On Sundays I like to share a few things happening in my digital nomad life and business, from wherever I am in the world!
This week I’m in Chiang Mai, with a snoring influencer pug beside me (more on him in a minute).
Today I’m sharing why I’m done with solo housesitting, This Big World passing $2k, finding your person, losing my cheese, and the week I nearly gave up.
Here we go….
#1: No more solo housesitting.
I've spent the last week looking after a gorgeous little influencer pug called Puglo (21,000 Instagram followers! 😳).
The apartment is lovely, there's a pool (which I’ve made maximum use of), and Puglo has been adorable. But my whole week has revolved around his walks, his dinner and his toilet habits.
Also Thailand is famous for its soi dogs (street dogs), and we had a small encounter with some this week. It was fine, but it left my heart pounding.
A couple of years ago, I was attacked in a park in London while walking a dog I was housesitting, and after that I decided no more solo housesits.
I love doing them with my husband, but on my own it's a big responsibility, it eats into the freedom I travel for, and walking dogs always attracts attention I don't want.
But this one came up and fitted with the time I was in Chiang Mai, so I talked myself into it.
Luckily, the owner's plans changed (poor girl, her nomad cruise was cancelled with only 2 days' notice), so I'm finishing early and heading back to Nimman today, free to do what I want, when I want, for the rest of my time here.
It made me think about how often I say yes to things I've already decided aren't for me. So I've written myself a decision checklist (inspired by Warren Buffett) and a few non-negotiables.
Before I commit to anything big now, I’m going to give myself 24 to 48 hours to ask: does it fit the life I'm building, what will it cost me, and am I saying yes because I want to or because I feel I should?
My new rule: be spontaneous about experiences, and deliberate about obligations.
#2: This Big World is finding its feet. 🌏
It's just over a month since I launched the Shopify store for This Big World, and it's already done over $2,000 in sales.
This week I had 12 orders through Shopify and 7 on Amazon, and my Facebook ads hit break even for the first time. 🥳
Bearing in mind I started out losing money while I figured the ads out, I'm super pleased with how it’s going.
There's loads still to learn, but I'm getting very excited about how this could grow into something much bigger than one product.
Which brings me too….
#3: Broad topics, narrow offer.
I’ve always learnt more from watching what people do than from what they teach, and this week was no different.
I’ve been listening to Ryan Moran’s podcast and reading his emails, and it struck me how clear he is about his commercial offer. He has one offer, (his One Percent membership), for one audience: people who want to build an e-commerce business. He isn’t marketing to everyone, only to them.
What he talks about is wide open. His life, his family, his history, his businesses, anything and everything. But it all leads back to the same place: come and join the one percent, where I help you build an e-commerce business.
His topics are broad, but his offer is narrow.
It made me look hard at both my brands.
With This Big World, I have a clear offer (buy my travel cards), but until now I haven’t been clear enough about who I’m selling them to.
With The 50+ Nomad, I’ve done the opposite. I know who I want to help, people over 50 who want the freedom to travel and live life on their own terms, but I’ve been too vague about what I’m helping them achieve and how.
So why do we do this?
FOMO.
We’re scared of cutting off potential customers, missing opportunities or excluding people who might be interested in what we have to offer. So we try to appeal to everyone, keep our options open and avoid committing to one clear direction.
But when you’re everything to everyone, you’re nothing to no one.
You have to drive a stake in the ground and say: these are my people.
Your person decides everything: your language, your branding, your packaging, your products and what you offer them next. Once you’ve picked them, you can talk about whatever you like, as long as it leads back to the thing you sell.
If you’re building something right now, ask yourself:
Who is my one person?
What’s the one thing I want them to buy?
Does everything I share lead back to it?
I wrote more about finding your person a while ago, if you want to dig deeper:
#4: I lost a block of cheese. 🧀
A few weeks ago in Williamsburg, I turned the fridge upside down looking for my cheese, and eventually found it in the drawer with the chopping boards. 😳
It got me thinking about getting older, about how fast time is going, and about how much I still want to do. So on Friday I wrote about my complicated relationship with ageing, my fear of running out of time, and why Mick Jagger gives me hope.
#5: The week I nearly gave up.
On Wednesday, I shared the story of how I almost packed it all in, just before making $117,000 in a single week.
If you feel like you're pedalling hard and getting nowhere right now, this one's for you.
That's it from me! I'm off to spend the next few weeks exploring Chiang Mai, catching up with friends and creating content for This Big World.
Have a wonderful Sunday, wherever you are in the world.
Jo x ❤️
That cheese story sounds to me you were living inside the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" If you haven't read it, it sounds like it's something that would be right up your alley!