Many (most? all?) of us have thought about chucking the 9 to 5 work schedule for something a little more… adventurous. Some start their own businesses and quickly learn that while they are now in control it’s no longer 9 to 5 but, rather, 24/7/365. But there are more and more people who are working from wherever they want as freelancers. These people are called digital nomads and you can usually find them in their natural habitat, which is whatever exotic location you plan on going to someday when you get the time.

In short, digital nomads do all or most of their work digitally so they have the ability to do it from wherever they want (that has internet access). Why not develop apps at a coffee shop near the Great Pyramid? Or edit video for a client in between slaloming down the Matterhorn? I think you get the idea.

One such person is CSUF Entrepreneurship alumnus Mary Cho ’16. And (lucky us!) she has written an article about her experience as a digital nomad, which can be found on Medium.

Personally, I liked this part the best from her post:

What do I love about freelancing?

1. The fact that I can work anywhere I wanted to in the world and still get paid
2. Building relationships with every type of person
3. The challenge of finding my own clients and helping them using digital solutions

What’s hard about freelancing?

1. Theres absolutely no stability… like at all – projects can last anywhere from 1 hour to x amount of years. You have to keep hustling to find clients, market yourself, sale your services to new clients… all of the above!
2. I don’t have this problem yet… and I hope I won’t have this problem long term but I think not being surrounded by smart creatives will be challenging. I love collaborating and being in a team environment so not having that every couple days will be something I’ll miss.

Those are some good points and things to seriously consider before taking the plunge into becoming a digital nomad.

You should definitely read Mary’s post on Medium as she goes deeper into her thought process behind deciding to become a digital nomad and what it means to her.

CSUF Entrepreneurship

We are dedicated to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs develop the skills that they need to compete locally and globally. The CSUF Entrepreneurship program does many things, including: consulting projects where students serve up fresh strategies to actual businesses, competitions for students from middle school to grad school, helping entrepreneurs go from concept to launch, frequent seminars and office hours for entrepreneurs and professionals, and much more. Interested in becoming a part of the CSUF Entrepreneurship community? Reach out to us at csufentrepreneurship@fullerton.edu for more information! CSUF Entrepreneurship depends on the support of the community, please go here to donate.