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How to Make Money While Traveling Long-Term

travel articles

Let’s face it: traveling gets expensive! Most people can’t afford to take months off work to explore the world unless they’re independently wealthy (our family is not). But travel is an integral part of our family’s lifestyle, and since we’re often abroad for months at a time, we’ve had to figure out how to make money while traveling.

From writing business plans while sipping a cappuccino in a French café with free Wi-Fi to emailing clients between adventures in Costa Rica to trading parenting duties on a train through Japan so we could take turns working, we’ve found plenty of ways to make money while traveling.

If long-term family travel is in your future, here’s how to make money on the road. Don’t let concerns about earning income stop you and your family from exploring the world. It’s definitely possible with careful planning.

How We Make Money While Traveling

There are a few ways Ryan and I make money while traveling. These are the methods that work for us, although obviously, every situation is different. One universal factor to any job on the road is mobility, so when you consider how you’re going to make money while traveling, always look at ways to work from your laptop, phone, or tablet.

Earning Money Through Our Music School Business

In the very beginning, before our first one-year trip, we ran the Resound School of Music, our in-person school that employed a group of instructors who drove to students’ homes for music lessons.

When we decided to take our year-long trip around the world, we knew we’d still need to make money while traveling, so we decided to train someone to run the school in our absence. Ryan found a new director who would run the school while we were traveling with our family.

Now, because we weren’t directing the school, Ryan pulled a smaller-than-usual salary. We had to adjust to earning less than before, but we were still able to make a livable income. The best part was knowing we had the business to come home to when we finished our year-long trip.

Earning an Income Through My Blog

The other way we were able to make money while traveling was from my blog. I started the blog about five years before we began to travel regularly. Thanks to being monetized with paid advertisers, it was already bringing in a decent income and was well established before we left.

Blogging is a great way to make money while traveling because it’s so mobile. I was able to blog from anywhere, and honestly, my business didn’t change at all when I was on the road. The job was the same; I worked around our travel schedule, fitting it in at different times and in different locations.

 In the year leading up to our big year-long trip around the world, I brought on a community of writers to assist with the blog. I had a part-time VA (virtual assistant) and a part-time social media consultant. I was posting to the blog about three times per week, but 2/3 posts were coming from our community of writers. I also hired an editor who reviewed the posts, doing final edits and getting them ready for posting. I was only responsible for writing one post per week and occasionally working with a brand sponsor.

Now, this was a little challenging, since I wanted to keep the blog personal. Of course, there was also the nagging idea I could earn more money if I were doing it all myself…BUT in the long run, it was much better for me to hand off a lot of the responsibilities of blogging. I was still able to earn a stable income, and it made managing the blog much less stressful, especially on the road.

While I was traveling, I didn’t take on a lot of sponsored posts, because it was always more complicated. I also didn’t jump into doing travel-related sponsored work, because my blog wasn’t about travel at the time (it was about homemaking and health). I felt it was important to stay true to my readers. I turned down many travel blogging opportunities to focus on affiliate work and sharing companies and products I loved.

I focused on selling my eBooks I had already written. The process was simple since the books were complete and only needed promotion. I also earned money through an ad network, AdThrive. The blog had high pageviews, so we focused on posting regular content three times a week and keeping up our social media to maintain traffic. These steps ensured we were able to earn plenty of ad revenue on the blog.

Starting Our Ultimate Bundles Business

Ultimate Bundles was the business we founded during our year on the road. It came to fruition as an off-shoot of my blog and grew into what Ultimate Bundles is today. When it began, we saw it as a one-time event, but because it was such a success, we ran a few more events from the road during the first year of our family travel.

Since coming back from our year-long trip, we’ve continued to travel for months at a time. We ended up selling my blog, allowing us to focus our efforts on Ultimate Bundles. It’s become a great business, continuing to grow and allowing us to travel over these last five years.

Ultimate Bundles is an entirely digital company, which allows us to be location independent. Our entire team of 8-10 people works remotely from Canada, the United States, and Australia. Much of our team regularly travel as well (we seem to attract those with wanderlust).

Ryan and I both worked on Ultimate Bundles at home and on the road. No matter where we are, our duties stay the same. The flexibility of Ultimate Bundles is ideal for travel.

Renting Our Home While We Travel

The other way we’re able to make money while we travel is by renting out our home when we’re abroad. If you’re wondering how to make money while you travel, putting your home to work for you is a great idea.

We view our home as an investment property for our family. We love having a home base in Canada. We always know there’s a place to return when we’re on a trip. It helps us build connections, make friends, and maintain our relationships, but having a home base is also great for creating an income stream, thanks to Airbnb.

We don’t currently live in a great rental market. It’s a capital city, but we aren’t downtown or in a prime location. We don’t earn tons of money off our home but depending on the time of year we earn $3,000-$7,000 per month. We still face costs like utilities and paying our home manager and housekeeper (both important while we’re away), but it’s well worth it. Our home brings in income to help fund our travels.

This summer, we plan to move closer to family. We’re moving into a better rental market, so we’ll earn more money in the new area. An excellent rental market is especially helpful when we travel during the prime summer months of July and August.

5 Other Ways to Make Money While Traveling

Now, the ways I’ve outlined above might not fit for everyone. You may not have a blog or a mobile-friendly business, but don’t let your job situation stand in the way of traveling. There are other ways to make money while traveling, making use of your skills and background.

Independent Contract Work

Depending on your skillset, you may find ways to take your current career on the road. For example, if you’re a therapist, there are plenty of opportunities now to work as an online therapist through Skype or video calls.

Other independent contractor careers include:

  • Graphic design
  • Life coaching, business coaching, health coaching
  • Tech work like coding, IT, and tech support for small businesses
  • Business operations, like accounting and financial support.

There are so many possibilities for becoming an independent contractor. One of the prime benefits is you receive tax write-offs for contractor work as well. Yes, being your own boss comes with responsibilities like managing your business finances, website, and advertising, but the pros often outweigh the cons.

Work-From-Anywhere Jobs

Another option to make money while traveling is to find a company that allows you to work from anywhere. For example, all of our Ultimate Bundles team members earn a regular paycheck, and they work from anyplace they choose—while traveling or from home. One of our team members is planning a year-long RV trip with her family!

We employ team members who work in customer service. We have a director of operations, several graphic designers, and videographers. We also have people who work in recruitment and affiliate management.

Becoming a virtual assistant is another great way to get a remote job. There are virtual assistant classes and networks to join that will help you learn the ins and outs of assisting. I recently found a new virtual assistant through this type of network. After you take a VA course and become certified, you receive notifications whenever there’s a new job posting.

Social media work for companies (bloggers/influencers or brick-and-mortar businesses) is another mobile opportunity. Anyone who works in IT has the possibility of a remote job, too.

Finally, customer service is a travel-friendly area of employment. Many customer service jobs are completely online-based, while others include phone work. Chat is a growing area of customer service that many companies are exploring.

Additional Remote Job Resources


Thanks to today’s job market, there are plenty of remote work opportunities to help you make money while traveling. If none of the ideas above speak to you, check out these additional resources to help you find great virtual work:

Teach or Create Courses Online

Certified teachers will find many opportunities for work via online academies and schools. There’s also a broad market for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers and tutoring services. One of our friends is a high school teacher who also leads a mentorship program via an online academy.

Even if you don’t have formal teacher training, you can create courses and set up classes to share your skills with others. You can set up classes to run for a specific amount of time (like a few weeks), set up a mastermind class, or teach through one particular marketplace. A few online education spots to check out are:

  • Skillshare
  • Udemy
  • TakeLessons (We’ve used them for our kids for art, singing, acting, public speaking, math tutoring, and many more options.)
  • Outschool (Great resource for homeschooling families! Many opportunities for teachers, those who are bilingual, or who have skill sets for kids or teens.)

Take Temp Jobs in Different Places

You aren’t limited to virtual or online work only when you’re on the road. If you plan to travel long-term, staying in a new place for a few months or even a year, there’s plenty of opportunities for temporary jobs. You don’t even need to speak the local language, in many cases.

Consider working on an organic farm during the growing season. You could also garden or assist with landscaping for a few months. The hospitality industry offers many job opportunities, as well. Hostels, hotels, resorts, and cruise ships are often looking for people who speak English to help in reception or offer an extra hand during their busy season.

English teachers are in high demand, and in many cases, you don’t even need formal teacher training. Many people are looking for an instructor who offers conversational teaching. When we were in Japan, we took a 1-week course on teaching ESL and were able to teach conversational English.

If you’re traveling for the longer term and willing to commit for a semester or school year term (typically 8-10 months), you could teach almost anywhere. We know a family who teaches English at an international school in Malaysia. They based themselves in Kuala Lumpur, which allows them to travel in Asia whenever they get time off.

Other temp jobs might include becoming a dorm mom or dorm parent—assisting and watching over kids while they’re living at school. You could also work traditional temp jobs in offices, doing administrative work.

Our friend is a personal trainer in Bali. He found a job at a local gym as a trainer and is supplementing his income with private coaching and group classes. Because he found such a cool job, he and his wife were able to get an extended Visa to live in Bali for a while.

Some jobs you find in advance by searching online and networking through your connections. Other job opportunities you might stumble into as you go places and ask around. One of the most significant aspects of travel we’ve found is that everywhere you go, people are helpful and friendly. We’ve made many lasting connections.

Start Your Own Business

Starting your own business is great for a travel lifestyle. I mean, truly, the sky is the limit when you’re an entrepreneur. That said, from my experience, it’s easier to start your business endeavors before you begin traveling. Most entrepreneurs realize you must put in a LOT of time and effort at the beginning of your business launch. If you’re dreaming of starting a business, begin planning for a year or two to ensure a stable income.

Ask yourself if there’s some business you could create and run, even in a different country. Our companies played a significant role in our decision to travel. We knew we could take them on the road. We had a year of lead time to prepare, save, and plan, which set us up for success.

If you begin thinking about ways to make money while traveling before you hit the road, you’ll be in a much better position when you go. Depending on your lead time, you may or may not earn enough to cover all your travel expenses, but you’ll at least create a business that can continue growing during your trip.

Two people we met during our trip to Guatemala use skills from their careers back home to make money while traveling. One is a massage therapist who used to work at a clinic, and the other is a photographer. They obviously can’t keep up with those jobs as they would back home, but they’re still able to make money.

If you connect with the local ex-pat community, other traveling families, and world schoolers, a lot of them will help you build your network.

The massage therapist networked with other travel friends and brought her supplies with her, allowing her to take on clients and earn funding for her travels. The photographer met up with groups of ex-pats and other traveling families. She would say, “hey, I’m a photographer, do you want to do an on-location photo shoot?” She could charge the same amount as she would in the U.S. and earn a liveable income.

If you connect with the local ex-pat community, other traveling families, and world schoolers, a lot of them will help you build your network.

7 Tips for Keeping Up with Work While Traveling

There are logistics to help you keep your job running smoothly, even if you’re not in a traditional office setting. Here are seven tips we learned to help us make money while traveling.

 

1. Wi-Fi is Important

 

Wi-Fi is so amazing, and yet so frustrating. Access to the internet has become one of our biggest concerns when we choose where to stay, whether it’s a hotel or a house where we’ll stay for a couple of weeks (or even months).

 

A few helpful tips we’ve found when figuring out internet access in remote locations are:

  • Research! We research the Wi-Fi for each destination. We often choose places with several reviews (and I always read through them all). Websites like Booking.com will allow you to search through the reviews for words like, “Wi-Fi,” and I’ll read through to see what others say. If people report bad connections, then the place isn’t going to work for us.
  • Test the Connection. If we choose not to pre-book our accommodations, we typically go through the house before we decide to stay. We always ask to log into their Wi-Fi while we’re getting a tour of the house and check upload and download speeds. This method, however, doesn’t always work. For example, we toured a house in France we were renting for three months. We knew we would need Wi-Fi (and since the house was in a residential area, we didn’t anticipate an issue). Once we settled in, we found out the location of the house was a weird zone that didn’t get good Wi-Fi speeds. I had to plan my schedule around internet access, as it was faster during certain times of the day. I had to go out and find places with free Wi-Fi so I could work. The situation taught me a good lesson on why diligence is essential when it comes to Wi-Fi.
  • Bring backup. We carry backup Wi-Fi devices as well. There are a lot of little gadgets out there, and we’ve tried many of them. It’s a challenge to find a reliable device. We’ve tried Skyroam (which didn’t work well in the EU) and Google-Fi, which works okay (not great). It’s still a good option in a pinch. Find reviews of the best mobile Wi-Fi hotspot devices here.

 

There’s no perfect solution to Wi-Fi. The best bet is to keep multiple backups. Ryan tries hard to manage our Wi-Fi to ensure we always have access. He first makes it a point to check that we have Wi-Fi where we’re staying, but if we don’t, we still have Wi-Fi on our phones, and a backup device.

 

2. Get a Reliable Data Roaming Plan

Our top choice of backup is using a hotspot with our phone or our phone’s internet. Look into the networks for your phone company to see if there’s a country where they don’t connect. We recently spent a week in Cuba, where we had no data at all. Always research to see if you’re going to a country where there’s no data roaming.

 

If you own a device that’s unlocked, use a SIM card to get your phone online. In the case of our trip to Cuba, we only went for a week because we knew about the data roaming situation. I couldn’t afford to go offline for more than a week during that time, and we planned around it carefully in advance.

 

We know many American friends who use Verizon and T-Mobile as their preferred carriers. Both phone companies offer excellent options for roaming. In Canada, we use Rogers: Roam Like Home plan. We also use Google-Fi, which is a pain in Canada. Google isn’t Canadian, so technically we’re roaming even when we’re at home. However, Google-Fi did a great job of roaming when we were in Central and South America earlier this year.

 

3. Get Creative with Your Work Hours

Making money while traveling means breaking way out of the traditional 9-5. The flexibility is refreshing in many ways, but it’s also challenging. If you’re working with a remote team or doing contracting work, you may have calls, teaching gigs, and virtual meetings where you need to be available at odd times.

 

Depending on the part of the world we’re in, we usually adapt our work schedules to make do. When we were in France, I didn’t work in the mornings or early afternoons. I worked from about 3 pm until 10 pm. It was a strange schedule to get used to, but because I was working with my remote team, it was essential to provide as much overlap as possible.

 

Countries like Asia, Australia, or New Zealand exist in vastly different time zones, so it’s essential to plan accordingly. Of course, this doesn’t apply to every type of business, but it’s imperative if you need to interface with clients or with other members of your team.

 

4. Plan Time to Slow Down and Work

If you’re traveling quickly between locations, it’s almost impossible to keep up with work. You can typically manage to work on a bus, at the airport, or on a plane for a few weeks, but after a prolonged time, either your business, your health, or both will start to suffer. We’ve learned to plan in periods where we’ll stay in one place for a longer duration.

 

This past spring, we traveled for almost four months. The first five weeks of our travel was faster-paced, but I had an event with Ultimate Bundles in the middle of our trip. We planned for one week in a city in an apartment. I checked the Wi-Fi carefully ahead of time because I knew I was going to need to focus during the big week. Then we could go back to traveling faster, and I could cut my hours back.

 

We also knew we would eventually spend two months in one place, in one house, where I could get back to my regular work schedule for a longer time. There was no way I could work for three or four months, keeping up my business while perpetually moving around on the road.

 

We’ve found it essential to plan time to stay put. We like to spend several months at a time in one place and offset our fast travel with slower travel. I’ve found this is a critical step if you’re working on the road.

 

When we spent time in Guatemala, I worked regular hours—Monday through Friday. On the weekends, we would go exploring and do fun activities. On a Saturday, we may take a horseback riding tour or take a bus to visit a local city or market. If I wanted to take a Friday off for a long weekend, I planned it in, but we adopted a routine during most of the week.

 

5. Establish a Reliable Team to Help Run Your Business

If you own your business, it helps to hire a great team. Even if you rely on a small team like a VA or a few people helping out part-time, it makes a difference. It’s vital that you hire someone who helps you do whatever you do, especially if you run into snags while you’re traveling. Bad Wi-Fi, illness, and scheduling issues happen beyond your control. It’s crucial you can depend on other people.

 

To help ease the stress of handing over the reins, put a lot of processes in place. Your team should have a clear idea of how projects are carried out, and how you would handle certain situations that may crop up. Empower your team to take control of the situation without you and let them step in when needed.

 

Training and equipping the people on our team has been critical to our success. We fully trust their capacity to handle any situation. Of course, we do our best to be available for emergencies, and we let them know when we’re unreachable (like when we’re in transit or in the air on a plane). A well-trained team gives us peace of mind!

 

6. Invest in Quality Headphones (or Cope with Distractions)

If you struggle to focus, I recommend purchasing high-quality headphones. Some people easily cope with distractions, while others don’t. When you’re traveling and working, you may end up in many less-than-ideal situations. You may find yourself working at an airport, on a plane, train, or bus. Other times, you may be in a tiny hotel or apartment, surrounded by your kids (and wishing for a private office).

 

Both Ryan and I use our preferred methods for dealing with work in distracting situations. Ryan loves noise-canceling headphones. He’s a big fan of the Bose brand. He wears a hoodie, pulls it down over his face like blinders, and puts on the headphones.

 

On the other hand, I like to position myself so I’m facing a window or even a wall. Turning away from the action helps me tune out what other people are doing and avoid distractions. I put on headphones with instrumental music, movie soundtracks, or soothing YouTube videos for productivity.

 

7. Plan Your Travel Around Your Business

We always look ahead at our calendar and pinpoint the various work events we’re facing on the horizon, including deadlines, projects we’re working on, and anything requiring more involvement and focus.

 

In our case, we look at the dates for our Ultimate Bundle launches. We avoid travel during those days and a few days leading up to the launch. We often rent a place during that time, arriving a few days before the event. We stay entirely available during the launch and then we plan faster travel before or after those periods.

 

The more you plan, the easier it is to handle the stress of work. You may also want to think about the rhythms of the year and how it affects your business. We know a family where the husband works remotely for an online academy (an online homeschool school). During the school year, he thinks about the time zones he’s in, ensuring they’re not too different from his school schedule. The family chooses their travel locations more freely during the summer.

 

The biggest key to making money while traveling is to stay organized but flexible. Stay on top of any moving pieces and learn to roll with the punches as they come. It’s certainly possible to earn a comfortable income and support your family while you enjoy all the experiences of travel.

 

Our friend is a personal trainer in Bali. He found a job at a local gym as a trainer and is supplementing his income with private coaching and group classes. Because he found such a cool job, he and his wife were able to get an extended Visa to live in Bali for a while.

 

Some jobs you find in advance by searching online and networking through your connections. Other job opportunities you might stumble into as you go places and ask around. One of the most significant aspects of travel we’ve found is that everywhere you go, people are helpful and friendly. We’ve made many lasting connections.

 

Start Your Own Business

Starting your own business is great for a travel lifestyle. I mean, truly, the sky is the limit when you’re an entrepreneur. That said, from my experience, it’s easier to start your business endeavors before you begin traveling. Most entrepreneurs realize you must put in a LOT of time and effort at the beginning of your business launch. If you’re dreaming of starting a business, begin planning for a year or two to ensure a stable income.

 

Ask yourself if there’s some business you could create and run, even in a different country. Our companies played a significant role in our decision to travel. We knew we could take them on the road. We had a year of lead time to prepare, save, and plan, which set us up for success.

 

If you begin thinking about ways to make money while traveling before you hit the road, you’ll be in a much better position when you go. Depending on your lead time, you may or may not earn enough to cover all your travel expenses, but you’ll at least create a business that can continue growing during your trip.

 

Two people we met during our trip to Guatemala use skills from their careers back home to make money while traveling. One is a massage therapist who used to work at a clinic, and the other is a photographer. They obviously can’t keep up with those jobs as they would back home, but they’re still able to make money.

 

The massage therapist networked with other travel friends and brought her supplies with her, allowing her to take on clients and earn funding for her travels. The photographer met up with groups of ex-pats and other traveling families. She would say, “hey, I’m a photographer, do you want to do an on-location photo shoot?” She could charge the same amount as she would in the U.S. and earn a liveable income.

 

If you connect with the local ex-pat community, other traveling families, and world schoolers, a lot of them will help you build your network.

 

7 Tips for Keeping Up with Work While Traveling

There are logistics to help you keep your job running smoothly, even if you’re not in a traditional office setting. Here are seven tips we learned to help us make money while traveling.

 

1. Wi-Fi is Important

Wi-Fi is so amazing, and yet so frustrating. Access to the internet has become one of our biggest concerns when we choose where to stay, whether it’s a hotel or a house where we’ll stay for a couple of weeks (or even months).

 

A few helpful tips we’ve found when figuring out internet access in remote locations are:

 

  • Research! We research the Wi-Fi for each destination. We often choose places with several reviews (and I always read through them all). Websites like Booking.com will allow you to search through the reviews for words like, “Wi-Fi,” and I’ll read through to see what others say. If people report bad connections, then the place isn’t going to work for us.
  • Test the Connection. If we choose not to pre-book our accommodations, we typically go through the house before we decide to stay. We always ask to log into their Wi-Fi while we’re getting a tour of the house and check upload and download speeds. This method, however, doesn’t always work. For example, we toured a house in France we were renting for three months. We knew we would need Wi-Fi (and since the house was in a residential area, we didn’t anticipate an issue). Once we settled in, we found out the location of the house was a weird zone that didn’t get good Wi-Fi speeds. I had to plan my schedule around internet access, as it was faster during certain times of the day. I had to go out and find places with free Wi-Fi so I could work. The situation taught me a good lesson on why diligence is essential when it comes to Wi-Fi.
  • Bring backup. We carry backup Wi-Fi devices as well. There are a lot of little gadgets out there, and we’ve tried many of them. It’s a challenge to find a reliable device. We’ve tried Skyroam (which didn’t work well in the EU) and Google-Fi, which works okay (not great). It’s still a good option in a pinch. Find reviews of the best mobile Wi-Fi hotspot devices here.

 

There’s no perfect solution to Wi-Fi. The best bet is to keep multiple backups. Ryan tries hard to manage our Wi-Fi to ensure we always have access. He first makes it a point to check that we have Wi-Fi where we’re staying, but if we don’t, we still have Wi-Fi on our phones, and a backup device.

 

2. Get a Reliable Data Roaming Plan

Our top choice of backup is using a hotspot with our phone or our phone’s internet. Look into the networks for your phone company to see if there’s a country where they don’t connect. We recently spent a week in Cuba, where we had no data at all. Always research to see if you’re going to a country where there’s no data roaming.

 

If you own a device that’s unlocked, use a SIM card to get your phone online. In the case of our trip to Cuba, we only went for a week because we knew about the data roaming situation. I couldn’t afford to go offline for more than a week during that time, and we planned around it carefully in advance.

 

We know many American friends who use Verizon and T-Mobile as their preferred carriers. Both phone companies offer excellent options for roaming. In Canada, we use Rogers: Roam Like Home plan. We also use Google-Fi, which is a pain in Canada. Google isn’t Canadian, so technically we’re roaming even when we’re at home. However, Google-Fi did a great job of roaming when we were in Central and South America earlier this year.

 

3. Get Creative with Your Work Hours

Making money while traveling means breaking way out of the traditional 9-5. The flexibility is refreshing in many ways, but it’s also challenging. If you’re working with a remote team or doing contracting work, you may have calls, teaching gigs, and virtual meetings where you need to be available at odd times.

 

Depending on the part of the world we’re in, we usually adapt our work schedules to make do. When we were in France, I didn’t work in the mornings or early afternoons. I worked from about 3 pm until 10 pm. It was a strange schedule to get used to, but because I was working with my remote team, it was essential to provide as much overlap as possible.

 

Countries like Asia, Australia, or New Zealand exist in vastly different time zones, so it’s essential to plan accordingly. Of course, this doesn’t apply to every type of business, but it’s imperative if you need to interface with clients or with other members of your team.

 

4. Plan Time to Slow Down and Work

If you’re traveling quickly between locations, it’s almost impossible to keep up with work. You can typically manage to work on a bus, at the airport, or on a plane for a few weeks, but after a prolonged time, either your business, your health, or both will start to suffer. We’ve learned to plan in periods where we’ll stay in one place for a longer duration.

 

This past spring, we traveled for almost four months. The first five weeks of our travel was faster-paced, but I had an event with Ultimate Bundles in the middle of our trip. We planned for one week in a city in an apartment. I checked the Wi-Fi carefully ahead of time because I knew I was going to need to focus during the big week. Then we could go back to traveling faster, and I could cut my hours back.

 

We also knew we would eventually spend two months in one place, in one house, where I could get back to my regular work schedule for a longer time. There was no way I could work for three or four months, keeping up my business while perpetually moving around on the road.

 

We’ve found it essential to plan time to stay put. We like to spend several months at a time in one place and offset our fast travel with slower travel. I’ve found this is a critical step if you’re working on the road.

 

When we spent time in Guatemala, I worked regular hours—Monday through Friday. On the weekends, we would go exploring and do fun activities. On a Saturday, we may take a horseback riding tour or take a bus to visit a local city or market. If I wanted to take a Friday off for a long weekend, I planned it in, but we adopted a routine during most of the week.

 

5. Establish a Reliable Team to Help Run Your Business

If you own your business, it helps to hire a great team. Even if you rely on a small team like a VA or a few people helping out part-time, it makes a difference. It’s vital that you hire someone who helps you do whatever you do, especially if you run into snags while you’re traveling. Bad Wi-Fi, illness, and scheduling issues happen beyond your control. It’s crucial you can depend on other people.

 

To help ease the stress of handing over the reins, put a lot of processes in place. Your team should have a clear idea of how projects are carried out, and how you would handle certain situations that may crop up. Empower your team to take control of the situation without you and let them step in when needed.

 

Training and equipping the people on our team has been critical to our success. We fully trust their capacity to handle any situation. Of course, we do our best to be available for emergencies, and we let them know when we’re unreachable (like when we’re in transit or in the air on a plane). A well-trained team gives us peace of mind!

 

6. Invest in Quality Headphones (or Cope with Distractions)

If you struggle to focus, I recommend purchasing high-quality headphones. Some people easily cope with distractions, while others don’t. When you’re traveling and working, you may end up in many less-than-ideal situations. You may find yourself working at an airport, on a plane, train, or bus. Other times, you may be in a tiny hotel or apartment, surrounded by your kids (and wishing for a private office).

 

Both Ryan and I use our preferred methods for dealing with work in distracting situations. Ryan loves noise-canceling headphones. He’s a big fan of the Bose brand. He wears a hoodie, pulls it down over his face like blinders, and puts on the headphones.

 

On the other hand, I like to position myself so I’m facing a window or even a wall. Turning away from the action helps me tune out what other people are doing and avoid distractions. I put on headphones with instrumental music, movie soundtracks, or soothing YouTube videos for productivity.

 

7. Plan Your Travel Around Your Business

We always look ahead at our calendar and pinpoint the various work events we’re facing on the horizon, including deadlines, projects we’re working on, and anything requiring more involvement and focus.

 

In our case, we look at the dates for our Ultimate Bundle launches. We avoid travel during those days and a few days leading up to the launch. We often rent a place during that time, arriving a few days before the event. We stay entirely available during the launch and then we plan faster travel before or after those periods.

 

The more you plan, the easier it is to handle the stress of work. You may also want to think about the rhythms of the year and how it affects your business. We know a family where the husband works remotely for an online academy (an online homeschool school). During the school year, he thinks about the time zones he’s in, ensuring they’re not too different from his school schedule. The family chooses their travel locations more freely during the summer.

 

The biggest key to making money while traveling is to stay organized but flexible. Stay on top of any moving pieces and learn to roll with the punches as they come. It’s certainly possible to earn a comfortable income and support your family while you enjoy all the experiences of travel.

 

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