Digital nomadism is the latest trend amongst millennials and it’s one which reflects their growing affluence and the way they tend to focus on spending their money on experiences instead of on physical possessions.
Digital nomads are effectively members of a new generation of remote workers who combine freelancing with backpacking to travel the world while working across the internet. It’s a trend that’s rapidly growing, and it has the potential to change the way we look at marketing as B2B businesses.
In fact, one way to look at them is like freelancers on steroids, because they typically offer a number of other benefits. For example, some can charge reduced rates if their cost of living is lower, and they also have specific knowledge about different areas of the world. If you’re trying to break into the Asian market then it’s a good call to work with a digital nomad who’s travelling around the continent.
Why digital nomads are great worker
It’s simple, really. They’re their own boss and they’re living their dream, which means that their morale is high. They’re also not wasting company time or sitting around twiddling their thumbs when they have nothing to do. They can bring in their expertise from different clients and apply it to your business, while full-time employees can often find themselves in a “can’t see the wood for the trees” type of situation.
Many of the arguments for working with digital nomads are the same as the arguments for working with freelancers, but freelancers stay in a single place and often work alone from home, where there’s little to no opportunity to learn from peers. Digital nomads, by contrast, often work in co-working spaces where they can pick up more learning and networking opportunities.
That’s not to say that you won’t get quality from other freelancers, of course. You’ll also need to weigh it up against the disadvantages such as working in different time zones, which you can avoid if you work with a local freelancer or hire an agency. It really depends upon your unique needs as a company and what services you need help with.
Conclusion
Digital nomads have their advantages and their disadvantages just like any type of worker. That’s why it’s important to weigh up each potential supplier as an individual and to make sure that the value that they can add to your company offsets the cost of their service and any other difficulties that come with it.
As a general rule, we tend to find that digital nomads make for great suppliers for individual deliverables, but that if you’re looking for strategy then you’re better off working with an established team with proven experience and who will take the time to get to know your business. That’s where we come in.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.