How to be a digital nomad with Kayla Ihrig
Book Cover of How To Be A Digital Nomad by Kayla Ihrig
Episode 136 - Travelling With Kayla Ihrig
2024 kicked off with a bang for the Winging It Travel Podcast, as my first guest of the year was Kayla Ihrig. Kayla has just released a book called How To Be A Digital Nomad, and we talked about this book and her story in our conversation on Episode 136.
Kayla was a pleasure to interview. Her calm and positive demeanour provided the perfect combination for a really intriguing interview on life as a digital nomad.
I tried to mix the conversation up with the topics from Kayla’s book to stories from Kayla’s travelling past (and present) to really give you a realistic idea of what this lifestyle can offer you. I always find people relate better to storytelling.
Kayla preparing to backpack in Croatia - Photo Credit - Kayla Ihrig
Taking the leap
Kayla talked to me about her previous life and how she made the leap from quitting her corporate job to being a freelance writer. This is what her book goes through in detail.
What was really interesting in this episode was when Kayla explained to me that her previous life was what an average American would strive towards. The really stable, well-paid financial job in the city's heart with a lovely apartment and lifestyle with friends.
But even then, something was missing for Kayla.
When tragedy struck Kayla and her family, she realized there is more to life than this, which, in my opinion, is correct. Everyone gets suckered into the ‘rat race,’ but this is based on material possessions and contributing 40 hours a week even to have this lifestyle.
She wasn’t time rich. With this in mind, she devised a plan to change her lifestyle. This included saving money, looking for remote jobs, planning to travel, working in different countries, and launching her freelance career.
People always want to know how people go from being employees to freelance/self-employed/business owners, and we certainly cover this topic in detail.
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You have got to do what you have got to do. Kayla on a Flixbus in France - Photo Credit - Kayla Ihrig
My favourite lesson learned from Kayla
Kayla really spoke about the importance of having multiple potential revenue streams and leveraging specific platforms like LinkedIn and Pinterest to get paid work. Kayla managed to secure a book deal through an engaging strategy on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a platform I will use more in 2024, and Kayla’s strategy is an inspiration for me and one I will implement myself. You can check out Kayla’s LinkedIn profile here.
One very surprising topic in this episode was Pinterest. I do not know how to use it, and I have never even researched how it can help travel creators. But when you think about it, creating vision boards and recommendations is perfect for travel.
Kayla has managed to get traffic of between 2-5 million to her profile, which led to someone reaching out to Kayla to manage their Pinterest account, another revenue stream.
If you become great at something that interests you and are flexible, you never know what opportunities lie before you. The next step, of course, would be to take these job opportunities and then consider the next step: leaving your location-dependent full-time job. More on that below.
Who is Kayla Ihrig?
Kayla Ihrig started freelance writing for her university newspaper when she was 19 and never expected writing to take her all over the world.
She’s been published in dozens of publications, such as HubSpot, Yahoo! Finance, and GoDaddy. Kayla’s book ‘How To Be A Digital Nomad’ is available worldwide on the 30th of January, 2024.
Kayla’s LinkedIn profile can be found here, and her website is accessible here.
Listen to the episode today to hear her story and then buy Kayla’s book here to implement Kayla’s advice into your own life, if you are looking for a gateway into the digital nomad lifestyle then this interview and book is for you!
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