Welcome to Part 2 of the 6 best ways to become location independent. If you missed Part 1, head on over to read the first three ways. Ok, let’s dig into ways four, five, and six shall we?

Number 4

Create a Virtual Management Business

EVERYONE needs a project manager. Seriously, come work for me. I am always in need of someone to manage me. Project management is the most underrated job out there, and you can find one in just about every company in every industry. As more companies go remote, especially small business, and entrepreneurs building businesses, there is a HUGE need for virtual project management.

Much like the freelancer, you can create the type of project management business you want to have. You can come up with your own service, how you want to work, what types of companies you want to work for, I mean the skies the limit here. Some entrepreneurs like to call this role a VA (virtual assistant) but there are big differences between being a VA and PM. 

Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is well, an assistant. They assist someone with specific tasks that are needed. Your client or boss gets to decide on what you’ll work on, go through an on boarding process so you’re familiar with their company and how you’ll work best with him or her.

The different responsibilities of a virtual assistant could include: scheduling social media posts, basic management of a blog, scheduling weekly newsletters, responding to questions and inquiries, transcribing video content, etc.

You could be a virtual assistant for more than one person if neither of them need you full time. It’s important to keep yourself organized, as well that’s why they’re hiring you and make sure you don’t mix your clients and their businesses up. This is why if you’re really good at multitasking, organization, and very task oriented, then this can be a perfect location independent job for you.

Virtual Project Manager

A virtual project manager overseas a project, from conception to completion. In this case they would have full responsibility in managing one specific thing, and a lot of times can create their own business around this and have multiple different clients to oversee this kind of work.

Examples of project management businesses are: a Pinterest manager, podcast manager, youtube manager, community manager, content manager, social media manager, so on and so forth. 

You could have a Pinterest management business and work for multiple clients and manage their business Pinterest accounts. If you’re sitting there shocked. Yes you can 100% work completely remotely and pin away all day. Lots of entrepreneurs need to build their audience and the way to do that is showing up on the internet through all different kinds of social media on a daily basis. Aka they need tons of help with this, and you could be the one to do it.

There is again a ladder to virtual management business. A perfect kick off to becoming location independent if you already have great management skills and know your way online, you’ll start as a virtual assistant. You’ll build a clientele, learn all the different kinds of systems, and really hone in on what you feel more passionate about (creating lead magnets, Canva designs, Pinterest management, etc) and then go on and create your own business with one focus. This is truly the best way to learn about the online marketplace and see behind the scenes of what it’s like to build an online business. Online courses will be key here as well.

Number 5

Become a virtual consultant with your unique expertise. 

Not to be confused with a freelancer, a consultant has a different kind of job and works with their clients very differently. They are however an expert in what they do, common to the freelancer, but if we’re being frank, don’t we all have to be an expert in something no matter what our job is?

Becoming a virtual consultant involves providing expert insight or high level of professional quality work in a specific area. You also have the choice to work for a company as a remote 9-5er, or you can build your own company. It all depends on your personal preference and what type of remote worker you are. 

Instead of working on a project like a freelancer in trade for money, you’re trading your knowledge that pertains to that specific company or person. If you feel as though you are an expert in something specific, are authorized in the field, and have a unique point of view, and are very personable, then consulting may be your move to be location independent.

Depending on your expertise and prior work experience you have a lot of options. Some examples that consultants offer professional advice are in business, education, law, regulatory compliance, human resources, marketing, finance, health care, engineering, science, security, or many other specialized fields.

My Experience

For an example, I offer a service where you can pay me by the hour and I will give you my expert advice on your organization’s brand story, marketing and advertising. In fact, I love it. I essentially will review everything about your business, poke holes, ask questions, find out why things aren’t working as well as they should and give my expert advice on what to fix and the exact steps to get there.

However, I could have never started this way, and my 10+ years of work experience have granted me this expertise. Because I have freelance experience, worked at three different start ups, and two advertising agencies, I have learned and seen a lot. I know what works and what doesn’t. This coupled with business development, absolutely loving what I do, and love a good critique, is what makes me an excellent consultant in this field.

Some have turned this type of business into coaching, where instead of giving your expertise to a company, you give it to one person or a small group. Of course there are some differences, as a coach will encourage you to do your best, a consultant will identify the tasks that need to be performed in the order for you to accomplish them. But all in all, whatever your expertise is, you can find a way to turn your knowledge into profit. It just depends on how you want to work.

You see how the opportunities are endless?

Number 6

Become an online marketer

The catch all. This is going to be a little hard to explain because you see, 90% of those that work remotely will have to build a personal brand: the freelancer, the virtual manager, and the virtual consultant. Honestly, I believe that EVERYONE should have a personal brand and website.

I’m sorry but you don’t need to work in a 9-5 setting forever. Even if you apply to another 9-5 job, the candidates that will stand out are the ones that have a website. I may be a little biased, because I love to design websites. But believe me. You need one. It’s only going to help, and you can set up different streams of passive income on the side.

What is an online marketer?

So what’s an online marketer then? Well remember when I was talking about the virtual assistant and the virtual manager? The online marketer is who those two roles work for. These special types are showing up all over the internet and flooding you on all social channels with free and paid digital content.

They are the face of their brand and have a message to share. They’re usually sharing it through the form of blogging, vlogging, or a podcast, and sometimes all three. This is where the VA comes in and uses the video they just created and transcribes it into a blog and exports the audio over to a podcast. They send weekly and sometimes daily newsletters, they have sound strategies for facebook and instagram ads, search engine optimization, and everything else under the online sun.

So why are they doing this? Well to build up an audience of paying clients to buy their products. Just like everyone else, these entrepreneurs are not only an expert in a specific niche, personable, and know how to work online, they’ve turned their knowledge into profits and spread it across different platforms where their audience is already living and breathing. 

How online marketers earn money

They’re selling the following: an ebook, an online course, monthly memberships where you get exclusive content for a monthly price. They could have an online store using print on demand and dropshipping, template packs, and other assorted bundles. They use effective affiliate marketing strategies and make a commission off their favorite brands they know their audience will love. Plus they can provide consulting and coaching services where you can work with them 1:1.

These queens know how to market themselves, write a good blog post or two, sit in front of the camera and do facebook lives and online courses. There are so many ways you can show up on the internet and  serve a unique audience for everything you’ve learned in your life. 

You have to be extremely passionate, self disciplined, and hard working to get the job done. But as long as you’re consistent and serve your audience well, you can go very far, and most definitely location independent of an office unless it is your own.

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Conclusion

There you have it. The 6 best ways to become location independent and build your remote career. Depending on how long you’ve been in the working world and confident in your skills and how you like to work with people depends on which of the 6 are best suited for you. In case you missed the first part of this article, check out Part 1.

Maybe you’re not totally in love with what you’re currently doing. Then you should download the cosmo-style career worksheet. If you’d like to work with me 1:1 to put a location independent career in place that’s best aligned with your unique self, come on over