Podcast

The Business of Freelancing, Episode 35: Paul Kortman on Location Independence as a Business Owner with a Family

By Brennan Dunn

More and more freelancers have taken to becoming nomads who live and work a location- independent lifestyle.  My guest, Paul Kortman, is a nomad who travels with his wife and four children and runs a digital marketing consulting business from various locations. On this episode Paul offers some thoughts on this lifestyle and how to make your business work in a non-traditional setting.  Paul believes that if you want to pursue the life of a nomad there are a number of things you can do to help make the process easier and far more enjoyable.   

We talk about some of the issues that people can face when they don’t have the same location to live in and work from everyday.  Paul discusses some of the concerns people may encounter and the benefits that can result from living a location-independent lifestyle:

  • problems with internet and cell service stability to do your work
  • batching work and coordinating things that need to be done before tackling projects
  • traveling with children and the benefits and skillsets they can develop from a nomadic lifestyle
  • how split shifts and working with a team in various locations actually helps productivity

Paul’s sales funnel is referral marketing.  He returns to his home base once a quarter to network and continue to build referrals.  He says while the lifestyle isn’t for everybody, it’s very possible to get the best of both worlds.  Paul has started a website called Nomad Together which provides a community and resources for others looking to find a location-independent lifestyle.  There you will find a guide which covers eight basic categories that will help you make the leap to becoming a nomad.  The site also has a supportive community to share any troubles and issues that may arise.

Please check out my Business of Freelancing new course offering for a new one hour webinar training video, How to Qualify, Sell and Close a New Client.  You’ll find examples of actual client communication and proposal excerpts.   

Before you go… Want to hang out with me and 100+ other freelancers in person?

On September 16th, the inaugural Double Your Freelancing Conference kicks off in Norfolk, Virginia. I’ve arranged to fly in 14 experts, and they’ll be covering how to sell, market, price, and grow your business. You won’t want to miss this. Get your ticket here.

If you like today’s podcast, I would really appreciate you taking just a minute to leave a review for the show in iTunes.