How to Become a Digital Nomad in 2026 | 12 Years of Coaching Experience

She didn't want to travel the world, she wanted to be able to have the freedom to travel. I don't know what to do as a business, and I don't know anything about business. So yeah, I've helped plenty of people leave their 9-to-5s when they have absolutely no idea. It just has everything that you need based on who you are.

How would you help someone leave their 9-to-5 when they have absolutely no idea what they could do?

So yeah, I've helped plenty of people leave their 9-to-5s when they have absolutely no idea of what they wanna do. I have a career assessment that I put people through. It's over 100 questions long, and you get a bespoke coaching session with me one-to-one as well. And basically it goes through all of your interests, your passions, your personality. It just has everything that you need based on who you are to figure out what would be the right career path. For you. And then to cement it, we get clarity in the coaching session. I'll give you the first steps in building your own business.

What are some of your favorite success stories?

My favorite success stories, one of the biggest ones for me was with my client Ines. She was working in marketing in a small town, Buffalo, or big city, I'm not sure, I've never been to Buffalo. She was working in marketing and she also just finished her qualification to become a dog trainer. She didn't wanna travel the world she wanted to be able to have the freedom to travel whenever she wanted to travel. We set her up with a dog training business, and then after that, she had a blog of like 200 subscribers, and we helped her monetize her blog by helping people set up dog training businesses. While working with me, she also became like one of the leaders in an association for dog trainers., and then she made her first money and she was having people flooding to her Facebook group. And her goal was to make $200 in 2 to 3 months. I helped her make $2,000 in 2 months. And then now she's on multiple 6 figures, maybe even 7 figures. She now has 2 businesses and she's growing her 3rd business, which is marketing for dog trainers.

What is your favourite destination that you've worked from?

My favourite destination that I've worked from is probably Bali. I know that sounds cliché and everyone says Bali, but it's not my favourite place in the world either. It's just my favourite places are probably Thailand, Mexico, Greece, and Portugal. But I loved Bali because it has everything that you need. You can do yoga, you can do ecstatic dance, you can have smoothies and eat really healthy, you can surf, you can party if you like doing that, and then you have lots of little cafes and co-working spaces so you can work with concentration, and I love that.

What is a common fear that you coach people to overcome?

A common fear that I coach people to overcome is, well, there are two. The first one is, I don't know what to do as a business, and I don't know anything about business. Not knowing what to do is not necessarily a business problem, it's just a self-awareness problem. Not understanding who you are and what you can give to the world is a very difficult path, but when you figure it out, everything becomes easy and more enjoyable. So that would be the first one. And then not knowing how to run a business. That's why it's always good to hire a coach or work with a mentor who knows business and can make the steps easy and make sure that you don't trip over or avoid building your business and actually puts a mirror in front of you and goes, this is this is what you're dealing with, this is how you can be the business owner that you need to be to get your first clients, to get your first 10 clients, 20 clients, 100 clients.

Do you help your clients learn to manage money?

So I do have an accounting form that I got from a friend years ago that I can send people, but I don't necessarily help with money, only making money. I'm not a financial advisor, I'm not an accountant. But I have the basics that you need, and I can tell you what you'd need to go to an accountant for. I would give you that type of information.

What are some of the most peculiar niches that you've worked with?

I've worked with a lot of different niches. So I've worked with graphic designers, I've worked with coaches, photographers, actors, I've worked with vegan nutritionists, teachers, buskers, I've worked with energy healers, I've worked with dog trainers, I've worked with so many different types of businesses, project management businesses. I would say the most peculiar is probably energy healing, but I'm so down for that. Like, I love learning about tarot and spirituality and stuff like that, so that is always really interesting for me. But to be honest, what I like doing is working with people's souls and helping them figure out, like, what would be the right business for them. And then I give them a framework to put that business in. So it's not necessarily learning about the skill itself— that's your job. I help people build build and make money from it.

How long does it take someone to get off the ground into becoming a digital nomad?

When you work with me, it takes 3 to 6 months, and I've, I've done this for 10 years, so a long time.

How would you define a digital nomad?

So most people think digital nomads are people who travel out of a— living out of a suitcase for, you know, however long they're digital nomads. But now, because of COVID and because people want different things, it's not necessarily always about travel. A digital Digital nomad to me is people working online and being able to have the freedom to make their own income, choose life on their terms, and work from anywhere in the world. I had a client who has a base in Amsterdam, has a base in Portugal, and has a base in Brazil, and she just goes backwards and forwards from each of those destinations. Me myself, I would be in a country for maybe 3 months at a time and I would just have no base and just keep moving along. Now I have a base and I live in my base for like maybe 6 months of the year and I travel for 6 months of the year. But I would still consider myself to be a digital nomad because I do still have that freedom to go and see whatever I want and yeah, work online. So that's how I would define a digital nomad, being able to choose your own destiny.

What inspired you to become a digital nomad and then a coach?

So that's a funny one. I started wanting to travel the world when I was 8 years old. My sister left university and then decided that she wanted to travel, so I would speak to her from internet cafes, from different places in the world, and I was like, oh my God, that's exactly what I want to do when I'm older. That sounds so cool. So I always had it in my mind since a young age that I wanted to go and travel. And then when I was 16 and I was having to think about careers and what to do for my A-levels, I was based in the UK. I realized that I didn't want to be a doctor like my parents because they were working such long hours and they would even work weekends sometimes. And I was like, I don't want to have a job that like takes over my life. Then I went to uni, studied psychology, which I really enjoyed, and I also started up my own charity fundraising business. Where I would raise money for Link Community Development, Macmillan Cancer, and just different charities like that. And I had a small team that I put together, and we were doing some really cool events that were not just music, not just DJs, but a bit more arty. We even had like little shows like with thespians, which was pretty cool. And I realized actually I quite like running my own business. That sounds cool. Ended up leaving uni, worked in events as a freelance event manager. So I was managing my own taxes, I was making the network, I was having to just run my own little business as a freelancer. And then I wasn't making that much money doing it because in the events business, people always expect you to work for free, which was really difficult. So I had to work in corporate sales as well. 6 months into the job, my boss says, "Dina, come into the office." Went into the office and he went, "Dina, this job isn't right for you." And I was thinking, "Oh dear, I'm gonna get fired. This is awful. I'm gonna lose my job." And then he was just like, "I think you should read 'The 4-Hour Workweek,' and I think you would be a really good coach." And I was like, "Okay, I don't really know much about coaching, but 'The 4-Hour Workweek' sounds really cool. I wanna do that." So I left the office feeling deflated, but also interested in finding out what, what this message meant. So I bought The 4-Hour Workweek, and I went to a coaching training for 2 days. It was a free training in London, and I fell in love with coaching. I loved it. It just reminded me of all the things that I felt when I was younger, wanting to travel and wanting to be my own boss. And I found that I was actually quite natural at like listening to people and asking the right questions. So I bought the course with my savings. I then also bought a one-way ticket to Thailand and I bought The 4-Hour Workweek. And that was kind of the start of coaching. I then, after Thailand, I did a master's in organizational psychology, business psychology. That was to make sure that I had the, the knowledge to be a successful coach because I was starting at quite a young age. I started coaching at around 24. That's kind of my journey into coaching. I had a sign from the universe saying study coaching, did it, loved it, and now I've been doing it for like 10, 11 years. So it was pretty cool, actually 12 years now, it's 2026.

What are some books and reading that you would recommend on a personal level?

So I would say, I'm actually writing a book at the moment called Escape the 9 to 5, so watch this space. Obviously, The 4-Hour Workweek. Rich Dad Poor Dad is another really good book. It's all about like learning how to have an abundant mindset and have a business and have assets rather than just taking money as an employee. So that's a really cool book. To read. Split the Difference is another one, because when you're in business you have to negotiate. You just have to be able to talk to people and be able to persuade people. So that's a really cool book written by an ex-FBI agent. So yeah, I would say those 3 books are the ones that have made a real difference to me. Oh, and also 10x Is Better Than 2x. That's another good book when you're actually a business owner. It teaches you not to try and do everything yourself, but think, how can I make my business 10x, rather than just thinking, how can I get 2x results?

What has been the best experience for you as a digital nomad?

So the best experience was definitely from my first ever solo travel trip, where I was just 24-year-old traveling, and this was, you know, just after I figured out that I wanted to do coaching. And I was in Pai, which is in the north, up in the mountains, and I went on a 2-day hike and stayed with a tribe in Thailand, and they were such lovely people. They didn't have any electricity, everything was lit by fire. They had like pigs and chickens and different things like that, and then I just got to see what it was like to live without without electricity, without industry, and just live in the sticks. And that was incredible. And I was able to do that when I was working, when I was in Pai, and then I got to do that over the weekend. So that was pretty cool.

What is your process when working with a new client?

So my process with new clients, I only work with people on a one-to-one basis right now because I really like connecting with the person, and I feel like in groups if you're an introvert or if you're quieter, you don't get as much from the program. So I like to work with people at, on, at where they're at and, and make sure that I can push them forward. And I also still have that school community, um, Digital Nomad Mastermind. Check it out, um, where you can interact with different aspiring nomads and people who are already digital nomads. So You would have access to that when working with me, but then we'll work together on a one-to-one basis where we'll look at a career assessment, figure out what would be the right career path for you. We would also look at like building a website, getting the basics on social media, how to get your first 5 clients, how to package and price yourself. So we'll have a look at everything that you need. So then when you are at the end of your 3 months of working with me, I, I tend to tell people that they can go remote in 90 days. You'll have a couple of clients and you'll also have momentum to start automating and scaling your business, and we can help with that as well.