I hosted a similar conference for digital nomads in October and the basic breakdown off the top of my head:
1) 50% Web Services Providers (Owners of firms or freelancers) - Devs., PPC, SEO, Graphic Design and Similar.
2) 20% Owners of Hard Goods or Software Products
3) 20% - people with larger businesses who have "made it" and now pull salary and travel full time (or part time) and invest in new biz or projects.
4) 10% - Consultants or remote work arrangements.
Like attracts like and all, so the fact that nobody at our conference was sketchy might not mean much, but I didn't feel uncomfortable about anyone's biz and there were 80 or so attendees.
Mark isn't representative (in my experience) of this new digital nomadic class because his business model is so difficult: he makes money from his writing. Which is fantastic (I love reading his articles), but it would be a lot easier for him to provide paid for PPC services.
My business, by the way, is selling custom designed products (like cat furniture) from ecommerce stores. I'm now started a new biz throwing these types of conferences for this growing remote-working scene.
I don't share Mark's lament in this article, but I enjoyed reading it.
I've come across a lot of posts in their network that are great, but I, like you, and many commenters here are confused as to how it works and how to get involved or follow what they are all up to.
I was heavily influenced by books and podcasts. Where I was living and working there it was next to impossible to find like-minds, so I went to books. They were like a lifeline to a better life. I actually think it was a handful of podcasts in 2006 (Internet Business Mastery, Venture Voice, and others...) that convinced me it was even possible to be an entrepreneur. No small thing for a kid from central PA.
Many times I've put down a book and immediately started implementing stuff in my business that made a big difference. Books that stick out in this regard are Purple Cow, The Ultimate Sales Machine, Getting Things Done, Work the System, Four Hour Work Week, many of Dan Kennedy's books, Getting Real, and so on.
1) 50% Web Services Providers (Owners of firms or freelancers) - Devs., PPC, SEO, Graphic Design and Similar. 2) 20% Owners of Hard Goods or Software Products 3) 20% - people with larger businesses who have "made it" and now pull salary and travel full time (or part time) and invest in new biz or projects. 4) 10% - Consultants or remote work arrangements.
Like attracts like and all, so the fact that nobody at our conference was sketchy might not mean much, but I didn't feel uncomfortable about anyone's biz and there were 80 or so attendees.
Mark isn't representative (in my experience) of this new digital nomadic class because his business model is so difficult: he makes money from his writing. Which is fantastic (I love reading his articles), but it would be a lot easier for him to provide paid for PPC services.
My business, by the way, is selling custom designed products (like cat furniture) from ecommerce stores. I'm now started a new biz throwing these types of conferences for this growing remote-working scene.
I don't share Mark's lament in this article, but I enjoyed reading it.