Tatiana Kukanova is one of the most inspirational people that I have ever had the fortune to meet and we have been friend for almost 2 decades now. Tatiana decided against going to college and instead pursued a career as a manager in a grocery store, climbing up the ladder pretty quickly. By the age of 25 Tatiana was very much sick of the position which she had taken and decided that she wanted to become a digital nomad, traveling the world and working from her laptop. To be completely honest not many of us believed that she would make a success of this, but she proved us all wrong, and here is how.
Extra Jobs
Tatiana had a 12 month plan for leaving her job and that included the first 6 months where she would try to bank as much cash as possible, and the final 6 months she would try to begin making money online. Tatiana was actually working 3 jobs at that time, she was working in the grocery store by day, she would work in an Indian takeaway by night and then at the weekends she would also do some child minding. During those 6 months we never saw Tatiana and she was so focussed on her goals.
Hitting the Internet
Tatiana planned to create a blog which she would use to chart her adventures and her progress, as well as seeking out work online. Tatiana didn’t really have any kind of computer skills and so she would look for jobs which involved writing work and social media management, as well as some admin positions. Tatiana tried to build up a portfolio of work during these 6 months and tried to build relationships with clients that would support her in the future. All of this time she was still taking on as much overtime as possible, and trying to minimize her spends.
First Month
And so with her savings sorted out and a plane ticket in her hand, we finally waved goodbye to Tatiana, as she headed off to Thailand. I spoke to her briefly in the first few weeks and then our first big Skype chat cam at the one month mark. Tatiana told me that all of her plans fell into disarray, she lost some clients which she thought that she could count on and she was also struggling to find anything online which would really pay her. Thankfully she had enough savings to see her through for a few months, but she knew she’d have to make money soon.
Bar Job and Risk
Getting a job in a bar was something which Tatiana really didn’t want to do but she knew that it was necessary so she did it. In her second month away she decided to go for broke and invested in a drop-shipping company selling mobile phone accessories. The first month was slow, so too the next 2 months and Tatiana was just about to buy a trip home when it took off like a rocket, before she knew it there were hundreds and then thousands of dollars coming in each month. By the end of the year she had hired staff and outsourced most of the company and currently she is traveling at will, and making plenty of money whilst doing so.
It is possible and if you want to follow in Tatiana’s footsteps, you most certainly should try.
Stephen Varanko III – Why LPs Came Back to the Fore
