This month, we were blessed with a dynamic duo of online marketeers that have been killing the Pinterest and YouTube platforms, taking their entrepreneurial spirits to the next level and becoming 100% remote workers in the past year and a half.
Lauren McManus and Alex Nerney are co-founders of Avocadu, a health and fitness website specializing in weight loss for women, specifically in the areas of dieting and yoga.
From the success of that website came Create and Go, where they teach others how to find and achieve success through blogging (and similar websites). This includes everything from starting a blog to driving traffic to monetization.
Lastly, along with Lauren’s brother Dale, they co-founded a YouTube channel called The Health Nerd that originally started as a side project, but eventually grew into its own thing, gaining over 100k subscribers in its first year!
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So basically, they have loads of experience in online marketing, to the point where they have created and maintained three successful online entities that have aided in them keeping the travel bug alive. Having said this, we decided to pick their brains a bit and see what’s been working for them in terms of their digital nomadic lifestyle choices:
How did you get started with online marketing?
Alex wrote and sold his first eBook right after he graduated college, and he has been reading books and other resources about entrepreneurship, Internet marketing, and business ever since. I (Lauren) have a background in business as well (accounting), and my curiosity was peaked when Alex talked about all of the benefits and rewards that come with owning your own business (controlling your income and travel being two of the biggest reasons that really resonated with me).
We worked nights and weekends while working our full-time jobs until we reached a point that we decided to say “what the hell” and quit our jobs before we were making a dime. #YOLO
Top 3 things to pack for travel (Must Have’s):
Emergency Kit – We learned this out the hard way in Nicaragua, and it saved us in a crutch in Lima as well. You can get them off Amazon for $20-25
NorthFace backpacks (for day trips) – To carry our laptops, water bottles, and other business items. They also come in handy when you go on smaller day trips.
Osprey backpacks – These allow us to fit everything we need, including clothes, cameras, drone, shoes, etc
Why did you choose WiFi Tribe?
We did a lot of research before we made the decision, and we ultimately decided on WiFi Tribe because of the community that they offered. From the photos on their website and on Instagram, it looked like they had a really honest and genuine thing going on.
They seemed down to earth, and it looked like they actually worked… we had read a lot of reviews from some other programs and it looked like while there were a lot of remote workers in the group, there were also a lot of people that didn’t want or need to work. We wanted to be around people that liked to have fun but also knew the importance of hard work. Those were the people that we wanted to travel with and collaborate with, and that is what initially attracted us to WiFi Tribe.
What have you taken so far from your solo journey or that with WiFi Tribe?
The importance of community has been my biggest takeaway from our travels with WiFi Tribe and without them. This is why we initially sought them out, but what we got out of our travels with them has been SO much more than we ever thought it would be.
As an adult, you don’t really get a chance to make really deep connections with people very often. When you do, it usually takes quite some time to reach that point. When you are in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, and you are living under the same roof with this ‘tribe,’ you form connections in DAYS that would otherwise take weeks or years.
The language barrier is tough, getting sick in a foreign country is tough, and traveling in general can be tough and stressful. But Wifi Tribe has really provided us with a family away from home and a support system when we travel.
What is one productivity tool you would suggest for a new nomad?
Definitely a good Spotify playlist. Pandora is great as well, but it’s not available in as many countries. Put your headphones in, because this keeps you from being interrupted and shows others that you are “in the zone.” Our favorite bands for Internet radio and playlists are “Tycho” and “Explosions in the Sky.” The music without words really helps you focus! Also, turn off the Internet when you don’t need it to keep you from browsing the Internet (aka Facebook).
Any further advice on how to make it as a digital nomad?
Find the social media platform that you think is best for YOU, YOUR business, and YOUR target audience, and OWN IT!
Some social media platforms work far better than others depending on the niche, the audience, what you are selling, and a variety of other factors. There are no one-size-fits-all social media platforms.
Don’t try to master everything at once, and don’t feel like you need to be using Facebook just because it’s Facebook and that’s what everyone else is doing. We have found 1-2 social media platforms for reach of our businesses, and we totally ROCK them before experimenting with others.
If you’re looking to meet a bunch of new people with the same digital nomadic mindset, or take your first international trip with some awesome remoters, keep up with where we are and join us as the tribe continues to dominate Latin America!
