Ask Ash: ‘We Want to Go Abroad for a Year, and Need Advice on How to Sustain Ourselves Financially.'

Good news! You can set up a remote business in almost any industry, except for massages and drugs. 🤷‍♀️

Dear Ash,

My family and I have been in California since 2012. While I love aspects of it here, my husband and I both have felt like we’ve been stagnating. We came to the realization that we’ve been missing a sense of adventure and spontaneity and curiosity and, well, aliveness.

We chose to move here without knowing a soul, so it started to become clear that we could also choose to leave. I’ve had deep cravings for the seasons—for winter and spring and fall!—and my husband, who is originally from the east coast, would kill for snow. So, we’ve recently resurrected our dream of living abroad with the kids, at least for a year, starting this summer once the kids are out of school.

We want to eat ALL the pasta in Italy, and go hiking in the Alps, and go sailing in Croatia, and maybe spend the winter in Germany. 😍 The goal? Explore the unknown and figure out what’s next.

The only problem is: we aren’t quite sure how to approach this from a career standpoint. We both work in sales for large companies (15 years now at same place) and working remotely is not an option. While we’re both prepared to leave our positions in favor of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, we would also like to do so responsibly and generate a stable income from the road.

I know you train professionals & families how to set up remote businesses for the express purpose of being able to travel & work from anywhere (I’m looking forward to enrolling in your Selfish School program this year!) so my question is this: is this really something we could realistically do with a sales background? I’m trying to figure out what the shape of this business could look like, who we would sell our services to, and what our options are.

I’d really appreciate any advice you might have to offer to guide our thinking, and get us moving in the right direction!

Your biggest fans,

The California Creeps

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Dear California Creeps,

I just hiked up a miniature hill yesterday and practically threw my back out: please take photos of you hiking all over THE ALPS because that is the kind of motivation I need this year (right after I get done feeling like a reaaaaaal lump 🤣).

(In my defense, the hill was steep and the woods were snowy and it was slippery as hell and I was trying real hard to figure out what my property lines are here at the farmhouse. I HAVE AN EXCAVATOR COMING NEXT WEEK SO BRACE YOURSELF FOR THAT NEWSLETTER.)

But, this isn’t about me. This is about you. And you have questions. Good questions! Questions that very normal people ask. Like, am I making a big mistake and can I really do this and what about if I work as a gardener in outer space? Can I still set up a remote business that will let me be in Italy?!?! (Because we all want to be in Italy. Except people who are in Italy. They want to be in France.)

Fortunately, I have ansaaaahhhsss. And the first thing I’m going to tell you is this:

You can absolutely set up a remote business from anywhere if you are in sales. You can also set up a remote business from anywhere if you are in almost any other industry, except for massages and drugs. People getting massages really like you to actually touch them, and people taking drugs really want to touch you. Same, same.

The good news is this: sales is actually one of the best backgrounds to have when your goal is to be abroad. You know why????

Because everybody else sucks at it.

And when people suck at something, that’s an opportunity to make money.

So today, I’m going to run down a list of all the possible options you have for setting up a remote business with your existing skill set. Of course, you could always set up a remote business doing something completely random, like sewing teeny tiny gloves for dolls, but let’s stick to what you know for now. (Plus, teeny tiny gloves for dolls are not as in demand as you would think!)

Then, I’ll give you my best advice on how to get started.

5 Remote Businesses You Could Start Today, So You Can Be Hiking the Swiss Alps By Summer: A Love Story

Ready? Let’s go!