To grow my remote work business, I quit being a digital nomad. Here’s Why.

• Andrea Valeria spent four years as a digital nomad, traveling around the world while working remotely.
• In 2019, she moved to Mexico City to start her own remote consulting business.
• Valeria realized she couldn’t manage the digital nomad lifestyle and being an entrepreneur.

This is an as-told to essay based upon a conversation with Andrea Valeria. She is a 34 year-old remote worker consultant and spent four years traveling around the globe as a digital nomad before eventually settling down in Mexico City. This conversation has been edited to be more concise and clear.

While it is fun to travel, it was not sustainable.

To grow my business, I had to quit being a digital nomad. I am now a remote work specialist who is independent and has helped more than 700 people get remote jobs. 

My family is originally from Panama. However, in 2015 I was living in Hawaii and working. I was a full-time employee in a corporate company with no work-life balance. 

After negotiation with my company, I accepted my first remote position in 2015. My remote job was in Human Resources, and I worked around 40- 50 hours per week.

I wanted to immediately take advantage of my new freedom and flexibility. There weren’t many resources available back then to help you become a digital nomad. I learned a lot by trial and error. 

I took a flight from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires and began my journey as a digital nomad. I’d never been there before, and I have no idea why I picked it — I was just desperate to start traveling. I started working remotely in June. In October, I was already in Argentina. 

I lived and worked in 10 Mexican cities over the next four-years. Sometimes, I would stay for six months. Sometimes, I would only stay for a few weeks. 

To focus on my work, I had to remain still.

While traveling and working remotely I also tried my hand at side hustles. 

My ultimate goal was to create my own business. But I knew I couldn’t just jump in. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on my work if I quit my remote job.

I was a virtual assistant. I also did freelance translation work and managed websites and blogs for companies. In 2018, I also published my first book — a guide to vlogging — which gave me a fresh source of passive income. 

My life as a digital nomad was chaotic. It all depended where I was and I was always exhausted by juggling travel, sightseeing and full-time job. 

I started a remote job portal in June 2019 and it is currently my most-popular page. I also started offering résumé services in August 2019, and began developing an online course. My experience as a digital nomad combined with my skills as a human resources consultant made me well-qualified to create a remote business. 

In December 2019, I quit my remote job. After becoming fully self-employed, it dawned on me that I needed to stay in my current position if I wanted to grow this business. Mexico City was the place I chose to spend my time traveling.

I needed to slow down in order to concentrate on my work. If you are always on the move, it’s impossible to do this.

My online course “Land Your First Remote Jobs” was launched in May 2020. 

So far, I’ve helped 306 clients build résumés specially adapted to remote work opportunities — a service for which I charge $349. My online course has also been a success. I have taught over 440 students. Although prices vary, it is generally about $600.

My entire income comes from this business as well as freelance work. I have even been able hire seven freelancers to assist me. 

I was able to save a lot of time and money by not traveling as much. I also put all that cash back into my business. 

I have created a consistent routine

Now that I’m not always moving, I can focus more on growth — both for my business and for myself. I have developed a fitness program and learned to better manage my money. I purchased my own apartment in Mexico City. 

 Travel is something I love, and I would like to continue doing so once my business is established. I want to automate certain processes and hire more people so I can start incorporating longer trips into the daily routine.

Remote work is not for everyone. I have tried working remotely while traveling slowly, and fast while traveling. Now, I am looking forward to working in my own office from my home.