When I made my first trip to Europe in 2008, I was immediately hooked. There was something palpable about the freedom that you get while traveling abroad. When I relocated to Prague in 2011 to teach financial economics at a Czech University, I had my first real taste of what having a global career was like. I knew that I could never go back to working a nine-to-five desk job from that point on, ever.
The Years it Took to Get Here
Right from the moment I realized how relaxed and vibrant a location-independent lifestyle could be, I knew this was what I wanted. Although today I have built up a portfolio after having brokered hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets and creating Global Career, my own remote company, it wasn’t always this pretty.
Back in college, I always knew that I wanted to make a lifestyle out of business and entrepreneurship. This is why I took these years seriously and even studied in South Korea to earn my MBA. I genuinely believe that my education, travel experience and previous working roles provided me with a unique perspective and tools that helped in building Global Career.
After becoming a bestselling author, launching my own successful business, and being a Forbes contributor, I know now how vital my years of development through trial-and-error, failed ventures, online courses and even YouTube indeed were. All these experiences, including getting my MBA and having mentor support, helped me reach the success I have today.
Remote Work Coming to the Forefront
For some, travel is only seen as a means to enjoy your time off. If you are like me, this simply won’t cut it. I dreamed of making a profitable online career to retain my freedom of location.
In 2018, I published my best-selling book, Global Career: How to Work Anywhere And Travel Forever, and this put me at the forefront of becoming a remote work leader. Flash forward a few years later and no one could have predicted how much the world would propel forward with remote working. It’s been one of the most significant silver linings to the entire pandemic in my opinion and I think remote working will continue to advance and improve over time to make companies even more prosperous, productive and better for both employees and employers.
Microsoft Japan, for example, was one of the pioneers in this research. Starting months before lockdown, they discovered that remote workers are 40% more productive than those confined to an office space. This is likely because remote workers get to finish tasks on their own time. If they want to go out on a date with their significant other, for example, they will be more motivated to finish daily tasks promptly. Various studies continued to come out, confirming what people like myself had long suspected: we don’t need to work from an office to be productive.
Setting Yourself Up for Success When Transitioning to Remote Work
Our primary focus here at Global Career is to help people weary of desk jobs move their professional skills into the remote workforce or to online entrepreneurship. In my personal opinion, the biggest issue that people have when transitioning to remote work is getting over some mental barriers and trying to reframe certain cultural norms.
Remote workers often make the mistake of confusing their bedroom as their office. As a best practice, you need to set clear dividers between your workspace and home life. To help achieve this, I recommend having a strict daily schedule and a dedicated area for working. This way, your personal life doesn’t blend as much into your work life. This is just a simple example, but there are dozens of ways to structure your day-to-day that will lead to a more sustainable work-life balance.
Lessons Learned From My Journey
Right off the bat, many people think that they need to have a great idea to reach success as an entrepreneur, and this is not necessarily true. In my experience, the acquisition of businesses that are already making a profit is a great way to quickly flip around ROIs and accumulate working capital that you can either save or reinvest into further ventures.
New entrepreneurs with little to no capital should not be afraid of boot-strapping and working with limited resources, either. In the world of business, there are always risks. As a young entrepreneur, the last thing you need is to put yourself knee-deep in debt because of a failed venture. You will probably have many failed business ideas before you reach one that works. It’s essential to verify and quickly validate your idea, no matter what path you choose.
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Contributor Bio
Mike Swigunski is a bestselling author, Forbes contributor, remote work leader, and founder of Global Career. As an online business expert that has brokered hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets and also helped build an eight-figure remote company, he has cultivated a strong passion and knowledge for everything within the remote work and online business realm.