I still vividly remember the days before Location Rebel (then Location 180) where I’d sit in my cubicle reading blog posts about location independence from Chris Guillebeau. 
The office building I worked at had an outdoor garden patio, where I used to go during my breaks to sit and daydream about someplace more exotic.
I’d pretend I was sitting in a garden in Hong Kong for instance. Other days I’d run along the river in downtown Portland and pretend that I was running on the beach in Bali.
In some ways I think these daydreams helped to fast track my goal of actually being in these places.
In over ten (!) years since then, I’ve talked to a lot of people who have built successful businesses – and a lot of people who have failed.
Throughout all of this, there have been a variety of industries that over and over again I see people have success in – especially people who consider themselves digital nomads, or simply people who want work from home jobs.
Some are easier than others to start. Some have more monetary upside. But ALL of them allow you to work from anywhere you’d like.
In order to make it a little bit easier to understand the differences between some of these I’ve rated each business type on a scale of 1 to 5, using three different categories (1 being easiest, 5 being most difficult):
- Learning Curve: How difficult is it to learn the skills necessary to be successful? Freelance, for instance, is pretty easy to grab the basics. Web development, on the other hand, is essentially like learning a new language and can be much more difficult.
- Monetary Potential: Once you’re up and running, how much potential do you have to make the big bucks?
- Time Investment: Certain businesses can get off the ground really quickly, while others can take a few years. How much time do you have to invest before you start to see major returns?
It’s worth noting these are all based off of what I’ve seen. With every single case, there are outliers that may see money and success really quickly, as well as people who took much longer to see success.
17 Work from Home Jobs You Can Do From Your Couch (Or Anywhere Else in the World)
We cover the essential skills to get started with many of these in Location Rebel Academy. Thinking of getting going? I’m also happy to point you in the right direction, just leave a comment below.
The Easiest Work from Home Jobs You Can Start Today
These are the ones I’d recommend if you’re just starting out and you’re looking for a way to make money while you’re quarantined and hanging out on your couch all day.
The great thing about these is you don’t have to have a ton of technical skills to get going. And later on if you decide you want to move beyond working from home to being a digital nomad and traveling – these businesses will allow you to do that.
1) Freelance Writer
Years ago, I told everyone to jump into SEO writing. It was the easiest way to get your foot in the door and make a little bit of money. While SEO Writing still around, it’s not as easy or lucrative to get into.
The ideas around content are essentially changed now and for the better. People want better content in the form of blog posts, books, whitepapers, and guides, so freelance writing is where it’s at.
For people who haven’t done much work online or have never started a business before, this is my go-to recommendation. Why? Because it’s easy to find work, doesn’t take a lot of technical knowledge, and can help you quickly build two of the most important things in solopreneurship: income and confidence.
We’ve had dozens (if not hundreds) of people in Location Rebel begin their online empires this way – so if you’re not sure where to start, this may be something to consider.
- Learning Curve: 2/5
- Monetary Potential: 4/5
- Time Investment: 1/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Become a Freelance Writer in 2020 – Our definitive post on freelance writing, that will take you to all the resources you need if you want to build this type of business.
- How to Make Money Content Writing (Even While Quarantined) – There are two ways to do it, this covers both of them.
2) Blogger
For most, your first entry into freelance writing is likely going to be as a blogger. A lot of people are still stuck on the notion that blogging is a personal pursuit where you talk about all sorts of stuff like your travels or favorite books, not true. In fact, pretty much every brand and business out there right now either has a blog up and running or is thinking about it. So there’s tons of potential.
Here’s the caveat though, this one is actually probably harder than you think.
Seeing success as a blogger takes a lot more than just tossing 500 words up on a page and calling it a day. You want to spend time understanding the audience you’re writing for, improving your writing skills, and making your content engaging. But, it’s all totally doable with a bit of practice over time.
If you do want to create a personal blog, that’s awesome. A blog is a great lead generator and reputation builder, but keep in mind money coming directly from your blog (unless you are selling an online asset or info product) could be relatively little in comparison to say a straight up freelance writing business.
That said, it’s one of the easiest things you can do right now in order to get started, and even if it doesn’t turn into a business, it can create major positive change in your life. I have no hesitation in saying that starting a blog is the single best thing I’ve ever done for my career.
- Learning Curve: 2/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- Is Blogging Dead? 5 Ways to Grow Your Blog in 2020 – Blogging has evolved over the years but that doesn’t mean it’s still not a great time to get started.
- How to Make $150 as a Freelance Blogger – This is an older post, but still valuable advice from Tom Ewer.
- How to Start a Blog in 2020 (Step by Step Guide) – Want to start a blog or website? Just follow the steps in this post to get up and running.
3) YouTuber
Video is huge right now, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. There’s no doubt you spend time on YouTube watching some of your favorite channels. You can check out ours right here!
So you probably realize the potential that comes with creating a YouTube channel. If you don’t think you have any vlogging ideas, I guarantee that you do.
Look around at all of the niches. People do product reviews, movie reviews, and unboxings. They perform their songs. Make art or informational videos. And talk about favorite tv shows.
There is a ton of potential, but there’s a learning curve involved too. The best channels make videos that look easy, but it takes some skills to film and create good videos that keep people watching.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 4/5
- Time Investment: 5/5
Recommended Reading:
- How to Vlog (Even If Your Life Isn’t that Interesting) – We’ve got a quick look at how to get going with YouTube and vlogging
- 8 Secrets To Grow Your YouTube Channel In 2018 From A YouTuber With Over 550 Million Video Views – This is from a couple years ago, but still applicable advice.
- Location Rebel YouTube Channel – We have new videos twice a week!
4) Social Media Consulting
Are you a social media whiz? Are you able to collect followers faster than all of your friends, and be attentive and interesting at the same time? This could be a great opportunity.
Especially because there’s a good chance you already have social media chops – even if you don’t realize it.
Everyone from large corporations to small companies to solopreneurs can need help rocking their social media presence around the web. You can take two paths with this, either get a feel of all the platforms out there and present yourself as a generalist or dig really deep into just one like Instagram or Pinterest and become one of the go-to pros on that platform.
Social media is becoming increasingly important and brands are looking to market directly to Millennials and Gen Z, two groups who are very social media savvy. Land one large client or a few smaller ones and all of a sudden you’ve got an income that you can support yourself with from anywhere in the world.
- Learning Curve: 2/5
- Monetary Potential: 2/5
- Time Investment: 3/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Become a Successful Social Media Consultant – Here’s another post that gives you the basic details of what it takes to dig into this.
5) Info-Product Creation
For the last couple years, this has been my primary source of income. If you can find a way to solve other people’s biggest problems, create a product around it, and sell it, then you can make a ton of money.
This can take the form is all sorts of products from ebooks to membership sites to courses and video series, there is a ton of potential if you want to jump in.
It’s extremely easy to create an info product, however, it’s much more difficult to sell it successfully (hence the learning curve score below). The good news is now there are actually a lot of platforms out there that can help make selling info products easier. Sites like Udemy, Send Owl, and Gumroad are all examples.
I’ve found this type of business to be enjoyable, rewarding, and a lot of fun – however, I always recommend people start with a form of freelancing before jumping into this, as it only increases your chance of success.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 5/5
- Time Investment: 3/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Create a Membership Site in 48 Hours – This walks you through all the steps you need to consider when building out your first information product.
- 5 Questions to Ask Before Launching Your First Product – Is this the right path for you? This will help you figure that out.
- 4 Types of Membership Sites That Will Kill it In 2020 – These are the types of membership sites we’d create this year.
6) Podcasting
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people doing podcasts. For many it’s a hobby, however, if you structure it right and nail your niche topic, you can make a lot of money.
Usually, this is blended with a combination of a few of these other strategies, but podcasting can be a fantastic alternative to a blog as a lead source, a way to highlight your expertise in a certain niche, and to build your network.
John Lee Dumas is one of the best examples I’ve seen of this. I didn’t take him long to grow his podcast to be one of the highest rated on iTunes and is making 6 figures a month doing it.
Another business model (and probably a better fit for this article is podcast management). Ben Krueger over at Cash Flow Podcasting has built a successful people helping podcasters with everything down to the marketing to the editing. So if you’re good with audio and marketing, this is a faster way to make money than starting a podcast yourself.
- Learning Curve: 3/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Grow a Podcast from Zero to 400k Downloads a Month – This is an older, but still valuable, post a post John wrote detailing exactly how he got started with Entrepreneur on Fire.
- How to Start a Successful Podcast (For Under $100) – Here’s another post on getting started, this one from Shopify.
Work from Home Jobs that Require a Little More Skill and Time
These are the businesses that you can start quickly, but you’ll need to spend a little bit of time positioning yourself and learning a few skills to ensure you can do it effectively.
The businesses themselves aren’t any more difficult to start than the ones above, but the services and skills take a bit longer to develop to the point you can charge money for them.
7) SEO Specialist
When I became a digital nomad and was living abroad, this is how I got my start.
I began doing some marketing and SEO work for Dan over at the Tropical MBA, and for about two years that’s where most of my income came from.
Here’s the thing, right now understanding SEO is probably more important than ever. There is so much change constantly going on behind the scenes with the search engine operators that most people have no idea what’s going on. So having SEO skills can be super valuable so there is a lot of money to be made in this industry.
If you’re thinking about getting into SEO be aware that there is a big learning curve.
The people who are true pros have been doing this for years, so it’s not some sort of study for a month and call yourself an expert type of deal. But if you do put in the time and work on showcasing results on smaller projects (like your own blog or niche site) you can move up the ladder into the bigger projects.
- Learning Curve: 3.5/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended Reading:
- How to Become an SEO Freelancer in 48 Hours – This introduces you to some of the basics, and was the foundation for how I ran my SEO business
- The Beginners Guide to SEO – This is the definitive free resource on the basics of SEO from Moz. If you want to go this route, then cruise through and read as many of their blog posts as you can as it represents a great introduction to that kind of work.
- SEO Blueprint Review – This is my review of Glen Allsopp’s SEO Blueprint which I think is the best SEO course on the market right now.
8) PPC and Facebook Ad Consultant
Ads are a huge business right now, especially with social media and AdWords. Most people know they need them but don’t want to get too deep into the weeds on how to actually get these things up and running successfully. Location Rebel Academy member Mike Erickson took his PPC skills and created a successful company out of it, Search Scientists.
In my mind, this falls into the category of easy to learn, tough to master. If you want to get paid good money for this you have to be really good at tracking and setting up analytics, testing copy etc.
The most difficult part of it is that in order to learn you have to actually spend money on ads. This is why I have the learning curve so high here – because it can be an expensive experience to get your feet wet. However, once you’ve got it down there’s certainly money to be made.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 3/5
Recommended reading:
- Wordstream: Pay Per Click Marketing – Wordstream is trying to push their services here, but I think this post does a good job of introducing some of the basics.
- 100 Days of AdWords Help: Everything You Need for a Profitable Account – This is a really awesome series of posts that will help you dig into AdWords and get started.
9) Web Development
Web development and code is one of the best educations you can give yourself online. You will always be able to find work, and it generally pays really well. That said, it’s essentially learning an entirely new language and it can take a long time to get proficient.
This skill is another one that you can’t pick up in a month or two and call yourself an expert. This is a skill that will build over time with dedicated effort. But, once you start getting that skillset under your belt, you can really take off with tons of work opportunities.
- Learning Curve: 5/5
- Monetary Potential: 4/5
- Time Investment: 5/5
Recommended reading:
- Code Academy – Not reading so much, but if you want to get your feet wet, this is the best free service out there I know of for learning to code.
- My Journey to Becoming a Web Developer From Scratch Without a CS Degree (and what I learned from it) – This is a nice post from someone who started at the beginning.
10) Back Office Setup
This is something I’m seeing more and more people having success with, but not that many people are talking about it.
Some of the newest “all in one” marketing and back office services like ActiveCampaign and Infusionsoft can be difficult to setup and manage if you don’t know what you’re doing from the start.
As I know more and more bloggers and small business owners who are at the point where these solutions make sense – they’re looking for help managing these services.
All this takes is a good understanding of funnels and the software that is going to be used. If you can take a week to set up someone’s email campaigns with all the right tags and deliveries, you’re a champ and have a potential business on your hands.
- Learning Curve: 3/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
The best way to go about this specifically is to pick a tool and really dig into it. Most have their own courses.
11) Copywriting
Even though this is part of the general ‘freelance writing’ world, I like to classify copywriting differently because it’s a different style of writing but getting into copy has enormous potential.
But it’s also a skill you need to develop.
I’m often asked about the most important skill you need to have in order to have success online; usually my answer is copywriting. If you can be persuasive with your words, you’ll never struggle to make money.
Whether it’s selling other people’s products, your own products, or writing on a freelance basis, there’s such a huge demand for people who know how to write in a way that converts.
Another big plus of being a copywriter is you can do all sorts of things: sales pages, direct mail, flyers, ads (social media/AdWords), video sales scripts, and emails (just to name a few examples). There’s a ton of opportunity out there for you to grab.
- Learning Curve: 3/5
- Monetary Potential: 5/5
- Time Investment: 2/5
Recommended reading:
- What is Copywriting and How to Become a Copywriter – Our most in depth blog post about copywriting and the process of honing your skills.
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Not a copywriting book per-say, but it’s the book that has improved my selling ability the most.
- The Gary Halbert Letters – Some of the best sales letters in the world. Read them. Study them. Copy them.
- Copyhour – Derek’s program is the best way to improve your copywriting skills I know of.
- Location Rebel Academy – Want to become a better copywriter and learn how to turn it into a business? Look no further.
12) Virtual Assistant
Are you super organized, can manage ten tasks in the snap of your fingers and love getting things done? You might be the perfect candidate to be a virtual assistant.
While this may have you thinking that it’s all about low pay people doing menial tasks, that’s not entirely true. Tons of entrepreneurs and small business owners need someone who can be their number two. A person who can help with higher level stuff, manage their calendar and make sure the business stays on track.
When Liz first started freelancing, she did quite a bit of this type of work on the side for a couple of entrepreneurs, which helped her learn a ton of skills and make some excellent connections down the road.
So if you’d like to run a business, but might not want to be the face of it, consider grabbing a few VA clients on the side and testing the waters.
- Learning Curve: 3/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- How To Become A Full-Time Virtual Assistant And Work From Home – This post outlines the basics of getting started as a VA
- How to Start a Profitable Online Business as a Virtual Assistant – Learn from an actual VA business owner, Kayla details how she first started her business
13) Bookkeeping
Ugh, accounting. Who wants to do that?
Well, it turns out bookkeepers do. These are people who know the ins and outs of accounting and can help business owners track and maintain accounts, pay bills, file reports, keep track of project budgets, and monitor payroll.
You don’t have to be a CPA (certified public accountant) to be a bookkeeper, but if you already have that designation, you’re in an excellent position to offer your services to others.
You can do this sort of work for entrepreneurs and small business owners from anywhere in the world. And it’s the type of role that is well suited for a niche. If you can understand the ins and outs of expat bookkeeping, for example, you could be in demand.
Also, keep an eye out on the various tools there are available. Being a Xero or Quickbooks superuser can give you a bit more flexibility in offering your services or even teaching a course on it.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 5/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- How To Become A Bookkeeper At Home (Even If You Have No Experience) – This post gives a more general overview of bookkeeping and how to get into it
- Online Bookkeeping Jobs: Turn Your Love For Money Into Money – If you already know how to do bookkeeping, check out this post that gives a lot of advice on places t0 find work
14) Graphic Design
Even with tools like Canva out there that make some of the basics easy, a great graphic designer is an in-demand role.
Graphic designers who can make everything from infographics to ebook covers can find tons of remote work available if you know where to look. There are sites like 99 Designs where you can offer your services and bid on jobs, or, if you go a niche route like book cover design, get in with some of the popular and forums around the web.
You can also look at forming partnerships too.
Here’s one way to do it: team up with a couple of writers. Find someone who does whitepapers, copywriters, or B2B writers. Make a deal that they will refer you to their clients if they need graphics, or team up on a package deal, for a white paper, for example.
A couple of these referral partnerships can be what you need to start getting your business off the ground.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 4/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Present Your Graphic Design Services Online – This post will help you figure out the best ways to showcase your graphic design work
- 68 Easy Ways to Promote Your Design Services for a Steady Flow of New Clients – Save this one, it has pretty much all you need for getting started
15) Tutoring and Teaching
Are you good at something? A language, math, photoshop? Consider teaching that skill to others online and getting paid for it.
Now, doing this sort of thing is easier than ever. While I do generally recommend setting this sort of thing up on your site, tools like Udemy make it easy to create and market your course without a lot of the back end hassle.
If you want to stick with one on one tutoring, that’s an option too. All you need is Skype to get started. Set up face to face calls with your students and charge them by the hour or lesson.
There are people all over the world who are willing to pay to learn the skills that you already have; you just have to find a way to reach them.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- Teach Online Like You Teach in Person with These 12 Tools – Here’s a list of a bunch of tools you can use to make teaching remotely easier
- Work From Home With These Online Teaching Jobs – This is a good overview of the different ways you can teach or tutor from home
16) Photography
Photography is another in-demand skill. There are a couple of routes that you can go here depending on your skills and what you like to shoot.
A lot of travelers will go with travel photography. These images can be sold online using sites like 500px and Adobe. Photographers get a small cut each time their photo is used.
You can also niche down too. Specific industries allow you to take images from everywhere. We’ve had members inside LR who have focused on real estate photography, for example.
Don’t forget the possibility of working with clients online too. Agencies often look for photographers and can serve as the middleman between clients. Check out Contently as a place where photography is in demand.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 3/5
- Time Investment: 4/5
Recommended reading:
- How to Sell Photos Online: For Both Amateur and Pro Photographers – Shopify lists 20 places to sell photography online in this post
- You Don’t Need to be a Pro to Sell Your Photos Online – There are a bunch of good tips here, including some pitfalls to watch out for
You might not know that photography bas been one of my work from home jobs over the last 5 years. I take golf course photos. Here’s an example of my work.
17) Patreon
Patreon is a relatively new entry as a way to make money online but it’s a pretty powerful way to do it. If you’re thinking of creating anything, art, videos, podcasts, even courses and blog posts, posting them on Patreon to small dollar donors is another approach you can take.
You might even be a Patron to a couple of projects right now. Basically, people sign up at levels that signify a specific dollar amount, you provide content, that ties into those levels. So if you’re running a couple of levels, it might mean that you have to create more content to satisfy everyone.
For more creative types that are in small niches, this could be a good approach to get your feet wet and test the market.
And if you’re already offering something, this can provide another way to gain income from it.
- Learning Curve: 4/5
- Monetary Potential: 4/5
- Time Investment: 5/5
Recommended Reading:
- 90 of the Biggest Earners on Patreon (And What They’re Selling) – This is a pretty in depth look at the potential of Patreon if you hit the right market
- 5 Steps to Predictable, Monthly Income for Any Creator with an Audience – Even more so than other methods, a key to Patreon success is giving a ton of value here’s how to do it
Digging into More Businesses
These are the ‘big ten’ that a lot of people start with. But by no means does that mean your online career aspirations have to fall within one of these options.
Your best bet is going to be the business you create that combines your skill set with something you actually enjoy. So don’t discount what you already know how to do, you might find that you’ll stumble across the perfect mix.
To help get you thinking outside the box, here are a few more ideas that you can dig into:
- Remote customer service expert
- Podcast editor
- Home design consultant
- Etsy consultant
- Dropshipping
- Language teacher
- Photographer
- Video editor
- Online course creator
- Project management
- Blog manager (someone who manages a team of writers)
- Kindle book writer or editor
Any of these ideas getting some thoughts bubbling? Awesome, that’s exactly what I like to see. It just goes to show that you have the opportunity today to really work from anywhere.
Location Rebel Academy member Mitch Glass, also recently put together a post detailing 107 different ways you can make money traveling – so I’d recommend taking a look at that as well.
Ready to Get Started?
These days there is so much opportunity out there for building a work from home job that allows you to be a homebody just as easily as it allows you to travel the world. There are thousands of different online businesses you can create, often it just takes a little bit of creativity and the ability to stay focused long enough to get it off the ground.
The ideas listed here are just a starting point. Other members of our community are killing it with app development, e-commerce, theme design and so much more. I chose the 17 above because I think they represent a good combination of interesting, marketable, and attainable.
Questions about how to get going? Just leave a comment or shoot me an email!
Want our list of over 100 different places to get freelance work that you can do from home or while traveling? Grab the whole list, right here.
Nice list, man! Would you count web development with web design?
I’d add Teamtreehouse on the web develop recommended reading, their courses are pretty awesome, funny, professional an theyre in Portland!
I was actually just reading an article about their 4 day workweeks – pretty cool.
I think web design and web development have the potential to be two totally different things, but they dont have to be. For this site, I had one person design it, and another code it.
If you’re one of the rare people that can design well and code, then you’re waaaay ahead of the game.
I can design and do front end dev. Please see my questions below 🙂
Interesting. Well in my case I do web design, but I love to help bloggers, so im thinking about creating a small design studio online. I work on Genesis so I know how to code, design, hook, copywrite and help people to become awesome online!
Whatcha think?
Good article!
I have about one year before I need to be self sufficient (won’t go into details here).
I’m a Sr. level Web/UI/UX Designer & Developer. I can write and know a bit about SEO.
My ideal situation would be to find a few steady clients that need my services. If at all possible, I’d like to stay away from Odesk and Freelancer.
Any suggestions on where I can start?
Rus,
A few things:
-If you do odesk and freelancer right, it can be a great source of leads and build your reputation. So I wouldnt totally write it off.
-Go to in person meetups in complimentary industries. For instance, SEO, social media, app development etc. Often those people are looking for development and design work and wont be too crowded with other people with the same background as you.
Conferences are also a great way to meet people for that kind of work.
Thanks, Sean!
Have any good info on working with Odesk and Freelancer? Like, ways to get ahead of the countless others on there?
Yeah one of our members did a whole interview and mini blueprint on it inside Location Rebel.
She also did a guest post thats a great starting point:
http://www.seanogle.com/guest-posts/hacking-odesk
Outstanding!
Thanks!
What I love about these businesses is that they all can overlap with each other. I started out messing around with blogging. As I figured out how to get more traffic that led to an understanding of SEO. I then transitioned into SEO writing to make some extra money. This led to not only a lucrative Copywriting gig, but also a freelance SEO client. I also have just recently been doing Social Media Consulting with a mix of PPC advertising.
The point is, don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to one business idea in this space.
Absolutely. In Location Rebel we call that the “skill matrix”. Learning one skill has direct applications to other parts of the business – and as you go on and acquire more skills, the business grows because of it.
Dude, great post!
I think the “back office” piece is really great, and I plan on looking into that for sure!
Very cool, tons of value.
Great list here Sean :). This is definitely a good resource for people who want to get started provided they follow through with the action needed to get going.
Would you say that some of these can be done together? Like say having a blog that documents learning one of these and providing the services via a different page?
Keep the good stuff coming!
Absolutely they can be. I think no matter which one of these you choose, starting a blog is a good idea. It gives you a way to apply some of these skills (SEO, copywriting etc), gives you the potential to build an audience and connect with new people, and can be a great source of leads for the business as well.
The only thing I’d be careful of is not trying to do too much at once. It’s really easy to spread yourself too thin and not make any progress on anything.
Good tip Sean! I fell into that trap myself…so, now I’m refocusing my efforts; I want to do it the “right way” this time! Definitely good advice to focus on one step at a time.
Thank you for your quality information. Much appreciated
Hey Sean great info, i really liked your location rebel guides. I am looking at working freelance and travelling however i work in financial services and much of what i do is data sensitive. How feasible is it to work from public wifi spots and still have sufficient security or should i look more towards long term leases with wifi or coworking spaces? Thanks
There are ways to make it more secure, but if you’re going to do that I’d look at getting a device you can tether to, or perhaps a mifi of some sort. If I’m doing anything with sensitive data at a coffee shop I usually try and switch over to my iphone wifi. That said, I’ve never had any issues with anything either way and proxies or a vpn can definitely help with security.
Hey Sean,
Great post, just what I needed to read today. I’ve been teaching my self front end development for the last 3 years in hopes of finding Location independent work.
I’ve found Lynda.com to be very helpful for more advanced topics.
David Malan also gives an amazing introduction to programming in general. That course are available here. http://cs50.tv/
I would also add elearning as an option in there as well. We all have a skill or talent we can share. Providing services by means of online classes and webinars are an easy to get up and running option.
Sean is basically talking about exactly this in #5 Info-Product Creation. It’s definitely a great method, but as Sean mentions, there is a big learning curve.
So many people jump right in to creating info products and then find out no one wants what they’ve created.
To deal with this risk, you have to do more upfront work of gathering leads/subscribers and validating ideas before you spend any time or money on the product creation.
This is why Sean recommends freelancing first. Guys like Noah Kagan and Ramit Sethi typically recommend the same thing.
Bookmarked for a moment when i’m more focused:)
Very useful list.
I’d also add stock photography to the list. And maybe website admin.
Hey Sean,
Wicked post! Will be sharing this with my peeps. I think one of the toughest things for people making the move to solopreneurship (or at least starting a business on the side first), is finding the path of least resistance.
Those of us who have made the leap know that it’s not about where you start. We’re constantly growing, making adjustments, and learning from the mistakes.
This list is awesome, and is just what people need to get started!
Such an awesome list, Sean! Well done.
Great list here man – had no idea Podcasting was an earner!
Bookmarked this!
This is pretty helpful for those who wanted to start a business online but don’t know where to start.
Sean,
I tried looking up your first post on Location 180, but, was unable to click on the oldest post listed. I am wondering if you would mind sharing the link to it here? I am curious as to what your thoughts were at that time in writing that post and the direction of this blog and how it has changed course. I think it would be helpful to me. Thank you.
Found his first post here: http://www.seanogle.com/lifestyle-design/the-beginning
Pretty cool his first commenter was Chris Guillebeau!
Awesome list 🙂 One thing that isn’t on this list but something to consider for the technical-minded folks is web application testing. Basically your job is the test the security of websites/applications by acting a malicious hacker. In the end you give them a report on all issues found so that the people that hired you can fix their issues before they become liabilities.
Learning Curve: 5/5
Monetary Potential: 5/5
Time Investment: 3-5/5
The learning curve is high as it could take a year or more to learn the techniques needed (depending on motivation and prior knowledge of web technologies). The potential for money is high since it’s an in-demand skill and the supply of such skills doesn’t reach as high as demand. The time investment depends on the tester and the quality of the service they want to offer (thorough manual testing, point-and-click automated scanning, etc.).
One huge downside is managing legal liabilities and getting the paperwork right. As a tester if you mess something up and haven’t covered yourself, you could be in for some trouble.
Great post Sean. Interesting how the majority of these are related. Are there any of your members doing day trading? I have contact with a few traders that trade the markets location independent. Of course, the majority trade the US markets early EST time, so if you are in SE Asia, it would be an evening job.
Those who are able to master the first 6 “abilities” above are able to branch out with their own products or make decent incomes as affiliates for other SaaS, etc.
Otherwise, interested in knowing what others are doing to be location independent- real estate, freight forwarding, importing/exporting, etc.
This is exactly what I needed to read. Thanks so much for the info and the honest and friendly tone!
Hey Sean,
Great post as always and timely for me. I recently started having some success with freelance copy editing and writing and am looking to take things to the next level–I think I have finally found the ‘it’ that will let me be own boss in the not too distant future.
That said, do you have any insight or wisdom to offer in regards to registering a freelance business as an LLC vs. an S-Corp? I’ve talked to several different freelancers and everyone tells me something different–was just wondering your take on it.
Had to share it on our own site. Liked the one about blogging because of the lifestyle it allows as you are living proof of it. Awesome stuff Sean.
youngandselfemployed.com.
Personally I’m working on the info-product right now. Watching a bunch of webinars and reading people’s blogs made me realize people don’t get paid as much for their time as they do things they sell (until they become celebrities). Therefore I’m working on the Udemy platform now, but I know the real trick will be how to promote it once it’s done. Any thoughts Sean?
I think Udemy can be a great platform starting out, but if you see success with your first product I’d migrate off pretty quickly. They have some interesting quirks that can result in you not getting paid as much as you think you’ll be. Keep me posted!
Hey Scott, noticed you have a pretty good following on your blog already.
Any reason why you’re putting this on Udemy instead of selling direct to your readers?
This is a great low down of what you can do. You have to consider your own abilities as well. For example, podcasting is never for me. I love to watch people who are doing it successfully but I cannot imagine doing it myself. Another example is that some people are great with words and others love to speak with codes. You need to decide which one you are first. Are you good at creative work or are you good ad writing?
This brings us to the next point. If you are good at one part of your business you can concentrate on that area and employ or contract others to do the other part. For example, I know coding but terrible at designs. So, whenever I need a website I contract it out to someone who is a lot more imaginative than me. It may take a while to find your thing but it is a process you need to go through first before you fully commit to earning a living online.
Sean,
Does it ever blow your mind that regular people like me are currently in a cubicle right now plotting their escape and reading YOUR STUFF. must be a pretty cool feeling.
I’m a current Foundation Member and was recommended your blog by a fellow student and so far I am really impressed!
My question is, if I am someone who is looking to start a freelance SEO and Copywriting business, how long would you say it would take before seeing a good income from this? (by good income I mean $1000-1500/mo)
I’m currently building my own SaaS business but also have a full time job that I don’t hate but it is rather soul crushing at times. I have always felt my writing skills were above average (History and Literature major), and since joining The Foundation my knowledge of internet marketing, copywriting, and SEO have sky rocketed. Just curious on your thoughts on how long this might take to get up and running?
Steve, it TOTALLY blows my mind. But definitely a pretty cool feeling.
It totally depends on how much time you have to devote to it. We’ve had some LR members make $4-5k in their first month, and other people don’t make their first $1k til 6 months in.
With your writing skills, and a decent looking services website I’d think within 60 days you should be able to get up to $1k a month pretty easily.
Great list complete with great resources. I’ve found SEO writing to be a good foot in the door as well. Working on this part of the online market can really introduce you to a lot of the possibilities out there. You can do a lot more than just SEO, but it s a good starting point!
Awesome post Sean – thank god for the internet opening up all these doors.
Thanks for this great list. A lot of options to create and make money off of those creations. I think the main key is choosing one to start and sticking with it. Patience is always key.
Excellent post and thanks for the mention 🙂
Love this. Your rating system is genius- it gives you a quick insight. My husband’s work has taken us abroad and I am looking for a way to start a location independent business since I had to sell my personal training biz when we left the states. I can tell I will be referring back to this post. Thanks.
Great list here. People can live the lap top lifestyle if they’re willing to put in that hard work and be consistent. Keep up the great work!
#1 is how I got my start as a traveler that has a way with words. All I had to do was befriend people within the travel space over the course of 2 years, offering to help them in any way I could. I started when I had a day job, and after my ESL job in South Korea fell through (due to crooked hogwan boss – par for the course there unfortunately) I had enough money to survive in SE Asia, and after a little extra networking and a few referrals later, I’m profitable in the developing world, and I can break even back here in Canada.
This is just the start, but I’m so pumped now! I am investigating extra business activities right now, and the other 9 you list Sean offer a starting point … thanks man!
P.S. The “start a blog” post you made way back 3+ years ago inspired me you start my site. It’s still smaller than it should be, but it has allowed me to meet people that have gotten me to where I am now. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Sean!
All of this sounds really awesome! I need your help. How can I get started with something right away that doesn’t cost and will get off of the ground. Now I am not very computer literate. So I need to do something fairly easy
I am not much of a writer. My mind wanders when I try to think and stick to one idea. Because all I keep thinking about is make some money fast to help my family. Something that I can start and get running right away. Something that will change the way families are struggling today like mine would be great. I am trying to reach that financial independence. To be happier and to know that I have finally beat this never ending financial roller coaster we call life. And to try to reach out to families who are trying to do the same thing. Thank you
Good list although most of it is active income. Would prefer a passive income list.
The first step towards passive income is active income.
Hey Sean, I just read your post! I love the insight and the enthusiasm to encourage people to do something different. Taking it online so to speak.
I have long craved the ability to live outside the US and make my money online.
I’m a Functional Medicine doctor that can analyze past medical records for people that have difficult to solve chronic health issues. I also can order them test kits and send it to them internationally with some of the labs that I use so I can get fresh information to help them solve their case or at least offer some insight for them.
I guess my product would be information.
I like to think of it as being a CSI investigator for chronic health issues. I’ve been doing this work for a number of years as a local ‘Health Investigator’, but I would love to take this on the road if I could solve the issue of folks finding me online.
Do you think I could attract folks from all over the internet to hire me to look into their cases and pay for my time? Allowing me to live anywhere I choose, ultimately?
Nice list you’ve put together. It’s important that you showed the reality of each as well.
What if you don’t want to do anything with computers? I am not really interested in copywriting and I have to tell you, as technical and creative minded as I am, I hate computers and everything about them.
I am seeking something with low start up costs as I am still paying off my M.A. in education and trying to get out of teaching at the same time. Before I became a teacher, I was in traffic/ad ops and it really wasn’t stable (hence, my lack of desire to go back). Do you have anything else? I am at my wit’s end. Thanks.
Sean:
Thank you for your article, it was definitely interesting but most of that stuff is beyond my wheelhouse. I was curious if you know anyone that is maybe sourcing products from Thailand to sell in other countries. I am actually a Thai-Born American and was planning on taking a long vacation over there looking for a financial opportunity over there on my stay. If I can find a way to get some revenue I might stay there for a while. I’m at that transition time in my life where I need new scenery and different aspect on life.
Hello Sean,
First of all thank you so much for posting such an informational post.
My Question-
Right now I am not at all expert in mentioned skills, and also, I am not very much excellent in English Writing.
But if i Buy Location Rebel and put my 12 Hrs/Day to study it and work on it,
Is it possible to earn as a freelancer and start my own business within a month.
Thank You,
Prashant.
Great post, thanks!
Having previously produced music podcasts, I’m definitely going to look into getting back into that – most likely podcast management.
Look forward to reading the SEO Writing links. Looks like a potential!
Also, the What is a Social Media Manager girl looks grumpy as hell! I’ve just set up a Social Media Management company. First gig is assisting a bigger marketing company on the social side of ad campaigns. Looking to get more clients and move somewhere tropical, with palm trees and a mango tree in my garden!
Tnks Sean, just read your write up now & was encouraged. But my challenge is which one to start from been a Nigerian seeing many freelancing sites don’t accept Nigerians. Pls can you give me some guide.
Nooo, don’t put “SEO specialist” on this list. Everyone and their brother learns how to build a link and put a keyword in bold tags and suddenly they’re an “SEO specialist” and trying to convince you they can “rank your website in the Google”. I think the world could use fewer “SEO specialists”.
Cool to see you’ve got my son’s dream job on here at #16 though, hahaha.
Kevin,
Honestly, I don’t disagree with you! BUT the opportunity is there for the people that do know what they’re doing. And I’m hardly a You Tuber, I’m more a blogger that happens to put out the occasional video 🙂