Expat Women: Business Ideas: Interviews With Entrepreneurs
The Suitcase Entrepreneur
Natalie Sisson
From body sculpting champion (New Zealand, 2004), to Dragon Boat racing champion (English Channel, 2007) and gold medal winner at the World Ultimate Beach Championships (Brazil, 2007), it was Natalie's determination to travel the world for adventure that inspired her portable blog and now six-figure business, The Suitcase Entrepreneur.
Previously a product manager for Bausch+Lomb (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and a co-founder of technology startup Connection Point Systems who built the Facebook application FundRazr, Natalie is now a contributor to the Forbes Work in Progress Blog, a mentor for the Visa Business Network, a Nike Women’s Movement Ambassador and one of Forbes’ 25 Most Influential Women Tweeting About Entrepreneurship.
Recently repatriated to New Zealand(until she heads to Nairobi for the 6,445km Tour d’Afrique to Cape Town in March), Natalie has spent the past six years living in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and Argentina – enjoying trips to even more countries along the way. We talked to Natalie about what it is like to run a business from all over the world, and what challenges and triumphs she has experienced in doing so.
Expat Women's Interview with Natalie
Expat Women:
Natalie, in just over 18 months, you have turned your passion for your blog Womanz World (now rebranded as The Suitcase Entrepreneur) into a thriving online business. Walk us through your journey a little.
Natalie:
When I was co-founder of tech startup Connection Point, I realized how few women CEOs there were that I could look to for advice. So I started my blog Womanz World to talk about my entrepreneurial journey and to use it as a platform from which to interview these women. I soon realized that I loved it more than our startup.
In November 2010 when I was at a conference in Las Vegas, telling people who I was and that I lived from my suitcase, that someone finally said “So you’re like a travelling entrepreneur?”. To which I replied “Yes, I guess I’m a Suitcase Entrepreneur”. The domain name was available and so I rebranded and have never looked back.
It has definitely been one amazing journey. While I would love to say I had it all planned out, for me it was about following what I was most passionate about and then hustling, learning, failing and repeating things until I started to see real, tangible success.
Expat Women:
Can you tell us about your blog’s revenue generation, what products you offer and which ones have proved the most popular?
Natalie:
I have multiple revenue streams that differ in importance depending on what I am focusing on in each given month. I launch digital products and programs every few months. I do one-on-one coaching for entrepreneurs wanting to start an online business or needing some decisive action or strategy to get them past their current challenges. I do social media consulting for individuals and companies. I run social media workshops and I have a $20-a-month social media club. I also earn affiliate commission from products and programs I recommend (including tools I use to run my business).
Expat Women: What challenges have you faced running your business from your suitcase and how have you overcome them?
Natalie:
The main challenges are time zones, plug adaptors and Internet access. The more you are open to knowing it is not always going to be plain sailing, the better equipped you are to come up with creative solutions.
For example, I used to miss appointments when I was travelling, because I had not set up my calendar or laptop to the new time zone. I now use Tungle.me to solve that: people book in to my calendar in their time zone and it shows it in mine. I pretty much live on Skype and Gmail, so as long as I can access Wi-Fi, I am set. I also love using Gmail Offline for when I am on the airplane, train or boat – where is actually when I get most of my work done!
Outside of that, each time I move, getting used to my new surroundings, language, culture, and just being on the move can be a challenge. It is tiring but also energizing. It is lovely to have a base for a few weeks sometimes, just to feel a little grounded. But then I like to move on and experience something new – which forces me to be on my toes and to think creatively.
Expat Women: What triumphs have you enjoyed as a suitcase entrepreneur?
Natalie:
To be able to do the amount of work that I do (answering emails, creating my content and programs, plus coaching fantastic clients) while never having a permanent base, continues to be something that amazes a lot of people, and they in return remind me to celebrate this in itself.
Other triumphs include learning how to run an online business – the technical aspects, as well as the affiliate, marketing and outsourcing components. I am also proud of my social media community building skills, as well as the opportunities I have gained as a result (including media contributions and speaking gigs).
Expat Women: Tell us about WE Mastermind – your new initiative with Natalie McNeil (founder of SheTakesOnTheWorld.net and co-founder of Emmy Award winning digital media firm Imaginarus).
Natalie:
After surveying our online communities of (current and aspiring) women entrepreneurs, we found a real consensus that our audiences wanted to learn how to build profitable businesses that fitted in with their ideal lifestyles. So we set up WE Mastermind – which is about mastering the art of launching products and programs, understanding your ideal customer, building your skills around social media, outsourcing, creating and using systems, and enhancing your mindset – to get you on track to running a six-or-seven-figure business.
Knowing that 70 percent of women owned businesses in the U.S. are earning less than $50,000 per year, Natalie McNeil and I wanted to think bigger. And we wanted to inspire other entrepreneurs to think bigger. So we created our 12 module/ 6 month program, as well as our ambitious goal to help 10,000 women (directly and indirectly) through our program, by 2014.
Expat Women: Finally Natalie, what five tips would you give to women wanting to start portable, online businesses?
Natalie:
1.
You can dream big, but you need to be realistic. If you only want to work 20 hours per week but want to make $200,000 per year, then know that is probably not going to happen easily.
2.
Find your sweet spot – the intersection between what you love doing, what you are good at, and what you already know. Then define your niche market that would want a piece of that – and go for it!
3.
Develop a freedom-based mindset, where less is more. If you are not
prepared to give up your creature comforts in return for adventure, the
unknown and a lack of routine, then perhaps you are not cut out to have a
completely mobile business right now – just a flexible one.
4.
Make sure you schedule time out for you. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that having a portable, online business means you need to be connected 24/7. Remember to build structure and systems into your business that free up some time for you, from day one.
5.
Build a global community that you can turn to and rely on when travelling the world – across time zones and languages. They will be your support network and your ‘home away from home’ when you are on the road.
Expat Women: Natalie Sisson, we applaud your courage, your achievements and your positivity. All our very best wishes for your ongoing journey as an inspiring expatriate/repatriate suitcase entrepreneur!
