Any digital nomads w/ over $10k/m revenue?

How old are you?

@JohnnyFD I’ve been following your journey almost from the start of your blog (since you were at around $500 per month I think…) and your posts have become a lot more promotional recently and everything looks like you’re pushing something (a product, a course, a lifestyle…).

Just in your post above you’ve put in two links to your stuff. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve done amazingly well for yourself and that’s awesome! I love how transparent all your posts are. But this is just some honest feedback about how I’ve perceived the change in your writing style and online presence over the recent past.

On topic though, there are many ways to get out of your comfort zone. I think as nomads most people are constantly challenging themselves anyway. This might be less true if you’re based in one place and working out of there for the most part, but if you’re switching locations every few months - there’s an inherent challenge anyway.

Learning a new language, cooking new things, even meeting new people all the time - are actually quite challenging.

What I learned from interviewing Sam Marks who is worth $20m+ is that it’s actually a good thing to breakup 5 star hotels and flying business class with staying in dorms and sitting in coach once in a while.

In the podcast interview with Sam he talks about not getting too comfrotable and reseting your expectations.

So for the past 6 weeks i’ve been going from staying in shared dorms to private rooms to now finally being in nice AirBnB and it’s been awesome to reset and not get too comfortable.

Even though I make around $19,000 a month and really love eating at nice restaurants and flying business class, I also really love not having responsibilies and bills that add up when you start getting too comfortable.

So instead, I buy assets not liabilities and only splurge once or twice a month.

Just wanted to add to the discussion that no one should be apologetic about his or her earning potential. No one should be embarrassed or feel out of place if they make $10k or $100k or $1M per month, and people making <$1k per month shouldn’t be discouraged if others are making more than them at the moment (remember that the majority of the billions of people in the world are living in extreme poverty). Just be grateful for what you have and keep on keeping on. I’m not sure how being a digital nomad became synonymous with the backpacking/hostel lifestyle to begin with, but there are probably a few different reasons for that.

As this community grows and matures and the “younguns” get more experience under their proverbial belts and start growing their businesses, hopefully everyone starts earning more money. There’s definitely enough to go around for people who work on the internet. Just because you’re living on a budget, doesn’t mean that you can’t dream big and keep earning/saving more. Just because you live outside your home country, doesn’t mean you have to relegate yourself to living on a shoestring. Many people start off that way whether they are starting a career out of high school, taking an entry level corporate job out of college or leaving a job to freelance or be location-independent.

Short story: I studied abroad in college a few times and was counting pennies the entire time. I then moved back abroad after grad school and budgeted absolutely every expense down to the $4 per week I spent on gas for my 4x4. I waited tables, bar tended, taught surf lessons and worked in real estate. I hustled so that I could keep living in Costa Rica. That was over 11 years ago for me and fortunately I was able to advance my career and significantly elevate my standard of living in the process. Everyone starts somewhere. I imagine almost all of us know what it’s like to be on an extreme budget, but with goal setting and hard work, your earning potential is virtually infinite (just like your creativity). Instead of marveling at people who currently earn over $10k/month, remember YOU can do it too. It should be a realistic goal for anyone who sets an intention to make that much then goes for it!

With the freedom this lifestyle offers, we are the only ones who can hold ourselves back (not a fixed salary, boss, dead end job or glass ceiling). The world is your oyster guys!

If you every want to feel broke no matter how much you make, come join me in London for some time.

+1 on Dynamite Circle. I’m also in eCommerce Fuel. Lots of ballers to play with.

Interesting discussion here. It is hard to find “flashpacker” groups, when travelling. I am in the same bracket and I think there should be quite a few nomads who’d qualify. BTW @homakov did you delete the group you created on Facebook? Can’t access it.

Just added this collection because of this thread:

Cities for Flashpackers

Have you heard of Dynamite Circle? Might be worth you joining. They have a minimum criteria and its paid for which means you’ll have a better ratio of serious nomads earning some half decent income.

Here one “not looking prices nomad”! Down to meet same kind nomads. Anyone in LA who wants to connect? I will be in Mexico on May for two weeks and after Medellin for three weeks.

Hand up. Yup, and one thing I hate is staying in hostels… but then I hate NOT staying in hostels because it’s isolating.

I both don’t care about the money and am respectful of people who do/need to. I usually just model what others are doing (if seeking out cheap place, I’ll go with that flow). BUT, I am currently in Europe where I have no problem spending the dolla-dolla bills, lol.

In Asia, I can’t imagine pinching pennies - everything is already cheap!

Hey everyone, I’ll be hanging out in Europe-ish during June. I’d love to connect with someone else or a few other people especially the first week of June and go somewhere. Inbox me if you’d like to plan something together.

Someone with atotally different identity posted the exact same question on facebook. Or Am I getting crazy ?

You should hangout

Oh… I had just private messaged people in the topic (including you @homakov) with the address of the group I had created.

Ah you mean the signal to noise ratio is better. I’ve yet to bump into one in real like just like that but perhaps I don’t socialize enough

Horay!
I started the topic so let me start the group.
The group is here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1637524939855520/

It is true that we guys should talk about upscale activities and meetup more. If you consider yourself a flashpacker please join the group.

What a first world problem. Why don’t you create a facebook group or something like that?

Maybe name it something like “Upmarket Digital Nomads” or “Digital Nomads living it large” or anything else relevant? A provocative name would be fun though

Met a lot of people here in Chiang Mai who definitely are NOT on a budget. Renting apartments for much more that they are worth & more.
Same in Bali, full of people dying to spend their $$$$, Bali is trendy so people spend more easily I suppose (me included).

I’m sure the community will be growing & you guys could actually propose some pretty cool stuff to do. I mean, if you money in Southeast Asia for instance, you can do some pretty awesome activities!

I’m in this income bracket and I’d love to meet others in a similar situation. I’ve been living a nomadic life for the past year, and I’ve been lucky to meet some great people during that time. However, sometimes it’s hard to find someone who’d like to experience a more expensive experience and it would be great to connect with some people who aren’t focused on the price tag.

Feel free to message me.

At least for me, I really don’t agree. I find that when people find out about my income I get a very superficial kind of respect, and its much harder to talk about ideas on a more down to earth level. Theres also problems with people really only talking to you because of the money you make, etc. I’ve found this to be the case back in the western world as well.

That being said, I completely agree with carolyn. Its is nice to not have to ever really worry about prices, its nice to be able to stay in a nice hotel when you’re tired of sleeping on shitty beds, and most of all its nice to have the flexibility to do experience that other backpackers have to think twice about (scuba diving, some kinds of treks, etc.)

Hi there I’m currently in Bali (Ubud) till the end of January - and I do about $10,000 per month in revenue – but not all of that is pure profit as I do pay 3 staff members - however, I do find myself morphing into the kind of lady who doesn’t look at the prices on a menu, which is nice…
… especially considering I was sleeping on couches and working at a coffee shop this time last year, lolz!

My business is online teaching on writing and practical magic, and my website is badwitch.es and carolyngraceelliott.com.

Just FYI - you’d be surprised who is making what kind of money.

For me personally, I love the backpacker lifestyle. I’ll risk $5k on my business one day, then go out for a 30 baht dinner that evening ($1) and stay in a hostel with 10 other people. Living cheap, in my opinion, is pretty fun and is a more fulfilling lifestyle :). I dont like the idea of wasting my money on myself.

As an entrepreneur, it’s hard to claim a fixed income when your earning potential is infinite in both directions Whether you remote work from home or remote work from a different country, the nature of being a self-employed entrepreneur/freelancer can usually mean inconsistent income. Sometimes this works for you, and sometimes it’s the other way. I’ve had hugely earning months over time and also some where I make $0 or lose money depending on the business venture, market conditions and industry climate. It’s all about living realistically and budgeting wisely to make sure that your lifestyle can survive the bumps in the road. There are always unforeseen (and foreseen - taxes for example) expenses that come up on the nomad journey. I think we could see the same pattern for entrepreneurs who work “at home” in places like Silicon Valley, for instance. Businesses succeed and fail and formerly successful ones can also fail later on.

I’ve noticed that many nomads are on literally shoe string budgets and this can be a stressful way to live. It’s hard to be a paycheck to paycheck international nomad. I recommend to everyone to save up money before venturing into this lifestyle.

That being said, it can be fun to ball out when you can: fly business class, spend the day at a luxury spa, get bottle service at a famous club, stay at the Peninsula or jet over to Monaco. I know there are nomads who do this or can do this (but choose not to). My experience has been that most of the people who can live this way regularly are not in fact nomads, but ones who are traveling on a company’s dime. Business execs of multinationals usually have their travel expenses paid for by their employers so they don’t care how much their hotel room or first class seat costs. That is a nice perk of the job, but I think that we would all choose our freedom over luxury any day. I’d rather work for myself with financial uncertainty than have a typical 9-5 (or 8-11) corporate job that pays for a sky club membership.

I think that nomads by our nature may be less risk averse when it comes to being a nomad, but are more frugal with money because we want to be in this for the long haul. No matter how successful I am financially at a given moment, I still spend frugally because you never know when you’ll need it for a rainy day (or year) ahead. I treat myself once in a while but when you can live so well in so many places for a conservative cost of living, it’s hard to justify overspending for the sake of it.

Hey everyone, I’m really excited to share my first income report where I’m consistently hitting over $10k a month now, woop woop!

You always have to consider taxed vs. untaxed. 10k taxed in the US is like 6k of untaxed income.

I agree with your philosophy. I hate to waste money, although I splurge on a great hotel from time to time, but I always feel out of place in places like Laos dragging a monogrammed suitcase since I need it to carry my suits to my next destination for “work”. If you’re back in KL we can Nobu it up

hi guys,
i dont wanna be ugly and call you ‘rich guys’, but i would be really-really interested in your opinion of my question here. if you could have a look and reply: Would you try living and working on a sailboat in Lake Balaton, Hungary?
thanks a lot.

btw me personally dont spend much during the plain weeks, i rather save, and spend later on sth bigger in one

I’d have to disagree with the whole wealthy nomads are disconnected. From my experience, especially regarding affiliates, they all work together and have no need to extend beyond their network as it tends to be located all over the globe and they have loose connections with others of the same wealth doing the same things. It’s still Nomading, just with a little more flexibility and cash.
Anyway, if anyone’s in Amsterdam in like June, hit me up.

Hello, I am in the midst of transitioning from a government employee (stable paycheck with no freedom) to a digital nomad. While I am not expecting to be making $10K/month immediately, it is one of the eventual targets. Will definitely be checking out the links @johnnyfd shared.

Would need your advice on how to get started in making say $500/month initially? I have no idea how to do designs or web development. Have tried writing and pitching articles to websites and magazines but most have not been very successful. What would you recommend to someone who is just starting out?

Thank you for your help!

I’m in Bangkok and don’t make nearly that much. Feel free to take me out to dinner

We had a Nomad Summit in Chiang Mai a few weeks ago and here are some notable people who spoke that make between $10k-$50k a month as digital nomads and are based in Chiang Mai.

Leon Jay - His talk was on building for passion vs. profit
Sean Lee - How he makes $30k a month from youtube
Natalie Jay - Wholesale and Millions in Revenue

And here’s my talk as I’ve recently joined the $10k club myself. I hope you guys enjoy it, all of the videos are free as the event was sponsored by Buffer.

Hi.
It depends of months, but usually I make around $10k/m.
But I don’t spend all this. I save and/or reinvest.
Also I don’t have big needs so I don’t spend so much.
What costs me the most are airplane tickets (for 2), hotels, …

Also I left Thailand because despite the country is amazing, visa is an hassle (and I don’t agree to pay 30kUSD for me and my wife for Elite visa, I’m a bit cheap guy, like value for money), and also so many cheap farangs (=westerns in Thailand), you can’t be quiet if you tell them you make over 3kusd/month…

You’re probably referring to profits after taxes. Revenue doesn’t say much. One can have zero profit with 10k revenue because of costs and taxes.

My business makes plenty more than that, but I don’t draw a crazy salary. I don’t struggle, but I don’t waste either.

Because I don’t need to.

Becsuse I nomad.

Most people, nomads or otherwise, won’t tell everybody that they earn a lot of money. 10k a month is considered a huge income once you get off the taxes and costs of living in your own country.

A nice % of nomads are relatively low-budget, as it as very good lifestyle (perhaps the best one?) for those that don’t earn huge incomes for whatever reason.

Rich nomads are not that plenty, and they might be scattered around the globe, and most likely in cities such as Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Paris or that kind of places. At least, that’s where I met the few I know.

I think that the issue here is that there are not enough rich nomads, those that exist not necessarily are in touch with each other, and the world is just too big to have them all in one place. I’ve met different nomads, and almost no one was rich.

I have the feeling that the nomadism impulses end quite easily when people start making seven figures.

In our case, we make enough money to spend all year long on the road, but we prefer to get back home for 4 or 5 months to put everything in order before we depart again. To each his own, of course.

I make over 10K… in Kyats. lol.

I’ll think you will find people who like a to ball out a bit more in Saigon

I empathize with you… I’ve long hung out around backpackers who are mindful of nearly every dollar they spend. For example the nice group of 3 people I meet a couple weeks ago in Chiang Mai that were planning to go to Koh Tao, on a 3 day bus/boat combo trip, because it was $50 cheaper than alternatives like flying to Surat Thani or Samui… Who the hell wouldn’t just freaking fly and save 2 days of their life for US$50?

Anyway, I don’t have an answer to finding those folks not being digital nomads on a shoe string budget, but they exist. Maybe only at a ratio of 50:1 to the budget minded folks.

Hey Homakov, i found your post interesting. I would like to connect with you.
I experience the same problem, it’s not that I splash the cash when I’m moving around, but I don’t worry about the prices of drinks and meals etc. I am over the $10K bracket you mentioned.
I will be in Bali for Christmas and New year, but am free to go anywhere after that.

Look forward to hearing from you.

PS. Am also not a douchebag!

If you wanna spend some money you can take me out next time you’re in Chiang Mai

Most people I know making over $10k a month don’t let anyone know they’re making over $10k/pm.

If you find a good friend who you wanna chill with and they don’t have the money to keep partying, help them out and cover the bill!