As a digital nomad, you have the freedom and flexibility to travel the world and make money. It’s actually become quite a popular and lucrative industry. Everything from social media management and translation to customer service and copyediting, digital nomads have a plethora of ways to make money without the dreaded office setting.

While all of those digital nomad jobs are great ways to earn income, they’re all fairly easy or skill-based. The one job type that lots of digital nomads tend to shy away from is building an online store. Why? Well, most are intimidated by it while others are just misinformed about it.

It’s really not as hard as it probably seems…

In fact, one of the best aspects of running your own online store is that you have complete control over your customers’ experience, meaning, if you want your customers to have a good experience shopping in your store, you have the power to make it happen… it’s all in your approach and tactics.

This statement would hold the same weight whether you were working on the sandy beaches of Greece or working from your kitchen table at home… the only major difference is where you’re located…

As a digital nomad running an online business, the only issue you may have is the dreaded temptation of distraction. The honest truth of it is that while the techniques and strategies of running an online business are the same, running an online business as a digital nomad will require a bit more discipline from you.

The Role of Discipline For the Digital Nomad

When you’re in such beautiful locations, it can be pretty hard to sit down and focus on the operations of your business. That email you’re supposed to respond to at 2:30 pm today will eventually turn into a task you put off until tomorrow… Call it a type of workplace hazard if you will, but discipline is one of the most important things that will take you very far in your digital nomad career.

That’s not saying that you travel all the way to the Philippines to not enjoy it or take in any of the sights… You just need to manage your time wisely so that you can have time to work and enjoy your destination. The Global Goose recommends that if you want to have a successful and healthy work-life balance as a digital nomad, you need to practice the art of working fast and traveling slow.

By following this method, you’ll be able to work quickly and efficiently so that you can travel slow and enjoy your surroundings and all that it offers. Just take that same theory and apply it in building your online store.

5 Tips to Build a Successful Online Store as a Digital Nomad

1. Build a Professional-Looking Store

As mentioned earlier, business ownership is an area that digital nomads tend to shy away from but it really shouldn’t. If you want to build an online store but feel like you can’t because you don’t have the first clue as to how to even build an online store, then don’t feel bad… you’re not alone.

That reason alone is why sites like Shopify offer professional store setup services to get your store ready for business. The bottom line is that if you indeed want to build your store, you can either do it yourself or hire an expert to do it for you, but the initial setup is something that shouldn’t stop you.

2. Ensure Your Store is Accessible on Mobile Devices

Mobile responsiveness is an extremely important aspect of your online store. Just think about how many people shop online… The majority of consumers shop from their phones because they’re always on the go.

According to statista.com, the US retail industry made $338 billion in sales from mobile devices alone. With the number of online shoppers, it would be in your best interest to make sure your store is accessible across multiple devices.

3. Market Your Store on Social Media

Marketing your store on social media is just an all-around winning plan period simple for the exposure to a larger target audience. You’ll not only have exposure to a larger audience but it’s the perfect platform for you to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

By building meaningful connections on social media, it’s going to build brand loyalty and drive more traffic to your store as well. It’s a win-win! You can even share your digital nomad adventures with your audience!

4. Offer Unique Payment Options

The world of online payments has extended beyond the typical credit card companies. As an online business owner, you can accept PayPal, Apple Pay, and you can even set your store up to let customers save their payment information for future purchases. This is just going to add to the ease and convenience of providing a good shopping experience for your customers.

5. Track Analytics and Improve

The only way you’ll be able to know how well your business is doing is if you track your analytics. Tools like Google Analytics will tell you customer behaviors, how many page visits you get per day/month, and how many abandoned shopping carts you have.

This data will give you long-term insight on how to keep your customer engaged and how to keep up with their changing demands and behaviors.

This, of course, is just seven tips as to how you can enhance your digital nomad career even more with a successful online store. Sure, the thought of failing would be a scary thought but you have to tune into your positive thinking.

What if your business became a huge success? You would never even get to experience success if you never give it a try… You’re already a digital nomad, so what’s a little more adventure in running an online store?