Working in paradise: Reasons why digital nomads can be so successful

Berlin, Feb 24, 2016, by Nina Jungius

Find the first part here.
Why is it easier to found new businesses abroad and where is the future of location-based services and online-marketing considering the rising trend of remote work? Find answers to these questions in the second part of the interview with the DNX founder and digital nomad Marcus Meurer.

You say that you are not afraid of difficult times anymore. Where does that serenity come from? Are there no dangers in being a digital nomad?

I will always be able to subsist myself with my online skills. The biggest risk a digital nomad has is that your business doesn’t work properly and you have to find a job again. Then you have the chance to save enough money and start all over again.

Especially in Germany you fall so soft like nowhere else in case you fall. On the other hand Germany is the country where many people are afraid and feel awe for self-reliance. But once people understand which chances self-reliance entail, they are unstoppable.
For that we need role models, who live that lifestyle and show others how it works.

On your journeys you are always confronted with the challenge to orientate yourself in new surroundings. How do you organize yourself at new places? Do you use location-based services to inform yourself about local stores etc.?

Well, I live the lifestyle of a digital nomad for more than 3 years now and have no fixed home anymore. Over time you develop a certain routine and come along faster and faster in building a good setting to work productively. The first thing I do at a new place is to get a local SIM card with data packet directly at the airport to have Internet access from everywhere. A “personal hotspot” from your iPhone is a very practical function because you can easily have Internet access with it when you don’t have Wi-Fi.

My girlfriend Feli runs one of Germany’s biggest travel blogs Travelicia. We get many very useful and personal tips from Travelicia fans when we go to another place. And exploring the surroundings by scooter with all the recommendations from your network is something no app can ever replace.

Certainly there are more and more location-based apps and tools especially useful for digital nomads with which you can match your travel plans and receive tips for co-working spaces and nomad meetups.

Thanks to our range we know digital nomads around the world. They are all very helpful and give us useful tips for new places.

Where do you see the future of location-based services?

Location-based services become more and more important and thanks to the movement of digital nomads, who are always on the go all over the world, the databases for such apps grow steadily. A good example for a smart app is Nomadbase, which is at its very beginning now but has much potential.

Do you recommend a live as digital nomad for every entrepreneur?

Everyone has to decide that on his own. I know some nomads who are glad to sign a rental contract or shop at Amazon again after some time abroad.

Most digital nomads prefer to enjoy the ride, though. Just like Felicia and I do. It is just too exciting to experience what is happening at the digital nomad sphere. Every week new projects pop up and cool housings with top co-working spaces especially for digital nomads emerge.

Maybe some day Feli and I won’t travel that much anymore. Right now we are building various home bases at different countries: Phuket in Thailand, Jericoacoara or Prea in Brazil, Berlin in Germany for summer times and maybe some other cool location in Europe like Lisbon.

You once said that many Germans are rather “skeptical people” and skepticism can quickly stifle creativity. Why is that so different in other countries?

People of foreign countries have a different upbringing and live in different surroundings. Especially people of more southern countries have a certain entrepreneurship in their blood. Those people just try and tinker something new and if nothing comes out of it, they simply start all over again.
We only have one life. Unfortunately, that mentality is missing in Germany. Everything is build up on an imagined “certainty”, which actually doesn’t exist in reality.
The whole system in Germany is designed to put its people into a steady 9to5 job and to work for somebody else.
That isn’t really fulfilling and it takes a lot of time for some people to realize where their discontent comes from and that it’s never to late to change something.

The time is now! Thanks to all the opportunities the online world provides, it was never so easy to live an autonomous life.

Is it easier for founders and startups abroad? Where does that potential for success come from?

I think it’s easier to start something new abroad because people are very supportive there and it’s not that special. We have made our most important business decisions on the go. In warmer countries we are happier, more satisfied and just in the right flow to do special things.

On the other hand it’s cool to be a founder in Germany because you are so outstanding and remarkable - Simply because you don’t do the things that 99% of your fellows do.

Remote work is the new reality on the job market and of high value in the war of talents. Is it really just that easy to work abroad: Give me Wi-Fi and let’s rumble!?

Remote work is still in its infancy and it is really exciting to be right at the forefront. Next to Internet access you definitely need to keep focus and willpower to stay the course of that lifestyle. The biggest benefit can simultaneously be your biggest burden, too: Being productive at the most fantastic places on earth.
Eventually you’ll develop some structures and routines to handle that problem.

And now one final question: Is everyone able to become a digital nomad?

I am convinced that everyone can become a digital nomad. From a certain point your commitment and willpower is all that makes the difference. When you are 100% all in you need to leave material things like your car or big flat screen TV behind you.

To find out whether the lifestyle of a digital nomad fits you, you need to orientate yourself to role models who already live like that and soak up everything you can. When you are still hooked with the idea of digital nomadism afterwards, you can exchange views with hundreds of like-minded at a DNX digital nomad conference and plan further steps into location-independent work.

On my Facebook page and my podcast lifehackz.de I share many insights to my life as digital nomad. Give me a like and follow my podcast if you are bend on reading more on the topic of digital nomadism.

Thx for the interview and CU on the road! ;)

We thank Marcus Meurer for the interview and wish him all the best for his future life as digital nomad.