How I Quit My Job to Become a Full-Time Digital Nomad

I woke up this morning and I realized that my transition to becoming a full-time digital nomad might be of great help to someone out there.

Either it you or anyone else that’s interested in quitting their job and becoming a digital nomad, I hope this post helps you.

I started having the thoughts of quitting since March 2020, but I was scared to do so just like you are.

The thoughts of not receiving a monthly paycheck was a burden to me and the fact that getting a day-time job during this global epidemic session could be a pain in the neck.

But I also thought of the fact that I could be robbing myself of the liberty and the more wealth that can be made online.

However before quitting, I already have a steady income from my freelance writing business and I was enjoying little fame in the content marketing world.

But the more I tried to take on more writing jobs, the more I get reminded that I do not have all my time to myself.

And that was when I decided to take the plunge and quit my job.

But all of these I explained didn’t just happen. Here’s how it all started.

Learning Digital Marketing back in College

This was when it started. Although before getting into college, I already started my blog but I was not serious about blogging.

I was that lazy blogger that only went after quick-money. And as I would have it, it never worked during that period (that was 2016).

In 2017 when I got into college (Yaba College of Technology, Nigeria), I continued to learn more about digital marketing until I fell in love with it.

And did I forget to say, I was a poor writer. Yes, I was practically a poor writer and if you go back to the first set of posts I posted on this blog, majority of them are poor (I would be editing them soon).

Nevertheless, I kept reading blog posts on writing of blogs and growing a blog. I practically read wide and deep.

To be candid, I spend nearly 4 hours reading blogs everyday (that was how serious I was).

And that was my biggest mistake. I left my blog with scanty number of posts; not even up to 20.

But I kept reading blog posts on other blogs. I was practically spending more time learning new stuffs than I was implementing them.

Just like you guessed, I didn’t make anything from the blog.

And as a student in Nigeria, I was spending most of my money on purchasing internet services (data plans).

Although I never made anything from the blog then, I discovered I was very much knowledgeable when it comes to content marketing.

So I decided to get a writing gig that paid me ($2 per post). Yes, that is $2.

But I wrote just one blog post and quit the stinking gig.

Then I suspended blogging for a long while and started learning programming.

During the time I was learning programming, I was able to master HTML, HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.

But the more I got involved in programming, the more I was convinced that content marketing is my way.

So,

Fast-Forward to May 2019 – First Breakthrough

This was when I got back to blogging and content marketing in general. I started publishing some content targeting students in need of essay and project writers.

The blog post started ranking few weeks.

After some days, I inserted a hire me text in between the blog post.

And the third week of June, I got my first client and I got a new job at a pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria.

I was very happy, like I have won a medal.

Two good things happened at the same time.

I got paid $15 for the report I wrote for my first client. Then in July, I started getting more clients and I was making an average of $100 per month from my report writing business.

Although this can be small, but it was a great milestone for me.

I saved the money and replaced my old laptop. My old laptop was a  half-dead laptop that only turns on when plugged to a power supply.

And it was frustrating because I would have to wait till there is power supply (Yes in Nigeria, there’s nothing like constant power-supply).

To cut that short, I got a better laptop.

Throughout the rest of the year in 2019, I constantly received report writing jobs from students.

2020

In January 2020, I started the year with a new phone. But it got worse when I stopped receiving report jobs from students again.

I then realized that I needed to up my marketing game.

I decided to look into professional blog writing for Saas companies and individual blogs.

And that was when the breakthrough started.

Although as a freelance writer, you don’t have a steady pay-check, but you can increase your chances of getting paid higher.

In the quest of stepping up my writing game, I started pitching top Saas blogs to contribute to their blog some marketing tactics for entrepreneurs.

I got published on CoSchedule, TechPrevue, and many other blogs.

But my guest post on CoSchedule was what made a lasting change in my professional career as a content marketer.

I started getting good clients and it was interesting.

All through, I was still keeping my job in the pharmaceutical industry.

But it wasn’t easy.

But I already surpassed my monthly pay-check from the pharmaceutical industry I was working with.

And my emails was also filled with companies looking out  on hiring me to create content for them.

I was getting emails from awesome marketing gurus like Shane Barker and Lilach Bullock.

I got a recommendation from Ben Sailer of CoSchedule on LinkedIn.

And everything was working for me.

Then I decided to take the plunge and submit my resignation letter.

Before submitting the letter, I took my leave first.

And the leave I took was for no other reason than to test-run how everything would look like if I quit my job.

Friday June 26 marked the day I submitted my resignation letter.

And today marks the sixth day since I resigned.

What I Plan to Do Next

I definitely don’t know what the future holds for me. All I do is plan and pray and let the future unfold gradually.

What I plan to do next is grow a content marketing agency off this blog and also get into other interesting projects.

I am planning on publishing a book too before the end of this year.

Like I said, I don’t know what the future holds but all I do is plan and pray.

How to Become a Digital Nomad

It wouldn’t read nice if I did not add this section to this post.

Although this is about me quitting my job and becoming a full-time digital nomad, but I’m sure this kind of lifestyle too would interest you.

So how do you become one too?

• Learn a Skill
• Offer the skill for a certain amount
• Get more clients to pay you more
• Set a plan
• Become more professional
•  Build up your savings for atleast 6 months
• Quit

When it comes to learning a skill, there are basically different skills that you can learn and master quick. Ranging from freelance writing, graphics design, animations, proofreading, editing, copywriting, and many other skills you can think of.

 

Offer the skill for a certain amount to clients in need of the skill. There are different platforms where you can get freelance jobs like Upwork, Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour, 99Designs, and many others.

I suggest you build a personal site where you display your portfolio and your service. Doing this will help you land more better jobs.

And also, make your pricing competitive. But as you keep getting more clients, increase your rate to earn more per month.

Set a plan. Without a plan, you would get carried away when shiny offers come your way.

There are times when I got lost because of shiny offers that come my way. Even up til now, I still do get shiny offers.

But I fully understand that some shiny offers can rob you of your dream. So you need a plan in order to scale right.

Finally, when you start landing consistent clients, save your money. If you want to become a full-time digital nomad, you need some savings that can sustain you when you quit.

The Best

I wish you the best and I also wish myself the best. I am practically still new to this full-time entrepreneur thing. But I promise to keep you updated based on my personal projects and my content marketing career.

Thanks for reading this far.

Are you also a full-time digital nomad? I want to hear about your experience.