A survival guide for travelling freelancers.

Posted by joescarffe on March 10th, 2020

If you travel a lot for freelance work then it can be really confusing. We work with thousands of freelancers every year who are confused by which insurance provider to go with. 

We are not an insurance provider ourselves (so this is not an advertisement!) but we have interviewed a range of nomad freelancers about their experiences and so wanted to discuss their thoughts here as we though they might be helpful.

Their main advice is:

  1. Make a plan: It’s very important to do in-depth research before travelling abroad. Save up and have a place to stay for at least the first couple of weeks. 
  2. Understand the visa process: If you're going to work abroad then you need to make sure you are clear on how much you can work, who you can work for and what you can earn.
  3. Get good financial advice: Working out how to receive payment in lots of different currencies can be challenging, so you need to make sure you have a system in place to manage it!
  4. Always be seeking opportunities: Remember that everyone you meet is a potential networking opportunity, so make sure you have questions ready to ask to find out where the best opportunities are to get work. Opportunities can come from the unlikeliest of places!
  5. Make New Friends: Relationships are everything when you travel! As well as networking, the relationships you make can make or break the success of a trip. So make sure you prioritise time for making friendships.
  6. Manage your Time: Time zone differences between client can be hard to sort out at the best of times, let alone when you're moving between timezones! Make sure you have a comparison tool of timezones so you're always aware of when work needs to be delivered.
  7. Protect Your Health & Wellbeing: Your health has to come first at all times. So don't get yourself into situations where you have to do all nighters for clients. Also make sure you understand the potential disease risks for the countries you are travelling to.
  8. Enjoy it! - Taking the leap and travelling whilst working can seem scary but the most important thing of all is make sure you enjoy yourself! Having an open minded and positive mindset is key to making travelling work.

These principles no matter whether you're travelling to Dubai, London or Kuala Lumpur for client projects. 

Would be great to hear your thoughts on their advice! 

Is there anything we've missed?

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joescarffe

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joescarffe
Joined: March 10th, 2020
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