Digital nomad doesn't mean not working: Our work mindset evolution

It's been over 4 years since we've been working and living together 24/7.

Looking back, our life has changed dramatically. We went from corporate employees in big cities to freelancers on the road, and in recent years we've upgraded to running our own couple company. Today we want to share our journey and growth over the past few years.

Phase 1: Corporate Employees

Four or five years ago, we were in a long-distance relationship, working in Shanghai and Hangzhou respectively. Ding's work pressure was intense, basically working overtime every day. Not only was life lacking meaning, but the weekly commute between two cities was physically exhausting.

For me, although I once wanted to pursue work-life balance, the reality was that work was basically my entire life. I remember even during holidays, I was mentally and physically exhausted, with no energy to explore other possibilities. This eventually led to a weakened immune system and frequent hospital visits, which finally pushed me to quit.

After quitting, I studied traditional yoga and deeply explored a field I'd always been interested in. Later, Ding also quit, and we went to travel in Latin America. Our freelancing phase began after our long trip to Latin America.

Phase 2: Freelancers

During our travels in Latin America, we got stuck in Mexico due to the pandemic. To keep traveling, we started looking for freelance work online in 2020. Ding was already an experienced visual designer with previous project experience, so he quickly found work and successfully became an online worker.

But for me, the challenge was much greater.

My original work skills couldn't quickly translate into online freelancing, so I had to find another path. My strategy was to diversify income sources, so I tried different directions. I tried writing articles, started teaching yoga online, and because we were already doing content creation with lots of overseas video footage, I also got some income from that.

That was the first time I realized: I can actually make money without a job! Although the income wasn't much, when you diversify your income sources, it can support local living expenses.

We also discovered that when we were employees, we never really considered side hustles. But after becoming freelancers, because freelance income is mostly unstable, we were more motivated to explore multiple income streams. The more we tried, the more opportunities bloomed.

For me, that stage also opened up my mindset. My family had no business background, and I always thought that after college, you had to find a job. Making money could only come from employment. During that time, I read some books and realized that making money and having a job are not the same thing. You can make money through your skills, information gaps, or business opportunities—it shouldn't be limited to employment.

Phase 3: Couple Company

After becoming freelancers, it wasn't all smooth sailing. We did succeed in some directions, but gradually we realized that freelancing was still trading time for money. To earn more, you'd want to take on more projects, which easily leads to overworking and exploiting your own labor. And since we wanted to continue traveling, we found we didn't have enough time.

That's when I read "The 4-Hour Workweek"—a highly recommended book in the digital nomad field. One thing that really struck me was the author saying that if you want to be a more successful digital nomad, the best way is to have an automated business that can sustainably generate income for you. In simple terms, it's having a product you can sell repeatedly.

By then, we'd been doing content creation for over two years, but it hadn't brought us financial returns. So we started researching how to create our own product. We did research in our fan group and learned a lot. I also felt that when we created our first product—our Nomad Community—our couple company officially launched.

This experience made me believe that any experience or skill you have, as long as it can meet others' needs, can generate economic value.

Besides "The 4-Hour Workweek," there's another book called "Company of One" that we also really like. For us, we want to build a small, beautiful "company of one," doing what we're good at while creating something that can compound. This can free up our time, allowing us to invest time once and earn more income.

Over the years, our work direction has become clearer: make our time more valuable, live wherever we want, and gain more freedom. Our ideal state is still to be world citizens, so our main business must be completed online.

When I mentioned the employee phase, work almost occupied my entire life. Actually, work is still a major part of our lives now. But the feeling and sense of control are completely different. We now focus on healthy routines, exercise, learning, and relaxation all play essential roles in our lives. We often joke that we're a solid "wellness couple."

More importantly, we share the same values about work and life, so we can accompany and support each other, and change together. This feeling is really good.

If you're also interested in nomad life and want to meet more partners traveling the world, welcome to join our paid community "Chinese Nomads and Friends." Inside, you can get more knowledge and experience about digital nomadism/global living, and meet nearly 600 friends who aspire to or are already living a nomad life. We look forward to you joining this "treasure" community.