The time has come to hit the road again. My landlord recently sold the house in Abbotsford. And I have until May 31 to leave the premises.
So, I started reflecting on my next move. Should I go and find an apartment or condo or another suit? And I’ve already put some time and energy towards that.
One of the challenges is that I’m in a very intensive yearlong leadership program, so I haven’t had a lot of time to look. I’ve still gone out to see a couple of places, I’ve contacted with a few landlords. And I’ve done quite a bit of looking online, but nothing has really come of it.
Going on Vacation
So, at this point, I was thinking, “yeah, I could go and rush myself into an apartment that I don’t even like,” or I can live nomadically for a while.
Now at first, the idea of living nomadically again, didn’t exactly appeal to me. But then when I stopped and thought about it, I realized that the first thing I wanted to do after completing this leadership program – and it just so happens that I’m completing the first week of June – is to take a two-week vacation.
And when is the best time to take a vacation? Well, as far as I’m concerned, it’s when you don’t have rent to pay. I’ve already been living rent free in May, which has been a big blessing. It hasn’t necessarily set me ahead in a big way. But it certainly hasn’t set me back. If I can go and take two weeks off, it’s really going to be the equivalent of paying rent for a month around this part of the world anyway.
Living Nomadically Again
So, all my other thoughts have started orienting around this idea that I’m going to be living nomadically for a while. And I can’t imagine that I’m going to be traveling too far out of BC. I might make a trip or two to Alberta.
And I still think Fraser Valley and the greater Vancouver area are going to be my jumping off points for most travels. But does mean that I can be a little bit freer with where I go and where I spend my time.
The Logistics
I will need to find a storage space. And I’ll probably need to find a P.O. box as well. But aside from that, I can’t think of too many things holding me back from getting back out on the road.
I’ve certainly thought about the cost of Airbnbs and hotels and crashing on couches and sleeping in the basement of churches, whatever ends up working out. And what I realized is that rent around here costs about $1,100 a month all the way up to $3,000 a month if not more than that. So, the cost of living would average out while I’m on the road so far as I can offset the costs.
And one of the ways I’ve been thinking about offsetting that cost is by playing gigs. Assuming I’m thinking ahead and planning all of this out, if I know where I’m going to be going next, I can research that town, book gigs in advance or at least find the venues, and create those opportunities for myself wherever I go.
What’s Next?
At this point, I’m already clear that my next destination is Chilliwack and Cultus Lake, because that’s where I want to take my vacation. It’s not in some far off distant tropical land, but I will enjoy myself, nonetheless. And I will be able to get some sun and lay on the beach and I think there’ll be the opportunity to connect with a few people as well. No one that’s necessarily within my immediate circle, but within my extended network.
After my two weeks in Chilliwack, I’m excited about the idea of continuing with my travels. And living nomadically for a while, at least until I find a place that’s going to work for me.
Streamlining
And now that I know that I’m going to be out on the road, and I’m not necessarily going to have a home, I’ve also started orienting my thinking around the logistics of everything.
That’s going to look like streamlining my business and simplifying my life. While on the road, I’m not going to have a lot of gear with me, just whatever is going to fit in my car. And even then, I’m going to do it safely because theft is a concern.
I am in fact developing a new method of publishing that’s going to help me create more content in less time without sacrificing quality. It just requires a little more upfront planning and strategizing and research to get to that point.
And as much as possible, I want my business activity to be rallying around a singular offer. And this doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be multiple offers. We’ve created many through the years, whether it’s eBooks, physical books, courses, or coaching programs. But I want to make it something efficient, easy to process, make it clear where people should go when they want the next thing. So that’s where my time and energy is starting to go.
New Publishing Schedule
I’ve started figuring out what I’m going to do with my publishing efforts as well. I’m going to be creating seven pieces of content per week for Music Entrepreneur HQ. So, my daily publishing efforts are already covered in a manner of speaking. I’m going to be creating one video, one podcast episode, and five blog posts per week using my new publishing method.
That does mean I’m probably not going to be publishing as frequently on DavidAndrewWiebe.com anymore. I may even turn it into my artist website for now given that I’m probably going to start looking for gigs again.
And in terms of publishing to Medium and Tealfeed… I think my best bet is probably just to syndicate the content I’m creating week to week, maybe even stuff like this.
I don’t think it’s going to be like the last two or three weeks where I’ve created three unique pieces of content for Medium. I enjoyed doing that. And I do make about $40 per month with Medium right now, which is nothing to sneeze at, but I do need to create greater sources of income. If I want to offset the cost of travel.
Cost Savings
And I do say that but there actually are certain cost savings with traveling, I’m starting to realize. I’m not going to need a Netflix subscription for one. Pretty much everywhere I go, there’s going to be cable TV, Netflix, and in some cases, other subscription services, whether it’s Amazon Prime, or Hulu or whatever.
I’m not going to need cable internet, because it’s pretty much everywhere you go nowadays. At Airbnbs and hotels, there’s internet. And if worst comes to worst, I can head over to Starbucks.
So, there are some cost savings.
Adapting to a New Lifestyle
I’m recognizing that I will need to streamline to adapt to this new lifestyle. I don’t necessarily anticipate having less time to work. But I do understand the realities of travel. That sometimes you’re going to be driving all day from one place to another. Sometimes you’re just going to be tired and want to crash in bed. And you’re going to have days where you’re going to go sightseeing or you’re going to be connecting with people and those days are going to be less productive overall in terms of getting work done.
But overall, I’m very excited about the prospect of getting back on the road.
