Meet Regina Van de Velden. Along with her husband, Mike, she’s a freedom seeking travel enthusiast who runs an online business whilst traveling the world.
After building up their online project part time, they courageously decided to go all out in January and dedicate their full attention to making a sustainable income as location independent entrepreneurs (or digital nomads).
Now they have discovered financial freedom from their online marketing business and show others how they can achieve the exact same. They say:
“Your future is what you make of it so embrace your dreams and live your life, your way.”
To find out just how Regina and Mike are able to gallivant from one beautiful destination to the next without having to succumb to conventional 9-5 jobs, I decided get in touch for a bit of a digital chat. Here’s how it went.
Interview with Regina Van de Velden of Courageously Free Travelers
Hannah: Could you briefly describe what you do for a living, how you make an income from it and how you got started?
Regina: My husband, Mike and I show others how to create an online business around their passion or help small business gain online exposure through a suite of educational tools which are essentially what I call a “business in a box”.
I just got sick of burning out in the film industry and I knew that if I wanted to have a life I had to do something different. I found a family who were already traveling for 5 years and working online for 9 at the time and I just followed exactly what they did.
Hannah: What does a typical day go like for you?
Regina: There really is no typical day and it depends on the timezone we are in. In Europe for example, since our conference calls are in the middle of the night (we go by EST/EDT) we generally get up late morning. Sometimes I just reach over to get my laptop and work in bed for half a day. Sometimes we leave the house after we wake up to walk around then come back and work through the night. The joy of being a digital nomad is that you schedule your work around your play whenever you can.
Hannah: Being a digital nomad means you generally have the freedom to go where you like, when you like. Do you travel a lot or do you like to have a base to settle? What kind of impact does this have on your business?
Regina: It’s a mix. Sometimes we stay somewhere for a few days or a few months. I think the most difficult thing is re-programming yourself to stay up or wake up in time for weekly calls so our sleep schedule changes in each timezone, but just like you said… we have more time freedom so waking/sleeping earlier/later isn’t a problem because this is our life.
Hannah: Where is your favourite destination as a location independent entrepreneur in regards to networking, internet connection and lifestyle?
Regina: After being in Europe (though I absolutely love it here), the American timezones are much easier to adjust to, particularly in the States. Personally for me, not only is San Francisco very dear to me, the people are pretty up to date with technology and design, the internet connection is great and the lifestyle suits me.
Hannah: What are your 3 best tips for young people who are looking to turn in their 9-5 jobs and enter the digital world for more freedom?
Regina: 1) When you make the decision to quit your job, keep your job long enough to either save up some money or help start something up on the side. Work online part time first and leverage your income to invest in the education and tools you need to get going. Once you get to a point where you can leave, then do it… but don’t wait to long.
2) Have a really strong reason why you want to live life as a digital nomad. It is extremely worth doing, but it’s a whole new mindset. Use your reason why to push you through the ups and downs. Write it down. Look at it. Feel it. “If your why doesn’t make you cry, it’s not strong enough.” Do self development, work on yourself more than anything else.
3) Find a mentor and a community of people who are doing what you want to do. It’s not an easy life so knowing that there are others doing it who can support you and push you to be a better you would be ideal. They say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Most importantly, have fun! Living a new life of freedom is worth it!
Hannah: Thank you so much for your time Regina and we wish you the best of luck with all of your online ventures!
If you wish to get in contact with Regina and Mike, follow their journey around the world or find out how you can start an online business just like theirs, you can find them over at: www.courageouslyfreetravelers.com.
