Some people wonder how to make money while travelling, or which businesses would let them see other parts of the world. There are free-spirited, adventurous entrepreneurs who love to travel and get to know other cultures. It is true that travelling to learn about other cultures and customs is often recommended as a way to find a business idea and bring it back to your own country.
But we can also make money while travelling and visiting those places. So today we look at the small businesses you can start while you travel the world.
Today it is easier than ever both to start a business from home and to have your own business or profession without needing a physical location. In other words, you can run your business from anywhere in the world.
4 business ideas for starting up and travelling the world
First, we are going to borrow some ideas from Jürgen Klaric: businesses he started himself as an entrepreneur while getting to know other parts of the planet.
1. Market researcher
Klaric says that for a time he lived in different countries doing anthropological research, learning about and understanding the culture of several countries and their tastes.
Why is market research interesting? If you are someone who likes to travel and see new places, some of the companies that hire you will send you to different countries all the time to get to know the consumer, so that they can then draw up sales and marketing strategies to adapt their products to that audience or country.
At other times, this kind of research is needed to find out whether it is worth the company’s while to introduce its product in that country, since it might not be well received. This is what is known as market research. You also meet people and make contacts in other countries.
2. Import and export
Klaric talks about another kind of business that made him a lot of money: finding original products in some countries and importing them elsewhere. To do this, in many cases you visit the most important trade fairs, buy a large quantity of products and raise their price in the place you want to import them to.
It is basically the same as what we discussed when we talked about importing clothes from India. As we explained, it all depends on the quantity you buy, or the number of containers. The size of the purchase is what makes a bigger discount possible.
The risk in this business is that you have to tie up the logistics very carefully to avoid problems with customs and delivery.
See also: 22 very creative business ideas to start in 2018
3. Community manager and growth hacker
Although community management may seem like a cheapened profession in which everybody now claims to be an expert, the truth is that it is still a very profitable profession, and companies still pay quite well. Good community managers, that is.
Why is it interesting for entrepreneurs who like to travel? Basically for two reasons. The first is that you can do this work anywhere in the world. If you have several client accounts that bring you a steady income each month, you can go and live wherever you want, because as a rule this job is not done from an office.
You can work as a community manager from home, from Paris, China, Rome, the United States…
And if you like to travel, you may also find it easy to land openings in this profession in other countries.
4. Programmer
Probably the most in-demand profession. These days every company needs a presence on the internet, so they need programmers or have to hire programming firms. The truth is that anyone, regardless of age, can learn to program in a few months or a couple of years, depending on how quickly they learn.
If you like to travel, this profession can take you to new places while you earn money from it.
Other ideas for making money while you travel
5. Blogger and YouTuber
All right, honestly, it is not easy to turn this into your business, but it is possible. In fact, there are already travel channels and travel blogs whose creators make money while travelling and broadcasting from other parts of the world.
First of all, it takes a lot of hard groundwork and great persistence to turn a blog into a business, and even more persistence for a YouTube channel. But if you do it well, and start while you have another job, over time you can reap the results.
6. Photography can be a good business
You can make money from photography in many ways. Some photographers take pictures of other parts of the world and sell them on stock photo sites such as iStockphoto.
Others have built up a legion of followers on social media (especially Instagram), and brands and countries themselves pay them extraordinary sums of money. See: How this couple earns a six-figure income on Instagram
You can also work as a photographer for specialist magazines. The truth is that photography can be one of the best businesses for the travelling entrepreneur.
7. Have your own show
This could be a magic show, a play, a music show, a comedy act and so on. It doesn’t matter what, and it doesn’t matter if you haven’t had much success in your own city or country. You know that sometimes the saying “no one is a prophet in their own land” comes true. The point is that you can travel while making money by promoting your show.
To do this, you need to do a good job of advertising on social media, and you will probably need to make some contacts who can help you with this business abroad.
8. Writer
I would say the same as for some of the other ideas mentioned. It may not be easy or quick, but if your passion is writing, these days you can publish as many books as you like thanks to Amazon. You can also write for different media from anywhere in the world. You can even write for travel magazines.
More and more, writers shape their books while travelling somewhere they like, living a life somewhere between holiday and work.
9. Language companion
An innovative method for people to learn a foreign language without leaving their own country is for a foreigner to come to their country and hold conversations with them in that language.
Here we could also include working as a translator, or even as a copywriter. Having a native speaker who can do different tasks is definitely something some companies and business owners would gladly pay for.
10. Make money house-sitting
This work has spread because of demand, and it basically consists of just that: looking after a family’s house while they are on holiday. Various websites have appeared where you can look for this kind of offer and get paid to live away from home. At other times you are not paid, but in exchange for keeping an eye on the house you save on accommodation or hotels while you travel. House Carers and Mind My House are two of these sites where you can sign up and browse offers.
If you combine this with any of the other business ideas we have given, it would be doubly profitable.
11. Nanny
Another excellent way to travel and make money. It involves looking after children in exchange for a wage and, as a rule, room and board. Some parents want this service only by the hour, and others want it so that their children learn to speak a second language, in this case the language of the nanny’s home country.
And these are just some of the ideas for making money while you travel, or for starting a small business or profession on the road.
Featured image: Nestor Lacle, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
