Imagine having the freedom to travel around the world and live anywhere you want.
One month you could be sitting in a café in Berlin and the next, walking through the streets of Rome eating Italian Gelato and drinking Espresso, contemplating whether to head to New York or experience the beaches of Miami.
Meanwhile, cash flows from your business to support your dream lifestyle. There are no employees and no commercial lease payments to worry about; the only business tool you need is a laptop. As long you have an internet connection, you can run and grow your business from anywhere in the world.
New Zealanders Janak and Nalisha Patel were inspired to follow the nomadic and yet lucrative lifestyle after reading ‘The 4 hour work week,’ by Tim Ferris.
Taking the advice offered by Ferris on how to lead a retired or care-free life still earning well for a living, they bid farewell to their complement of nine staff and became the owners and employees of their enterprise on the move.
Online business
Transforming their health and fitness business from a physical model of doing home-based personal training to an internet based model of selling digital wellness programmes, the couple set off to discover the world almost two years ago.
“Our vision was to have the largest in-home personal training company in New Zealand and eventually franchise the business. For several years, we felt that we were just not growing. We had hit a wall and felt that things had to change for business to flow smoother,” Janak said, writing from Santorini in Greece.
A few days later, Nalisha wrote from Venice (Italy) to say, “We felt stifled by our business. We were working long hours, having very little free time and basically felt as if we were spinning our wheels.”
Working Holiday
Beginning their journey in the US, they spent six months in San Diego, Miami and New York City and then flew to Europe in live in Valencia, Lisbon, Paris, French Riviera, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Vienna, Florence, Istanbul, Athens, Berlin, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Budapest and Milan.
“Some fun-extended holidays included Rhodes Island and Santorini in Greece, repeated five-weeks of stay at a Beach Villa in Italy and a long haul flight back to Miami, Florida to enjoy the US summer, before traveling back to Europe again. While still traveling, we expanded into 11 other countries in one year and we ran the entire business from just our two laptops,” Janak said.
The couple stay up to six weeks in every major city, allocating time for their business and taking time off for exploring and sightseeing.
Nalisha spends her time researching and collecting wellness and beauty advice to share with her audience and Janak has honed his online marketing and business skills to ensure they keep expanding and growing.
Inspiring Indians
“We want to share our story with other Indians, with the hope of inspiring them to rethink waiting for retirement to really enjoy life. With the reach of the internet, the world is our playground and it is possible to run a business in multiple countries. We hope to educate others that this type of lifestyle is very possible,” she said.
The couple are currently in London, hoping to spend up to two months in the largest and most interesting City in United Kingdom.
They are not sure of their next destination.
“The possibilities are really endless. Currently France is on our shortlist to explore the countryside, while the US promises an alluring road trip,” Janak said.
They hope to return home early next year. Meanwhile, you can follow them on Facebook (janak.p.patel or nalisha.patel)
