Go over. Um, I'm Polly Washburn. I'm a freelance web and game developer and I'm excited to be here today. I put my belongings in storage 10 months ago and I've worked in five countries since then. I'm Canadian American and I'm talking to you today from Denver, Colorado.The funny thing is I was supposed to be talking to you from Houston today, but that's kind of the point of my talk. Uh, freelancing gives you the ability to on any given day decide where you're working and for whom. So let's dive in. I'm actually gonna just check in the chat that everything's going well because I know there's been some technical difficulties. Ok. So far. So good. Hooray. All right, back to the slides. Ok. So, uh, there's obviously a fantasy out there about working from anywhere and maybe you've had that fantasy yourself, something like this, maybe looking down into Italy or just sitting on your couch, as many of us have been able to do the last couple of years and maybe you'd like to be able to keep doing that.

Um, for me, freelancing is not just about traveling the world, although that's been an awesome bonus. Uh It's definitely about choosing how you spend your time and energy and getting to make choices. So the funny thing is when I started out, um um I was a temp worker and this is back in the nineties, I was a Kelly girl if you can think that far back if you know that reference. Um and I had a boyfriend in Canada and I wanted to be able to visit him. So I wasn't gonna take a full time job. So that was kind of how things began I think. Uh And then I did end up taking a full time job, um to pay for tickets to Canada. Uh And then I worked for a journalism start up and did some more freelancing and temp work back to full time admin work, worked in the television and film industry, which is contract and project driven. So it's kind, it feels kind of like freelancing in the sense that you work on something and then it's over, uh got back into full time and then work, then I went freelance full time.

Um But I wasn't charging enough, I'll come back to that later, but that, um meant that I just wasn't making enough money to do it full time. So I did go back to full time work. Um, and I used my freelance tech and writing skills in my job and I was still doing some freelancing on the side and basically I was working to hit a number in my head. So I paid off all my debts and then I wanted a buffer fund so that the next time I went to freelance full time, I'd be able to, um, be able to, to focus on it. So, uh, without worrying about, if I had a slow month, I would, I'd still be covered. So hooray, then I about, um, let's say about five years got to the point where I could freelance full time again and charge enough to make a living. So, no, is not um a single path for that. That's definitely one of my themes. I um have done all kinds of different things uh over the years freelancing and while uh my focus is really on the kind of bottom third there, now I still do some of the top stuff um for clients I've had for a while or just if the price is right.

You know. So, um it really helps if you have a bunch of different skills um to be available to, to freelance doing any of them. Um But obviously tech skills usually are gonna be the ones that, that pay more and I've worked with all different kinds of people. So a lot of these conferences are about working with giant companies and working your way up the ladder. But maybe you wanna do something a little different. I have worked as you can see here with nonprofits, small businesses, artists and I love it. You know, that's, that's what's important to me is getting to help people get their stories out into the world. And, you know, one of these companies is my sister's company so I love supporting her. You know, it's a nonprofit I care about. That feels so good to, to work for them. And what's cool is, um, back at my skills. Oh, boy. Now we're in trouble. Sorry, everyone. Um, uh, you can see grant writing is on there. And so one of the cool things is, um, you don't, just because you're working for a nonprofit doesn't mean that you can't make some money. Uh, you can help them write a grant so that they get external funding to hire you to make a project with them. So that's just something to think about freelancing. Uh, just the word free and the freelancing should be about freedom, not about working for free.

So, and as I said, about 10, well, time flying about five years ago, I put all my stuff in storage and convinced my husband to go on a, a big road trip with me and we did that for about three months. And that's a great way. Obviously, if you put yourself in storage and you're not paying rent, then you don't have to make as much as a freelancer during that time, but that's obviously not a choice for everyone. Um, but we had a great time on the road and we're able to make a documentary in the meantime. So then um in 2019, I was really wanting to kind of hit some bucket list countries on travel. And um so I started kind of making a plan of what I would want to have in place. And so pre 2020 the kinds of things you need to think about. Obviously, if you have family, how is that gonna work? Um What projects do you have, you know, do you have funding to go do this travel that, you know, these projects are gonna be paying you while you're traveling? Um How much is in your bank account? And where are you excited about? What are their visa requirements? How long could you stay? Some countries now do have um digital nomad visas happening. So there's some exciting stuff happening out there but you have to do research for sure, figuring out how everything's gonna get paid for planning for weather.

What's the best time of year to go, that kind of thing? So in September of 2019, I headed out, went to Amsterdam, Geneva, Italy, Thailand and Japan. And in December 2019, I came back. It was all pumped up for my travel and I said, ok, I'll rest for a couple of months. I'll have a big party in late March for my birthday and then I'll start doing some travel. But we all know what happened in late March of 2020. So that was the my uh international travels for a bit and most of my regular travels as well, but it was a time for me to kind of, you know, regroup and um did do some more training and upgraded some of my skills and, and stuff like that. But in the back of my head, I always knew I was gonna wanna get back out there. So I had to start thinking about what are the new considerations that go into digital nomad? Um Now that we are in the, the COVID era. Um So, you know, I'm thinking about COVID level here, wherever here is for you COVID level there, wherever it is, you wanna go your own personal risk factors, your family's risk factors. What are the COVID restrictions that they may have in place? Can you meet those COVID restrictions?

Have a little checklist coming up in a little bit to dig into that a bit. But um also what are the restrictions to return back to your home country that can be uh a major consideration is how easy is it gonna be to get back into your own country after being in other countries? So, um yes, the risk analysis is real. This is from February when I was still traveling around and these colors have changed a little bit um since then, but it's obviously, you know, a big issue when you're thinking about um doing digital nomadic these days. But I did go back out there and I, my first stop, I chose not to be around humans. So I was hanging out with this cow in Wyoming and then I did cross the border and went to Canada and, um, you know, figured out kinda how that was gonna work in terms of COVID testing and stuff like that. And that's a big deal is to, you know, make sure that you're gonna have access to PC R test or some countries could be a different kind of antigen test. Um, but got, got back on the saddle as it was and then went overseas to Saudi Arabia.

My husband uh, was working there, so I was able to join him there and did stay there for a couple of months, but also did some travel over to Spain and Tenerife and the Canaria was delightful and that was a great way to think about. Ok, what's the requirements to get into one country? Ok. How can I expand that? What are the limits on that country? We're gonna go within that country once I've already kind of jumped through their hoops and then I did get to Dubai, which was wonderful in February and then headed back home. So here's a little checklist. So you want a passport that, um, has at least six months left on it from expiry and you should actually check different countries for requirements on that. You need visas for any countries you're gonna go to and again, you're gonna really have to check those regulations really, really carefully cause it could be your own country, the destination country, countries you're flying through, depending on how you're transiting the airlines you're flying on, they have their own restrictions.

So you just gotta double check everything. Um, if people want vaccinations, make sure you have them and then, uh what COVID testing is gonna be required and this can be super stressful because they might want something that's within 24 hours. But you try to get a PC R test and it's not gonna be back for two days. Like you really have to plan this carefully and it can get very expensive. I've paid up to $250 for a PC R test, but that is how things work right now. And then what kind of pieces of paper are you gonna have to show at the airport and, and when you arrive in a country? So here's an example from Spain and basically my motto became when in doubt, fill it out. Like if I wasn't sure if a piece of paper would be required, I just fill it out anyway, so that I would have it with me and hand it over at the airport. If you are doing a QR code, I would print it out or take a screenshot in case you don't have Wi Fi when you arrive at a country, it's my little tip for you today. Um And one thought is um when to go. So this is um Rimini Italy, it's a seaside resort town. And as you can see, I was there in the off season, this was September when they still had the umbrellas out, but not very many people using them. And that worked out great.

I got good rates on hotels and stuff like that. So it just depends what you wanna do and you know how much of your time you're gonna be spending, working, how much of your time you're gonna be spending, looking at the sites, that kind of thing. And one thought I have for you is to take a test journey. If you're not sure this is a lifestyle, you wanna start to take two or four weeks and go somewhere maybe in your home country and just see what it feels like and see if you brought enough stuff or if you would repack differently if you were to do it again, like take notes, you know, see what it feels like, test out.

What does it feel like to deal with clients when you're on the road? Obviously, um, you know, figuring out Wi Fi and all those kinds of things when you're traveling and um see if it feels like something you wanna do and then maybe take a longer trip. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't dive in without doing at least a little test run first. So where to stay is another question obviously, um on the left is just like a little pod, whereas on the right is more like a business hotel. Uh but of course airbnbs and, and that kind of thing are everywhere and you can get beautiful views like this one. I recommend getting some place with a kitchenette so that you can cook for yourself, that really reduces costs. But also, you know, if you are trying to be conscious of COVID, um you know, gives you a lot more space than, than eating in restaurants all the time and where to work. That to me, this is the fun. Even if you're uh freelancing in your home city, you can mix it up right. Where, where do you want to be working from today? And again, you can take COVID into consideration and uh go sit out on balconies and, and open spaces. So yes, definitely expect the unexpected. You can make all the plans you want, but things change. So for example, uh this is a picture of something called a clima that came into Tenerife when I was there and um blocked out the sun.

So I did not have big, beautiful sunny days at the beach that was in my head of what it would be like to be on an island. And by the end of the week I had some, some prettier days, but you definitely have to know that not everything's gonna go as you planned, um, you're not gonna see everything wanted to see. You might not even be able to get into all the countries. If you're going to more than one country, you might get to one country and then something changes. A new COVID variation comes up and happened to me, I thought I was gonna go to Morocco in January and they just shut down the borders. So you just have to be flexible and know that um everything's not gonna be the same as if you're just sitting in your living room and limitations. So I did wanna have a slide, especially since I'm talking to women who are considering this lifestyle. This is a picture of my compound and um I mean, not the compound itself but uh the wire fence um that was surrounding my compound when I was living in Saudi Arabia and when I was there, um you know, there was lots of great things and it was exciting to be there, but there was no single women working in cafes that just wasn't a thing, at least in this town that I was in.

So you kind of have to like, you know, really figure out what's, what's the cultural vibe. And I definitely recommend reading blogs on places you're thinking of going, asking about safety for women, checking regulations and, and just, you know, going into things with your eyes open.

But um it's not, it's not, you know, I would say go do it. You know, there's gonna be people that are gonna ask you, you know, if you're sure you want to travel, especially as a solo woman. And, um, I've done both. I've traveled with my husband and on my own and I had a great time, but you just have to be aware that there, there could be cultural limitations out there, um, and things to watch out for in terms of where you go and what you do. All right. So into the home stretch here because I do want to leave time for Q and A. Um again, for women in particular, we're terrible at setting really our value our what our, our work is worth. So double whatever is in your head when you first start out as a freelancer, double it and know that's what the guys are charging. Um You definitely have to charge more than what you would say you were, you know, at your regular job, you're making $50 an hour. You, you have to, again, you have to at least double that um for freelance work because you're not gonna find places usually that um usually, sorry, it totally depends a lot of your might be flat rate and it's gonna be hard at first to, to estimate how long it's gonna take. So I would just put that out there as a recommendation to just always charge a little more than, than you're thinking about. Um And you know, of course, that'll fluctuate and you, and you'll figure it out. But I really wanna emphasize that.

And as I said, yeah, find out from other women. Um, what it's like to travel and work in the area you're thinking about. If you haven't done freelancing, there's lots of opportunities, especially these days where people, uh are more open to people working remotely. So maybe you don't have to freelance. Maybe you can work for your current employer um fully remotely or you can move to contractor status so that you have more flexibility with your time. Um You know, once you're, once you're out there, you could look at sites like upwork or toptal to find gigs. Um But certainly friends and family, almost all my work comes from word of mouth. So there's lots of opportunities out there and I look forward to hearing from some of you about your journeys, love to stay in touch. I put my contact information in the chat. I hope you have fun. Um But I do wanna also mention part of the point of freelancing again is to just have time to, to spend with who you want to. And we as women often are more in charge of taking care of family members. So, um I do wanna share that. The reason I'm in Denver today is I'm here taking care of my mom who's, you know, needs some health care. So just putting that out there that it's not just about money and travel and all those kinds of things.

It's about flexibility and I didn't have to call anyone. I didn't have to call hr to see if it's OK to take this week and come to Denver. So just putting that out there on a little more serious note, but definitely have fun. All right, please reach out and ask me anything. But I'm gonna come look at the chat right now and see if there are any questions right now. And I will stop. I guess I don't have to stop sharing. You can look, oh, there you go. You can see my notes at the bottom. It's a privilege to be here today and I'm grateful to the organizers for including me to speak among all the other cool people. All right, if there are any questions, I'm happy to take them. I'm looking in the chat and I'll look in the Q and A. I don't think anyone's been using that, but back to the chat. OK? Anyone questions? Happy to answer any. You're welcome to reach out to me on my website. So I did put um I'll type it in here again, my contact info. Um And you can follow my um updates. That last thing there is a blog. So I do try to write about my travels and, and projects and stuff like that. So you can follow along or reach out to me on linkedin or Twitter. Happy to connect and advise if you're trying to figure out if this is something you wanna do feel for you. Seriously.

Um, I really want to support women doing freelancing and, and not just doing the big cult culture, corporate, not just doing the big corporate thing. Um, so I am here for you. If you wanna check in, uh, outside of writing in the chat. Cool. We'll call it a wrap then. Um, I'll, I'll give a few more seconds, but otherwise I'll just turn this off and you'll have, uh, a few minutes to breathe before you go to your next session. Thank you. My pleasure to be here. Ok. Well, have a great day, everyone and Happy Travels.