I Designed My Business Around Freedom, Not Travel
Zack AllenMay 5, 20263:18
Why I work from anywhere, and why I'm not a digital nomad.
I've always built my business so I can work from anywhere.
When I started in e-commerce, that was hard. Physical products come with logistics. Moving into the Amazon model meant I didn't have to keep inventory on hand and ship orders every day. The next step was a prep center, so I never had to touch the inventory to get it into Amazon's warehouses.
Today I run an international recruitment firm, which gives me full location freedom. To me, that's the beauty of being an entrepreneur.
Not a digital nomad
I don't mean this in the digital nomad sense. I've met plenty of digital nomads, and I try hard not to fit that archetype: working as little as possible to see as many countries as possible. That equation doesn't line up with me.
When people ask, "Oh, so you're a digital nomad?" my answer is no. I don't have a home base. I'm a remote worker. Let's keep it there.
Travel as a way to remove friction
I see travel as a way to put myself in environments that help me reach my goals. Right now my goals are all about business success and everything that has to be true for that to happen. The frame is friction: I want as little friction as possible between me and what I want to achieve.
I've defined a few non-negotiables.
Weather. Warm weather makes me better at the things I need to do. I'm far more willing to get up, go outside, get sunlight and exercise when it's warm.
Cost. In places like South Africa and parts of Asia, the US dollar goes much further. I don't have to think about what lunch or an Uber costs, because relative to US income it's a fraction of what I'd pay at home.
People. Traveling full-time for the past two years, I can choose who I'm around. I can change neighborhoods, cities or countries, find the people who are similar to me and go be around them. And if I don't like who's around me, I can move.
From my freedom to my clients'
Living this way opened me up to hiring from other countries. My recruitment firm hires from South Africa, Latin America and the Philippines. It feels like an extension of how I live: giving other businesses the same freedom of not being tied to one hiring market or the people in their immediate area.
Slow travel beats fast travel
You don't have to travel full-time to benefit. Spending a few months or a year somewhere new throws you into a different headspace. You're not stuck in your old routine, and your brain has a lot of new data points to work with. For me, that has sped up how I think and helped me see things from different angles.
That's also where the fast-travel lifestyle you see on Instagram goes too far. It's way too many inputs, like scrolling reels at triple speed. The slow version, sometimes called "slowmad," has been great for my life, my business and my mental state.
I'll keep structuring my business so I can work from anywhere.
Transcript
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I've always built my business so that I can work from anywhere. In the beginning, when I started in e-commerce, it was a lot more difficult dealing with physical products and the logistics that come with them. Eventually, I was able to move into the Amazon business model where I didn't have to have inventory on hand and be shipping out every day. And then the next step past that was working with a prep center so that I never had to touch the inventory to get it into the Amazon warehouse.
Now today I run a international recruitment firm which really allows me location freedom. I think that's the beauty of being an entrepreneur is being able to work wherever you want. And I don't mean this in the digital nomad sense. I've met plenty of digital nomads and I try so hard not to associate with that archetype. The trying to work the least amount as possible so they can see the most countries possible.
Like I that equation just doesn't line up with me. I don't like the way those people act and I I hate when people will be like, "Oh, so you're a digital nomad." And I'm like, "Nope, not at all. Just don't have a home. Remote worker. Keep it there." Instead, I see traveling as a way to put myself in environments that lend themselves well to achieving my goals. And right now, my goals are all surrounding business success and everything that has to be true in order for that to happen.
One of the non-negotiables I've defined for that is weather. Having warm weather makes me feel so much better at doing the things that I need to do. getting up in the morning, I'm so much more willing to go outside, get the sunlight, get the exercise that I need when it's warm out. A good frame is it comes down to friction. I want to minimize the friction to achieve what I want to.
Second would be financial. When I live in countries like South Africa and Asia, the US dollar goes so much further in these countries. So, I'm able to live a very frictionless life where I don't have to worry about how much lunch is and how much Uber is because relative to my US earning income, it's a fraction of what I'd pay in the US. And then of course a third important one is people.
Being able to selectively surround myself with the people that I choose to. When I'm full-time traveling like I have been for the past two years, I can move neighborhoods. I can move countries. I can move cities. I can find where the other people that are similar to me exist and go be around them. Or if I don't like the people that I'm around, I can simply move. This has opened me up to hiring from other countries.
In my international recruitment firm, we hire from South Africa, Latin America, Philippines. It feels like a extension of myself that I've been able to afford other businesses this same freedom of not being tied down to only hiring from one place and only working with people that are in their immediate area. And you don't even have to be a traveler to enjoy this life. Like being able to go somewhere for a few months or a year at a time also, I found throws you in this brand new headsp space every time.
This new environment that your brain has to adapt to. you're not so stuck in the routine that you were used to. I've seen has allowed me to accelerate my thought process way quicker, see different perspectives, not like on how people live, but just like these different environments that you're in. Your brain just has to has so many new data points to interact with. Now, of course, this is where the fast traveling thing that you see on Instagram becomes a problem cuz it's like way too many inputs.
It's like scrolling reels insanely quick. But the more slow slow slowmad they call it I found to be extremely beneficial to my life and to my business and to my mental state. I will continue to structure my business so that I can work from anywhere.
