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For the BOLD : One of the Cheapest Ways to Start Your Online Business

For the BOLD : One of the Cheapest Ways to Start Your Online Business

Written by Dan

Topics: Video Blog

I love the idea of baselining your expenses and going into hardcore “start-up” mode. My whole business could blow up in my face and I could stay in a place like this for years before having to get a job. That would give me plenty of time to build another business that could fund a great lifestyle.

If you get settled into a place like Puerto Galera, you could set yourself and your team (!) with nice chairs, double monitors, and really knock-it out.

For $1000.00 US a month you could really live a super lifestyle (if you have a little extra cash) and for $1500.00 a month you could go 100% jet set, flying around to other locations and being semi-nomadic.

My resort owner friend let me know after I recorded my video that my included estimates are very high. He offered another scenario:

  • High end home fully furnished with air con $300
  • Maid/cook/shopping: $200-250.

If you stay for a while you’d want to invest in a really nice chair too!

If you like to listen to radio, you should check out my podcast, the Lifestyle Business Podcast, where I talk a lot overlapping issues.

Here is the iTunes feed.

Some related and recent episodes you might find interesting:

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season, I’m really glad you stopped by to say hi.

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Posted on 23 December 2009

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About the Author

My name is Dan and I am a real-life location independent entrepreneur. I provide digital marketing services for my own company which is a product design firm. I also do a bunch of other stuff, like read books, play tennis, golf, travel (a lot!). You can follow me @TropicalMBA on twitter.

  • Living in SE Asia is super affordable when you compare it to namely Europe and the US. For someone who is just starting out and need the extra resources to build their business, an individual's monthly expenses can be kept under $500 and that would still be living comfortably. Consider my own sample personal budget per month as an early 20's bachelor living in KL when I first started building my online business:

    Shared Accommodation + Utilities in a very nice 3 bedroom 1200sq ft condo : $120
    Transport : $20
    Food : $200
    Entertainment : $80
    Personal Supplies + Misc : $50
    ---
    Total $470.00

    In geo-arbitrage terms for someone from a location that has a significantly higher currency value than SE Asia, that kind of living cost is a huge advantage to make it through the start-up phase. I am a Malaysian by the way so geo-arbitraging did not apply to me.

    I just stumbled on to your blog from Sean Ogle's latest video post from Ko Phi Phi. Your Tropical MBA idea is fantastic. I haven't figured out your income method yet as I've just started reading through the blog. Would love to learn more. ;)
  • TropicalMBA
    Hey Wilson, thanks for dropping by. That's a killer budget, and it certainly helps if you are a local, but I do know some dedicated souls who have really dug in to a foreign place and achieved a burn rate of less than 500USD. Very cool stuff. No income generation stuff on the blog yet, some more over @ The Lifestyle Business Podcast. I own a company that produces and sells hard goods products. I also provide digital marketing consulting services with the help of an awesome team of employees here in Asia.
  • Dan
    Neil, thanks for dropping by... your list is really interesting because a lot of these "housekeeping" type tasks take a lot of time away from what really matters to us, especially in a start-up phase. I think considering very few distractions as a benefit to this lifestyle is often overlooked.
  • Dan: Sorry to be posting several times... you can merge the previous ones if you want.

    Here's a list of things I no longer have to do (since like Dan I live in SE Asia), saving me lots of time.

    1. Commute to work
    2. Grocery shopping
    3. Cooking
    4. Cleaning my room / apartment
    5. Laundry
    6. Travel far to have fun

    I can easily work more than 8 hours a day if I want to since I have nothing else to think or worry about. What could be better for making the transition?
  • Oh yes... and myself as well!
  • This is what my friends are doing right now.
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