Manifesto

The Location-free Income Manifesto

For now this is just a rough draft (rant) about location-free income and the freedom of place it provides.

I’ll *try* not to talk about myself too much here. You can read about me on the about page if you are for some reason interested.

My interest in location-free income comes from my desire to live where I want to, and increasingly the only place I want to live is anywhere but here (Florida, USA).

For so many reasons some people never leave their hometown to live elsewhere. Some of them are blessed with a disposition of perfect contentment for where they are. But if you are like me you were formulated with an extra dose of wanderlust.

The worst thing one can do for a wanderlust-er is give them a plane ticket to a far off place, and in 2002 I received mine…

Living on the other side of the world for three years was both a wonderful experience and a horrible curse. It was a curse because it had to end. And even before it ended it was painful in that, although I was able to live in an exciting new place, I did not have the means to travel to the other interesting Asian countries nearby.

In 2003 I decided that I wanted to create a website where I and other foreign students could share our amazing experiences with the world. That site never achieved the success I hoped for, but, it did open up a new world of possibilities to me - and it was A Flat World.

Whilst most of us where “sleeping” forces were converging that have made it now possible to free one’s life from the tyranny of a fixed location.

My first internet venture lead me to others and crash courses in web development and internet marketing. The knowledge that I have acquired since has brought me face to face with these converging forces and the extraordinary leverage they offer.

It is now possible, through the convergence of forces like the ones listed below, to build a location-free business - a business that doesn’t tie you to one place.

  1. Outsourcing
  2. Insourcing
  3. Open source
  4. Software as a Service (SaaS)
  5. Original Design Manufacturing (ODM, also called “private labelling”)
  6. Digitisation

Here are some examples of these forces and how they empower:

Outsourcing: virtual assistants to handle tasks in your personal and business life

Insourcing: UPS business solutions/dropshippers to handle your logistics, inventory, etc.

Open source (my favourite): wordpress (and other CMS), linux, apache, mysql, and php have GREATLY levelled the playing field for success in business.

SaaS: Freshbooks, Outright, Google Apps. Web-based software is revolutionising business. It is possible to power the entire backend of a business on SaaS and run that business from anywhere with an internet connection. I have a whole website dedicated to this phenomena, backsaas.com

ODM: Cafepress, Spreadshirt, etc. ODM has been around for awhile but the web adds new ease and automation to the ODM game.

Digitisation: By this I mean (among other things) the increasing sophistication of devices/applications and the decreasing cost of capacity (Moore’s law) and bandwidth. For example, it is easier than ever to digitise one’s photos and other documents (to create a more mobilised and digital life) - flickr, picasa, shoeboxed. Also voip (voice over internet protocol), like skype and google voice, make keeping in touch from the other side of the world easy and cheap.

The end result, if one builds right, is a business requiring little money to start that can bring you income without tying you (as traditional business/work does) to a certain place.

Although all of this is exciting in itself, the purpose is not so much the income, the business, nor even the travel. It is about the freedom of possibilities and the pursuit of purpose. I highly suggest that everyone should find a quiet place and spend much time in it discovering what REALLY is important to them. And as they think it over (and take notes) they should create their very own mission statement for their life. It is an activity in my humble opinion that cannot be regretted.

And when you have your “why” (why you want location-free income, why you want xyz in life) you have the fuel to overcome the “what ifs.”

Lastly, if you are really adventurous, here are some great trips in history to inspire you

May your travels be full of mission, passion, and purpose.

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