Hello Everyone
I hope this is of great us for everyone!
Let me know what you think!
Getting Started
A lot of people who want to live or are living the Van Life know that finances are a big problem. I mean, first you have to buy a vehicle, maybe you’ll buy a new camper or build one yourself. But the real pain is when you want to be off grid for let’s say a year. How in the world will you ever be able to afford that?
When I grew up in Peru (South America), my family, friends and I would often go on road trips together. We would rent a van and drive through the Andes and along the ocean visiting beautiful glaciers and small towns. However, often there would be 9 people crammed in our van with luggage driving for several hours a day.
Family, Friends, and myself (taking the picture)
It was those moments that got me thinking.
Although we always had a lot of fun and I love traveling in a van, I started thinking about building my own van. My idea was to be independent, travel, and not have to worry about finances.
For most people that is something that they can only dream about. We watch You Tube videos of people living the Van Life and having so much fun, and at the same time imagining how it would be like if myself would be able to do that. You want it so bad, but it seems so far away.
The Problem
The problem that I found while researching how to live the van life, was that I couldn’t find a clear instruction on how to get started and continuously support myself. On that topic I found those options to travel and make money at the same time:
Person holding a globe in their hand
- Travel and work at local places
- Getting famous on Social Media
- Save up money for a long time
- Be an affiliate marketer/having your own business online
Before I go any further, let me tell you that I have not built my own van yet. I think it is key to have all the knowledge of how to live financially independent before I start building my own van and living in it.
So, referring back on how to make money while traveling, for me travel and working at local places wasn’t such a great idea because I work on construction sites and wanted to get away from that.
Getting famous on social media is hard and takes long time.
Saving up money is hard because one might already live on a budget.
What really caught my attention was affiliate marketing/having your own business online. Imagine having your own business online and all you have to do is to work on it a few hours a day and at the same time travel financially independent!
This is where Affiliate Marketing comes into place.
Tablet on a desk displaying online marketing
Affiliate Marketing is where you refer someone to a product and if they buy it, you get a commission ($) in return. Some You Tubers are doing that. For example, they would link their camera that they used to film their van in the description of their video. If someone clicked on the link and bought the camera, the You Tuber would get 10% of what the camera originally costed.
Here are some Pros and Cons to Affiliate Marketing
The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Person showing a thumbs up
1. It is a secondary source income
This means that you don’t have to leave your job at all. You can earn while you learn. This also means that you can make money while you sleep!
2. Billion-dollar Industry
Affiliate Marketing is a safe Industry that is big and growing every year.
3. Low Cost-Business Idea
Compared to other businesses this does not cost you much. You’ll have to pay for your own website, domain, ads (if you want fast results) and some training which is crucial. It really doesn’t take that much to get started. You might think that building a business takes millions but, in this case, it only takes hundreds!
4. Convenience and Flexibility
The Affiliate Marketing niche is so big and there are so many products to choose from. You can sell anything you want. If you see that one product is selling better than the other focus on it and give it more attention.
For most companies you don’t have to pay anything to be an Affiliate Marketer. All you have to do is sign up and there you go. You can now sell their products.
5. About Customer Support
The great thing about being an Affiliate Marketer is that you only have to att
ract the customers and make them buy. You DON’T have to worry about them not being happy with the product and wanting back their money.
6. Independence
No one will tell you how much time and effort you have to invest in your business. You can work however long you want at any time. Of course, the more effort you put into it, the more success will come back to you. It is yourself that controls everything.
Also, once you are earning enough to sustain yourself, you can work anywhere in the world and travel at the same time.
7. Marketing Material at your Fingertips
Most of the times when you sign up marketing material such as videos, pictures, and posts are often provided by the vendor. So, you don’t have to make your own videos or pictures.
The Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing
Person ciritcising affiliate marketing
1. Competition
Since Affiliate Marketing is a low-cost online business, there are a lot of people that try this out. Of course, there are talented Affiliate Marketers out there, but their competition shouldn’t scare you if you are consistent and determined to be successful.
2. No Guarantee for Results
It is no guarantee that you will get results right away. This is a big challenge that a lot of people are faced with. They think that they are going to make a ton of money right from the start, which mostly is not the case. It takes time and effort to be successful.
3. No Connection to other Marketers
Starting out alone in a business like this can be overwhelming sometimes. You won’t always understand everything. It is hard to find someone likeminded online that will help you and give you advice on how to do your business.
Conclusion
Person working online from the comfort of her home
I believe that Affiliate Marketing is the easiest way for a Van Life liver to sustain himself. It is a long-term solution that you will have to put effort in for it to start, but once it’s up and running you’ll have way more time and money to travel.
If you want to know more about how I work this business message me in the comment section!
