The dot com lifestyle affords you a lot of freedom and a lot of flexibility. It means that you can finally say goodbye to that dreaded daily commute to the office. It means that you no longer have to endure rush hour traffic or fight for that last parking spot. It means that you no longer have to get up extra early in the morning to put on a three-piece suit if you don’t want to.
It means that you can stroll just the few steps over to the spare bedroom in your pajamas and bunny slippers, plop down in front of your computer, and start making some serious money online. You don’t even need to go the spare bedroom if you don’t want to. You can take your laptop to the dining room if you want. You can even whip out your smartphone or tablet while still in bed and earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars in affiliate commissions.
The Downside of Dot Com Living?
That all sounds pretty damn appealing, right? Except you have your kids crawling all over you, begging for your attention. Except that all your friends and family assume that you’re not really doing anything and that you’re always free to “help” with chores and errands. Except that you have such a hard time focusing on getting anything done when your house is eerily quiet and empty.
While I’m not one of those people — I very much treasure my work-from-home lifestyle — I can completely understand that working from home isn’t for everyone. It might drive you mad if you’re the person who thrives on water cooler banter. It might make you crazy if you can’t stand staring at the same wall for hours on end, being completely alone with your thoughts. I get it. So, what can you do?
I’m the Captain Now
Just because you want to pursue Internet marketing and the dot com lifestyle doesn’t mean that you have to work from home if that doesn’t work for you. The true beauty of the dot com lifestyle is that you are in control. You can choose when and how you work, even if you’re all about establishing those passive income streams.
In an earlier post, I explained why I would recommend against setting up shop at Starbucks on a regular basis. It’s fine to work out of the coffee shop now and then, but I wouldn’t consider it to a primary base of operations for a whole host of reasons. So, if you think sipping on lattes is a viable alternative to the home office, think again.
Does this mean you’re out of luck? Not at all. If you live in any number of major metropolitan areas around the globe, then there’s a good chance that you can find shared office space or coworking space somewhere nearby. This means that you can still be completely independent, but you’ll surround yourself by other entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners. There’s a terrific synergistic happenstance that can be enjoyed in coworking offices.
If your business grows to the point where you have several in-town employers, colleagues and collaborators, it may actually be worthwhile to get some real, dedicated office space of your own. I realize this can sound like it’s going backwards from the dot com lifestyle, since you wanted to escape the traditional office grind in the first place, but it really isn’t. The difference is that you are still in control. You don’t have to have a 9-to-5 office schedule if you don’t want to. You can work, again, whenever it works best for you.
Anywhere You Go…
But who says you even have to stay in your hometown? Who says you even need to have a permanent base of operations at all?
In case you haven’t noticed, your business is online. What this means is that you can run your business from anywhere you have a reliable connection to the Internet. That’s, by far, one of the biggest freedoms you can enjoy thanks to the dot com lifestyle. You can continue traveling around the world while blogging, affiliate marketing, or doing whatever else you need to do, because it’s all accomplished through a web browser and some software. It doesn’t get more flexible than that.
The life of the digital nomad isn’t for everyone, but neither is the life of the person who works out of a home office either. When you’re itching for a change of pace and scenery, just do it. You never know where inspiration might strike you and you’d hate to let that opportunity pass you by.