling) then travel later.
Tips and advice for people who don't know where to start as a digital nomad.
How Johannes overcomes fear and takes action, anyway.
How to meet hundreds of like-minded people in one year.
Examples of how people form tight-knit bonds in the Nomad Cruise community and why it creates relationships that last a lifetime.
What to look for in a digital nomad destination or when you're setting up a home base somewhere.
Finally, we talk about what the Nomad Cruise is, who it's for, what you can learn in the talks, workshops, and masterminds on the ship, the upcoming itinerary, and the different reunions and co-living opportunities available before and after the cruise departs.
Then, in the lightning round we cover Johannes's favorite travel destinations, morning routine, remote work tools, productivity hacks, and how his remote team works across timezones.
Show notes:
Join the Next Nomad Cruise - Save €100 with code, TravelingwithKristin
Follow Nomad Cruise on Instagram
Join the Global Digital Nomad Network
Book a consulting call with Kristin
Show Resources - Remote Work Tools:
Show Resources - Books:
Make a Name for Yourself (Personal Branding)
Learn more from Johannes:
The Maverick Show: Kitesurfing & Building Nomadic Communities
Nomad Summit Chiang Mai Talk on Building a Remote Business While Traveling