I recently sent out a survey to my mailing list (hint: If you have a biz, do it! It’s a great way to get to know your peeps). Some of the responses were eye-opening, some of them affirmed what we already knew, but there was one thing that stuck out clear-as-day: my peeps crave location freedom and travel. We’re adventurers.

I travel roughly 8 months of the year right now, all while running a successful business. I love it, and wouldn’t have it any other way. If you want your own version of adventure, read on…

Inspired by my people, I bring you 5 Steps to Location Freedom:

1. Watch your mouth.

You may not have the money. You may think you’ll never find the time. And guess what? You’re right…if you believe it. To have freedom of any kind, we need to break out of the “someday” paradigm (“Someday, I’ll ______”). Someday, my dear, is today.

From now on, watch your mouth. I don’t mean that you should censor yourself instead of say “someday”, “I hope”, “I wish”, “one day” and “if only”. Instead, just notice when you say those words, and allow yourself to play with the notion that there’s nothing actually in the way of you having what you want. People pull off miraculous feats every day; you can certainly find a way to sink your feet into the Caribbean sand.

2. Book it now.

Over the last few years, I’ve been encouraging my clients to boldly “book it”. The results are predictable, and incredibly fun. My clients have traveled the world, become bi-coastal, taken up second homes in warm climates, and started long-distance love
affairs. Sounds delicious, yes? Here’s how
1. Decide, right now, where you want to go
2. Open your calendar
3. Put it in your calendar
4. Get creative (could you sublet your apartment? do a volunteer trip?)
5. Watch the Universe co-conspire to make it happen

3. Get creative.

If you have a face-to-face service-based business, quite possibly the #1 thing keeping you from having location freedom (and ironically, the #1 thing that makes it all possible) is your clients. If you’re used to seeing your clients in-person and you want to travel more than just once in a while, you may have to discover a way to work with them from anywhere. Here are a few ideas, based on what I’ve seen (and helped) real people do:

* Build a base of clients in the various places you want to travel, and have them sign up to see you on your next trip through town. Make sure you secure their payments in advance, and you’ll literally get paid to travel!

*Tell your clients you’re transitioning to working over the phone/skype. It’ll save you both on travel time and allow for you to really focus in your work together (no time spent on complimenting each other on your lovely shoes, even though yes, they are lovely).

* Create a “Kill it, then Chill it” lifestyle; one where you work your little booty off, then take time off to travel and relax. This works great if you tend towards being a workaholic.

4. Hustle, baby.

I’ve got news for you: your fears are probably going to hang around for a while. Maybe forever. I say this not to throw you into a tailspin of misery, but to give you the gentle nudge (or big push) to just keep going, even if you feel fear. Working to “release fears”
before we move forward in the direction of our dreams is a surefire way to stay exactly where we are. Instead, move forward with the fear, recognizing that the fear itself is a natural product of doing something new. Keep hustling and don’t give up.

Side note: For years I dreamed of having a business that would keep “running” while I traveled to India. I did just that in 2011…it was an incredible experience, and an awesome reminder that if my fears had their way, I would have never made that trip.

5. Get help.

Getting assistance is easier than you think. Freeing up some of your time can be well worth the money, and doesn’t have to cost as much as you may think. Here are three resources to get you started:

www.FancyHands.com : excellent for web-based tasks, like researching insurance
www.TaskRabbit.com : fantastic for tasks in your town, like standing in line at the DMV
www.Odesk.com + www.elance.com : great for finding worldwide virtual assistance

So now the question is – where will you go first?

This article was written by Guest Expert Nisha Moodley who is  fiercely dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs live their dream lifestyle. For more about her and to connect with Nisha further, visit her website http://www.fiercefabulousfree.com