How to Work & Travel 365 Days a Year Without Going Insane
How to Make Remote Working a Permanent Lifestyle
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April 17, 2018
Hear first-hand from Melissa on how she landed her first clients while living in Vietnam, which has since grown to include McDonald’s, Visa, and Samsung. Hear first hand and find out the first steps in becoming a digital nomad.
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twitter.com/thedesignnomad
instagram.com/thedesignnomad
linkedin.com/in/thedesignnomad
E-School for Girls presents How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur: Stories From Female Innovators. In this talk Mona Patel, CEO of Motivate Design shares with the audience the five things she wished she knew before she started her company.
E-School for Girls is a two-week summer intensive program at NYU designed to empower young women to become confident leaders and entrepreneurs.We strive to give rising High School juniors and seniors experiences that enable them to take initiative, pave their own paths and have the courage to achieve their own definition of success.
Building a $100k and flexible design careeradambcarney
This book is a step-by-step overview to how to build a 100k and flexible career in graphic design. It was written by a group of people who actually do it, and is loaded with practical information.
PR is essential for Entrepreneurs, but its not easy. Here is a simple reference guide to navigate the confusing world of PR. Meant essentially for those who have little PR experience.
Create Your Elevator Pitch - Pat Drew and Ivy ExecIvy Exec
Unless you can communicate your value quickly and in a compelling way, you are letting opportunities pass you by. Would you knowingly give up an opportunity for the perfect job or fantastic assignment? That is what you are doing if you do not have at your fingertips a well-practiced, very brief statement of who you are, what you are up to and what a UNIQUE contribution you make.
No matter how experienced and polished we are, most of us from time to time pass up opportunities to let others know who we are and what a unique contribution we make. We fail to get the conversation started which can lead to new positions and assignments.
In this webinar, you will actively participate and "log out" with a new statement of who you are and your value. In this session, you will learn:
- How to communicate your value in a compelling way in 20 seconds.
- Four key questions to answer, to engage anyone anywhere, anytime – in YOU!
- To craft, practice and perfect your own Elevator Pitch.
- How do to make yourself interesting, memorable and start the conversation, which will open doors for you.
Pat Drew’s areas of expertise include top-level coaching, senior team alignment and preparing executives and organizations for transitions. For over twenty years, she has coached executives in the media, pharmaceutical companies, consumer product companies, financial and professional services, real estate, communications, not-for-profit organizations and academia.
Pat’s experience in helping executives achieve strong business results was acquired as Director in Human Resources at The New York Times for 20 years, as Manager of Training at the New York Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University and, most recently, with Guttman Development Strategies, a leadership-development firm.
E-School for Girls presents How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur: Stories From Female Innovators. In this talk Mona Patel, CEO of Motivate Design shares with the audience the five things she wished she knew before she started her company.
E-School for Girls is a two-week summer intensive program at NYU designed to empower young women to become confident leaders and entrepreneurs.We strive to give rising High School juniors and seniors experiences that enable them to take initiative, pave their own paths and have the courage to achieve their own definition of success.
Building a $100k and flexible design careeradambcarney
This book is a step-by-step overview to how to build a 100k and flexible career in graphic design. It was written by a group of people who actually do it, and is loaded with practical information.
PR is essential for Entrepreneurs, but its not easy. Here is a simple reference guide to navigate the confusing world of PR. Meant essentially for those who have little PR experience.
Create Your Elevator Pitch - Pat Drew and Ivy ExecIvy Exec
Unless you can communicate your value quickly and in a compelling way, you are letting opportunities pass you by. Would you knowingly give up an opportunity for the perfect job or fantastic assignment? That is what you are doing if you do not have at your fingertips a well-practiced, very brief statement of who you are, what you are up to and what a UNIQUE contribution you make.
No matter how experienced and polished we are, most of us from time to time pass up opportunities to let others know who we are and what a unique contribution we make. We fail to get the conversation started which can lead to new positions and assignments.
In this webinar, you will actively participate and "log out" with a new statement of who you are and your value. In this session, you will learn:
- How to communicate your value in a compelling way in 20 seconds.
- Four key questions to answer, to engage anyone anywhere, anytime – in YOU!
- To craft, practice and perfect your own Elevator Pitch.
- How do to make yourself interesting, memorable and start the conversation, which will open doors for you.
Pat Drew’s areas of expertise include top-level coaching, senior team alignment and preparing executives and organizations for transitions. For over twenty years, she has coached executives in the media, pharmaceutical companies, consumer product companies, financial and professional services, real estate, communications, not-for-profit organizations and academia.
Pat’s experience in helping executives achieve strong business results was acquired as Director in Human Resources at The New York Times for 20 years, as Manager of Training at the New York Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University and, most recently, with Guttman Development Strategies, a leadership-development firm.
No one likes the idea of being pigeonholed by others. Pigeonholing yourself, on the other hand, is one of the best things you can do for your business. Follow along as Jonathan teaches attendees how to create a laser-focused positioning statement and how to use that statement to attract better clients, close more deals, and ultimately make more money.
How to unleash your creativity and generate million dollar ideasAamir Qutub
Creative ideas are all around us, all the time. Uncovering them is often a matter of how we’re looking at things and less of where we’re looking. And yet when we’re feeling uncreative or stuck it’s often helpful to get away from the work: to get up and go for a walk, or do a chore, or otherwise change scenery.
For more information, check out my Youtube Video:
https://youtu.be/h21KX71rkZ8
Everything I Wish I'd Known When I Moved From Finance To a Tech StartupKate Huyett
I spent five years in finance before moving to work at a tech startup based in NYC. The recruiting process in tech is very different, and this presentation shares everything I wish I'd known when I was making the move, including:
How to think about what I was looking for
How to approach startups
Whether or not I should be active on social media
Interviewing tips
There's a version with audio on Udemy: http://bit.ly/14Byvm2
How to get a stranger to agree to somethingAndrew Fogg
Andrew Fogg from http://import.io discusses how to get a stranger to agree to something.
You negotiate every single day and it is the most important thing that you do.
Using scenario-based examples of persuasion and negotiation he covers: getting a meeting, getting a contract, getting an upgrade.
No one likes the idea of being pigeonholed by others. Pigeonholing yourself, on the other hand, is one of the best things you can do for your business. Follow along as Jonathan teaches attendees how to create a laser-focused positioning statement and how to use that statement to attract better clients, close more deals, and ultimately make more money.
A recipe for startup and early growth successMyJobMatcher
Startups often fail. This presentation is a simple list and description of ingredients based on my experiences (success and failures) from the last 20 years working in startups, early growth, investment and trade sale. This presentation forms the basis or my speaking events on the subject.
This presentation was based on information given at FOWA workshop by Mike McDerment, creator of Freshbooks. This was not meant to cover anywhere near the level Mike did, but simply some highlights and tips.
Too many people have mistaken ideas when it comes to their approach to their careers. We often believe that working incredibly hard in jobs that we do not truly enjoy is ‘responsible’ and what adults should do. We often feel that we do not really have any choice when it comes to what we do for a living. We often feel scared to try anything else. And this is why so many of us are unhappy in our careers: we just ‘let them happen’ and accept the career path that we fall into. We leave school or college, take the first job opportunity that comes out way, and then work hard to progress up the ladder. We never take a moment to actually ask: is this what I want? Do I have a choice? Here are some ways to apply the principles of effective goal setting to making progress in your career:
Use 3FE, The Critical Thinker's Tool for Motivational Empowerment in order to Lock The Job and claim your career, courtesy of BDPA Atlanta President, UNITE Founder, author, speaker, and inventor, D.S. Brown
We are the First representatives of our brands, our brands are an extension of our personality and as the brand driver our decisions concerning life has to be intentional.
No one likes the idea of being pigeonholed by others. Pigeonholing yourself, on the other hand, is one of the best things you can do for your business. Follow along as Jonathan teaches attendees how to create a laser-focused positioning statement and how to use that statement to attract better clients, close more deals, and ultimately make more money.
How to unleash your creativity and generate million dollar ideasAamir Qutub
Creative ideas are all around us, all the time. Uncovering them is often a matter of how we’re looking at things and less of where we’re looking. And yet when we’re feeling uncreative or stuck it’s often helpful to get away from the work: to get up and go for a walk, or do a chore, or otherwise change scenery.
For more information, check out my Youtube Video:
https://youtu.be/h21KX71rkZ8
Everything I Wish I'd Known When I Moved From Finance To a Tech StartupKate Huyett
I spent five years in finance before moving to work at a tech startup based in NYC. The recruiting process in tech is very different, and this presentation shares everything I wish I'd known when I was making the move, including:
How to think about what I was looking for
How to approach startups
Whether or not I should be active on social media
Interviewing tips
There's a version with audio on Udemy: http://bit.ly/14Byvm2
How to get a stranger to agree to somethingAndrew Fogg
Andrew Fogg from http://import.io discusses how to get a stranger to agree to something.
You negotiate every single day and it is the most important thing that you do.
Using scenario-based examples of persuasion and negotiation he covers: getting a meeting, getting a contract, getting an upgrade.
No one likes the idea of being pigeonholed by others. Pigeonholing yourself, on the other hand, is one of the best things you can do for your business. Follow along as Jonathan teaches attendees how to create a laser-focused positioning statement and how to use that statement to attract better clients, close more deals, and ultimately make more money.
A recipe for startup and early growth successMyJobMatcher
Startups often fail. This presentation is a simple list and description of ingredients based on my experiences (success and failures) from the last 20 years working in startups, early growth, investment and trade sale. This presentation forms the basis or my speaking events on the subject.
This presentation was based on information given at FOWA workshop by Mike McDerment, creator of Freshbooks. This was not meant to cover anywhere near the level Mike did, but simply some highlights and tips.
Too many people have mistaken ideas when it comes to their approach to their careers. We often believe that working incredibly hard in jobs that we do not truly enjoy is ‘responsible’ and what adults should do. We often feel that we do not really have any choice when it comes to what we do for a living. We often feel scared to try anything else. And this is why so many of us are unhappy in our careers: we just ‘let them happen’ and accept the career path that we fall into. We leave school or college, take the first job opportunity that comes out way, and then work hard to progress up the ladder. We never take a moment to actually ask: is this what I want? Do I have a choice? Here are some ways to apply the principles of effective goal setting to making progress in your career:
Use 3FE, The Critical Thinker's Tool for Motivational Empowerment in order to Lock The Job and claim your career, courtesy of BDPA Atlanta President, UNITE Founder, author, speaker, and inventor, D.S. Brown
We are the First representatives of our brands, our brands are an extension of our personality and as the brand driver our decisions concerning life has to be intentional.
Whether you’re in your first year of university or your last, the time to start planning your career is now. Learn how to prepare and make the most of your time at university in 8 steps, so that by the time you’re ready to graduate, you’re ready to launch straight into a successful career.
From learning how to decide what type of job, employer and workplace you want, to how to sell yourself and make valuable connections by networking, these tips will help uni students and graduates be prepared for the world of work and to find their place within it.
Planning for a successful career never stops. Once you’ve taken the 8 steps listed here, there are a number of other resources you can check out further advice on USQ’s Social Hub and USQ’s career resource centre, Career Hub.
Startup 101 for students and aspiring entrepreneursRakesh Soni
Are curious about entrepreneurship and startup? Want to learn more about it? I created this 74 slide presentation to sum up entrepreneurship and startups for university students and aspiring entrepreneurs.
For more awesome content, follow me here, and:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oyesoni/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OyeSoni
To assist students in the Comm Arts Department at Marywood University, I created a resume and portfolio workshop presentation that could offer practical tips on resume building, interviewing, and more.
From InDemand 2014, LinkedIn's Steve Watt, walks through the variety storytelling methods to help you find which approach is best for your talent brand.
Learn more about LinkedIn Talent Solutions: http://linkd.in/1bgERGj
Subscribe to the LinkedIn Talent Blog: http://linkd.in/18yp4Cg
Follow the LinkedIn Talent Solutions page: http://linkd.in/1cNvIFT
Tweet with us: http://bit.ly/HireOnLinkedIn
Reentering the workforce after a long absence is an intimidating undertaking and the longer the absence the scarier it is. During that time, your industry changes and so do you. But I’ve helped many mid-career professionals get back in the game and you can too.
It doesn’t matter whether you left the workforce to raise children, travel, or for personal reasons such as caring for a sick relative. If you’re mulling over how to reenter the workforce, the same simple steps can be used to help anyone get back on track.
Job Search Survival Kit -- OK School's Out, Now What --Anthony Hines
This presentation will give some tips to the recently graduated college student who is about to enter the workforce. It will focus on the skills and networking ability that have already been created and show the reader how to proceed in the job search process.
Who Am I….I am a hardworking guy who, like many others, found himself out of work during the economic downturn in 2010. After a long battle of wrong turns, job search strategies that led to no where, and dead end leads, I decided to take a more strategic approach to my job search. Like anything else in life, I needed to treat my search like a full-time job and create a plan that would allow me to stand out above the competition. This came in especially handy as I was in transition again in 2017. Basically, I just used the tips that I have shared with others and was out of work a total of ZERO days. Yes, I got a job offer the day after my last day at my previous job. Let me show you how I did it so you too can have a quicker landing than you would have had without my tips.
Why Am I Sharing What Helped Me…because I quickly realized that to handle an event like that is to focus on what you can control and share the experience to help others. I believe that an experience not shared is a lost opportunity in life, and that smart people learn from their mistakes and smarter people learn from other people’s experiences. Plus, I told myself that once I figured this out I would share it with others so that they too could navigate the world of unemployment. In these chapters, I show you how I did it so that you will have the confidence to make it through the process. I hope that this presentation helps you to get your next great job.
#career #job_search #job_opportunity_tips #unemployment #college_graduate #alumni #depression #Job_search_survival #confidence #interviewing #networking #resume #recruiting #hiring_manager #work #transition
10 Colossal Screwups I Made While Building a Global Design OrganizationBill Bulman
Learn the 10 Colossal Screwups I Made While Building a Global Design Organization.
Presented at STLUX conference in St Louis on 3.14.14.
What happens when you take a job with a large corporation and the only goal is to scale like
crazy? Learn 10 great lessons I learned when I built a 160-person global Design/UX team in less than 4 years.
"Why am I not getting onto the shortlist? I'm perfectly qualified, I'm exactly what they are looking for; but I'm sending my CV off and never hearing anything back. HELP!"
Simple things, done badly, can KILL your chances on the hunt. Simple things, done well, make all the difference ...
Build and develop an authentic personal brand using this PDF copy of our graphic workbook - it's a graphic novel, a business book and a course all in one!
CareerVisa's way of making important career choice. How do you answer two most critical career questions. 1. What is my passion? 2. Would I be successful following my passion?
Similar to How to Work & Travel 365 Days a Year Without Going Insane (20)
Hacking UX: Product Design Thinking for TechiesMelissa Ng
Published on Nov 23, 2016
Hacking UX: Product Design Thinking for Techies
So you've got a techy business idea? How do you know exactly what is the product you should be building?
Designing product can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be so. From understanding the basics of business models and user behaviours, this workshop will teach you the basics of how to design a stellar product your users will love.
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Melewi for DevFest.Asia
at Collision8, Singapore
by Melissa Ng (@thedesignnomad)
Founder of Melewi
www.melewi.net
Knowing How Your Business Works Makes Your Design WorkMelissa Ng
At Melewi's first ever workshop event in Manila, this talk and workshop focuses on the crucial need for a designer to know about business and revenue models when designing a product.
Here we dive a little into understanding the business, revenue, users and their purchasing mindsets, as well as how that influences your product goals.
We also cover ways to design for these purchasing mindsets and product goals, examining quick case studies on Amazon and Slack.
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MELEWI - UX Design & Validating Your Startup
Mar 19 2016 at 47 East, Manila
by Melissa Ng (@thedesignnomad)
Founder of Melewi
www.melewi.net
Hacking UX : Design Thinking for TechiesMelissa Ng
This isn't a deep-dive into hack or programming. Instead, we're going to cover what you should be doing to make sure all the time you've spent building isn't going to waste.
Whether it's to validate an idea, or to understand what you're building is meant to achieve, this workshop will bring you closer to knowing more in-depth who you're building for, and how to make that an awesome user experience for them.
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Devfest.asia 2015 / CSS & JS Conf
Nov 17 2015 at TradeGecko's offices, Singapore
by Melissa Ng (@thedesignnomad)
Founder of Melewi
www.melewi.net
Intro to Lean UX: How to do it quick & dirty - Workshop [6h]Melissa Ng
'Lean UX: How to do it quick & dirty' is a half-day workshop held by Melissa Ng, founder of MELEWI - The Travelling Product, UX & UI Design Studio.
UX doesn't necessarily have to be difficult, resource-heavy or mysterious! Everyone knows that it's necessary for all things digital, but not everyone knows the best way to use UX to their advantage.
Lean UX is user-experience design with the Lean Methodology philosophy at its core. It eschews detailed design cycles and documentation in favour of quick, low-fidelity design, and frequent (but efficient & effective) feedback.
In this half-day workshop, you'll learn a simple framework that will allow you to: first create "the best hypothesis" based off understanding what your users, value proposition, business & revenue model & objectives are; and secondly, how to "validate + optimize" to make sure your users, product and business make sense together.
In this workshop, you'll learn:
• What is Lean UX?
• Why Lean UX?
• Lean business canvas
• User personas
• User experience mapping
• Wireframing
• Prototyping
• Usability testing
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Speaker: Melissa Ng is the founder of MELEWI - a travelling Product, UX & UI design studio working with passionate people from around the world. With a portfolio of international clients across 21 cities in 5 continents, MELEWI has worked with a diverse range of businesses - from startups in Australia, San Francisco and Singapore, to global companies like McDonalds and Samsung.
Melissa is an expert at turning big ideas into big successes, and lives to make users, product and business make sense together. She believes an excellent user experience means thinking about how to make your product work so your users don’t have to.
She also believes that life is too short to spend boxed up in just one place, and has crafted some of her best work on boats in Cambodia, at cafes in San Francisco and on the beaches of the Maldives. The world is her greatest source of inspiration.
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by @thedesignnomad and @melewi
Saturday, June 27, 2015 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM (SGT)
Singapore, Singapore
Saturday, Oct 30, 2015 from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
WORKSaigon, HCMC Vietnam
Growth hacking UX: The journey to creating a kickass user experience.Melissa Ng
Growth hacking: The journey to creating a kickass user experience.
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Growth Hacking Asia
Feb 25 2015 at Silicon Straits coLAB, Singapore
by Melissa Ng (@thedesignnomad)
Founder of Melewi
www.melewi.net
This comprehensive program covers essential aspects of performance marketing, growth strategies, and tactics, such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, content marketing, social media marketing, and more
NIDM (National Institute Of Digital Marketing) Bangalore Is One Of The Leading & best Digital Marketing Institute In Bangalore, India And We Have Brand Value For The Quality Of Education Which We Provide.
www.nidmindia.com
Want to move your career forward? Looking to build your leadership skills while helping others learn, grow, and improve their skills? Seeking someone who can guide you in achieving these goals?
You can accomplish this through a mentoring partnership. Learn more about the PMISSC Mentoring Program, where you’ll discover the incredible benefits of becoming a mentor or mentee. This program is designed to foster professional growth, enhance skills, and build a strong network within the project management community. Whether you're looking to share your expertise or seeking guidance to advance your career, the PMI Mentoring Program offers valuable opportunities for personal and professional development.
Watch this to learn:
* Overview of the PMISSC Mentoring Program: Mission, vision, and objectives.
* Benefits for Volunteer Mentors: Professional development, networking, personal satisfaction, and recognition.
* Advantages for Mentees: Career advancement, skill development, networking, and confidence building.
* Program Structure and Expectations: Mentor-mentee matching process, program phases, and time commitment.
* Success Stories and Testimonials: Inspiring examples from past participants.
* How to Get Involved: Steps to participate and resources available for support throughout the program.
Learn how you can make a difference in the project management community and take the next step in your professional journey.
About Hector Del Castillo
Hector is VP of Professional Development at the PMI Silver Spring Chapter, and CEO of Bold PM. He's a mid-market growth product executive and changemaker. He works with mid-market product-driven software executives to solve their biggest growth problems. He scales product growth, optimizes ops and builds loyal customers. He has reduced customer churn 33%, and boosted sales 47% for clients. He makes a significant impact by building and launching world-changing AI-powered products. If you're looking for an engaging and inspiring speaker to spark creativity and innovation within your organization, set up an appointment to discuss your specific needs and identify a suitable topic to inspire your audience at your next corporate conference, symposium, executive summit, or planning retreat.
About PMI Silver Spring Chapter
We are a branch of the Project Management Institute. We offer a platform for project management professionals in Silver Spring, MD, and the DC/Baltimore metro area. Monthly meetings facilitate networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development. For event details, visit pmissc.org.
How to Work & Travel 365 Days a Year Without Going Insane
1. How to make remote working
a permanent lifestyle
A S A P I O S E S S I O N
*How to travel and work 365 days
a year without going insane
@thedesignnomad / melewi.net
5. Travelling for 7 years
Just got back from a roadtrip in ! Belize
40 countries and counting!
In the last year:
" New Zealand
# Australia
$ France
% Italy
& UK
' Iceland
( USA
! Belize
) Belgium
* Netherlands
+ Denmark
, Sweden
- Switzerland
7. Melewi
T H E T R A V E L L I N G D E S I G N S T U D I O
8. We design awesome products for users
and businesses around the world
Team of 8 people from 7 countries
Just turned 5 years old
Clients in 5 continents, 48 countries
Millions of users globally
16. 2010
now
But first, what’s a digital nomad?
Someone who can work without the
need to be in a specific physical location
Someone who posts really
annoying photos like these ones
(sorry 😅)
(and who works digitally 7)
18. 2010
now
Defaults to diversity
Global experience
Choose where you live and work
Not be tied one spot and having to be constrained to that
Build a routine and lifestyle that works best for you
21. 2010
now
Misconception
1
Truth
I just gotta figure out
how to get ‘work’ going
Once you’ve gotten ‘work’,
you still have to figure how
to keep it going
The ‘life’ part can be just
as (if not, more) tough
2of
22. 2010
now
Misconception
2
Truth
My life is going to be
perfect and amazing
This lifestyle has ups and downs
- the highs are amazing, but the
lows can be REALLY tough
2of
(an “Instagram” life)
23. or if that ship has sailed, then:
how to make remote working a permanent lifestyle
How to travel and
work 365 days a year
without going insane
25. 1
This is the most daunting step
It’s a brand new world full of unknowns
It impacts your entire life
Of course it’s scary!
But it doesn’t have to be scary all at once
26. 1
You’ve got 2 options:
Get a remote job
Be your own boss
Strike 4D yay!
Let’s figure out what works best for you
27. Which option do I choose?
how do I get started?
P A R T 1 O F 3
28. I’m okay with instability
I value stability
I don’t mind selling
I hate the thought of selling
I prefer figuring
things out on my own
I prefer learning with
guidance / mentorship
I don’t mind working
across different roles
I like focusing on
doing the work
1
3
2
4
BOSS JOB BOSS
BOSSBOSS JOB
JOB
JOB
A few things to think about
29. I don’t mind selling
I hate the thought of selling3 JOB
I’m okay with instability
I value stability1BOSS
I prefer figuring
things out on my own
I prefer learning with
guidance / mentorship2 JOBBOSS
I don’t mind working
across different roles
I like focusing on
doing the work4 JOBBOSS
A few things to think about
30. I prefer being
accountable to myself
I prefer being
accountable to someone
I want to be a
jack of all trades
I want to be really
good at one thing
I’m able to cope with
emotional stress well
I’d prefer as little stress
as possible in my life
I like managing
people or projects
I hate managing
anything but myself
5
7
6
8
BOSS JOB BOSS
BOSSBOSS JOB
JOB
JOB
A few things to think about
31. I prefer being
accountable to myself
I prefer being
accountable to someone
I want to be a
jack of all trades
I want to be really
good at one thing
I’m able to cope with
emotional stress well
I’d prefer as little stress
as possible in my life
I like managing
people or projects
I hate managing
anything but myself
5
7
6
8
BOSS
BOSS
JOB
JOB
A few things to think about
33. If yes, go for it! /
If not, go get a remote job ☺
34. How to get a remote job
how do I get started?
P A R T 1 O F 3
35. As with applying for any job…
Show your value and experience
Show you’ll be a valuable employee
Invest deeply into a few options, don’t gun for as many as possible
Understand the desired outcome the business has for your role
How to get a remote job
36. Understand the power of social proof
Make sure your LinkedIn is decked out and has recommendations
Any references you have will really help you
How to get a remote job
37. Tough competition
High demand (remote job-seekers), low supply (remote jobs)
Competing on a world stage now
Do NOT make this about how much you want a remote job
How to get a remote job
38. Do something different to stand out and be remembered
Show your effort, interest and commitment
Stand out from the crowd
How to get a remote job
39. Show you understand the challenges of remote
working + you’re fully ready and equipped to handle it
How to get a remote job
Are you planning to travel?
How will you work?
Are you good at self-
managing and organising?
Will you communicate often
and clearly with your team?
Do you take initiative and
ownership, or will someone
have to watch over you?
Are you responsible
and reliable?
Do you have a handle on
timezones and online
communication?
40. How to be your own boss
how do I get started?
P A R T 1 O F 3
42. Immediacy
“I need to be
earning cash asap”
Easiness
“I should be able to get this
without too much difficulty”
Potential
“I feel this has a high
potential to succeed”
Competition
“I’m prepared to
face competition”
Scalability
“I think this could
be really big”
Managing
“Will most of my
work be managing?”
What business do you want to be in?
43. Almost definitely not solo
Multiple skillsets
Management / selling focused
Product based
Product-based: B2B
IMMEDIACY
EASINESS
POTENTIAL
COMPETITION
SCALABILITY
MANAGING
44. Almost definitely not solo
Multiple skillsets
Marketing / selling focused
Product based
Product-based: B2C
IMMEDIACY
EASINESS
POTENTIAL
COMPETITION
SCALABILITY
MANAGING
45. Mostly solo
Usually one hard skillset
Production focused
Service or time-based
Service-based: Freelancer
IMMEDIACY
EASINESS
POTENTIAL
COMPETITION
SCALABILITY
MANAGING
46. No longer solo
Multiple skillsets
Management focused
Service or time-based
IMMEDIACY
EASINESS
POTENTIAL
COMPETITION
SCALABILITY
MANAGING
Service-based: Agency
47. How to get started
(for Freelancer / Agencies only, sorry product people)
48. You’re selling your services to a segment of businesses
You’re asking them to trust you and pay you
49. Who are your customers?
You’re selling your services to a segment of businesses
You’re asking them to trust you and pay you
50. What do they really want?
What do they value?
What frustrates them?
How do they think?
51. Pretend you’re an actor in a film
Who’s your character?
Mimic them
Research them
Talk to them
Be a creep without getting arrested
52. Leia Organa
“Darth Vader destroyed Alderaan (my home planet),
and is taking over The Galaxy. I will not sit still for this!
I need to defeat him. But how?!
If only there was a way to destroy the Death Star and
defeat the Empire once and for all…”
N A M E
Q U O T E
A G E T E C H - S A V V Y F R U S T R AT I O N ( S ) G O A L ( S )
/ 5
21 5
The Empire destroyed
her home planet
She doesn’t know how to
destroy the Death Star
# K E Y W O R D
Bold
Leader
Courageous
Princess
* because she’s
from the future To defeat the Empire
To restore democracy
within the Galactic
senate
53. Representative snapshot of your target audience
It should not represent one sole customer
Perhaps a different demographic is a better fit for you?
54. How to find customers?
You’re selling your services to a segment of businesses
You’re asking them to trust you and pay you
56. LinkedIn is a really powerful tool
Build a compelling profile
Reach out to people and get to know them
Again! This is a not a ‘hit-as-many-as-possible’ approach
Take time to build a relationship and trust
57. You should always be communicating and proving your value
People work with people who they trust to get results
You need to show you can get results
And you need them to trust you
58. What your value proposition?
You’re selling your services to a segment of businesses
You’re asking them to trust you and pay you
59. WHAT services are you offering?
HOW do you work?
WHY should I hire you?
WHY should I buy from you?
WHY should I work with you?
60. ‘WHAT’
I sell UX & UI design
services to startups
‘WHY’
We work in close collaboration with
startups to create intuitive and engaging
products their users will love
61. Value proposition isn’t about what you’re doing, or how you work
It’s about the value that the client or customer will receive
62. How to build trust?
You’re selling your services to a segment of businesses
You’re asking them to trust you and pay you
66. This is a game of leveraging!
Find customer Do great work Leverage that
Add to portfolio
Get a recommendation
Update your website
& LinkedIn
67. Find customer Do great work Leverage that
Add to portfolio
Get a recommendation
Update your website
& LinkedIn
Find customer Do great work Leverage that
Add to portfolio
Get a recommendation
Update your website
& LinkedIn
Find customer Do great work Leverage that
Add to portfolio
Get a recommendation
Update your website
& LinkedIn
This is a game of leveraging!
69. 2
So now you’ve gotten some work
The rest is simple right?
Wrong! (sorry 🙊)
Working remotely has challenges more than getting work
Whether you’re a remote employee or an entrepreneur
70. 2
Remember that many things you never
thought about will be things you’ll have to
Whether it’s timezones, or cultural
misunderstandings
Over or underworking
Internet or infrastructure issues
Routine or discipline issues
71. Working as a remote worker
P A R T 1 O F 3
how do I keep things going?
74. Time management
“Wait, you want all of
this by your morning?”
Communication
“Argh I don’t think they
understand what I’m saying”
Deadlines
“Their morning
deadline is 2am for me”
Work relationships
“Wait, is my boss
unhappy with me?”
Typical problems at work get exaggerated in a remote setting
75. Unpredictable
infrastructure
“My wifi isn’t working,
I’m screwed”
Visual communication
“Wait, I don’t understand,
can you sketch it out?”
Lack of easy / immediate
access to things
“I need X now but where do I find
it, and why is no one online?”
And of course, there are new problems too
76. Do these things to mitigate them
Test the wifi
(run a ping test)
Have data as a
backup
Find a coworking
space
Always use
earphones
Always switch
your video on
Back things up!
Often!
77. Over-communicate
Type things down; don’t rely on memory
Schedule things in advance
Set reminders to keep things visible
Explicitly talk or ask if there’s something wrong
Speak up!
Do these things to mitigate them
79. Dropbox
For any
and all files
Google Docs
For any live documents and
systematic organisation docs
Slack
For all internal
conversations
Notion
For project
management
Invision
For design mockups,
prototyping and feedback
RealtimeBoard
For any visual / strategic
planning + virtual workshops
Tools We Use
Hubspot
Sales pipeline
Harvest
Time-tracking
and invoices
Trello
Tracking anything!
MixMax
Email plugin
88. Lack of visibility
“What’s happening
with the team?”
Team culture
“Where’s the
team spirit?”
Team organisation
“No one seems to know their
role and place in the team”
Managing a remote team brings new problems to solve
Roadblocks
“We need this by
tomorrow but it’s the
wrong timezone”
Single points of failure
“X has gone missing,
we’re all dooomed”
89. Central point to keep track of things
Visualise as much as you can
Organise consistently
Label for easy reference
Centralise information
Melewi
90. Have some overlap with your team
Or with your clients
Have it fixed as much as you can
Dedicate the other time to work
Plan your time
Melewi
91. Keep things accessible all the time
Access shouldn’t be only when a
specific person is online!
Some labelling conventions are
good; keeps everyone on the
same page
Keep things accessible
(& backed up)
Melewi
92. Melewi
Explicitly lay out
how you work
Everyone on the
same page
You don’t have to
repeat yourself
Structure how
you work
93. Always put meetings down
So you never have to rely on
remembering or manual timezone
calculations being right
Plot in everything - including non-
work events and quiet work time
Schedule & let the tech
do the timezone math
94. Full team standup
Mondays to Fridays
3pm SGT
Rain or shine
Go through all projects statuses
before doing stand-up (done
yesterday, doing today, obstacles)
Melewi
Schedule
consistent
catch-ups
95. Sales Team Catch-up
Every Monday & Wednesday
Go through statuses on everything
Melewi
Schedule
consistent
catch-ups
96. Set to recur every 1 - 4 weeks
So nothing slips or gets forgotten
It’s a system that prevents reliance
on people to remember things
Melewi
Schedule
consistent
catch-ups
97. All those real-life lunches, coffees,
water-cooler chats don’t happen
naturally remotely
But they’re important
So schedule them in!
Schedule fun
hang out time!
98. People aren’t around to
notice things unsaid
Make the unnoticeable
and invisible explicit and
available
Melewi
Say things explicitly
101. 3
The point of this lifestyle is to live a lifestyle you like
It defeats the purpose if you’re stressed out and don’t enjoy it
This means routines and boundaries help you!
This means being consistent and conscious about things outside of work
102. Feeling isolated
“I feel lonely”
Feeling unsupported
“This is hard, but I’ve no
one to talk to about it?
Want for community
“I don’t feel I’m part of
something bigger than myself”
Feeling overwhelmed
“There is so much to
keep track of….”
Cultural shock
“What???!”
Getting used to new
“I don’t know how to
do anything here”
Common digital nomad problems
103. How do I ‘sustain the sane’?
P A R T 3 O F 3
Plan, Organise
& Systemise
107. How do I ‘sustain the sane’?
P A R T 3 O F 3
Work-life Routine
108. Yay freedom! You get to decide
But because there are no rules set for you
It’s too easy to let one thing or the other slip
Unless you put in some simple rules for yourself
Some routine isn’t a bad thing!
109. Plan out your work time
Plan out your personal time
Plan out your days off (e.g. weekend)
Stick to it!
Think sustainable and long-term
114. Go slow!
Travel slow - 1 month at one spot is the minimum
Start out working remotely at home, then start travelling
Find a good place to stay, you need to feel safe and secure
If you’re tired of travelling, stop
If you want to travel again, start
Listen to what your body and brain are telling you
116. Don’t forget friends and family back home
Carve out and schedule time to stay in touch
Get out there and meet new people
But it’s admittedly tough to build long friendships / relationships on the road
But keep trying
Take initiative
Find places people hang out at
Be friendly!
118. Working out regularly on the go is tough, but it’s important
Digital work is a sedentary lifestyle
Take walks, do body-weight workouts, find a gym
Eat healthy! Don’t operate on holiday mode
120. Get travel insurance!
And other insurance too
Make sure you’re saving
Make sure you’re still contributing to your
country’s social and healthcare system (e.g. CPF)
Pay your taxes!!
122. Feeling lonely and isolated is one of the biggest digital nomad problems
Humans are social creatures!
123. Feeling overwhelmed will likely happen
Any taboo about it not being okay to have
a tough time psychologically is bullshit
Talk to someone - a therapist, a
psychologist, a psychiatrist
You have remote options
Consistency is important