If you are a freelance designer, writer, photographer or developer then you are in the lucky position to be able to work while travelling.
You could be writing on a beach in the Bahamas, taking a snap of African wildlife or tweaking a web page while in Tokyo.

If this lifestyle sounds good to you, and it might not if you have kids say, then below is a list of things to consider before setting off.
Get your office online
Imagine you get your laptop stolen or it blows up (mines just did). You may lose quite a lot of work, unless your smart and backup regularly. However there is a huge inconvenience of trying to work freelance while travelling without a laptop.
A great way to solve this is to start using Google Docs. You get a decent word processor and spreadsheet that have tonnes of tools and tricks to make your life easier. The spreadsheet is good for budget planning.
Using Google Docs means your work is available from any computer. Now if something goes wrong with your laptop you can still work in a net cafe temporarily. Regardless if you prefer Mac to Windows.
You can also have to-do lists and events marked on your calendar, again all from within one easily accessible place. If you don’t already have a GMail account, set one up!
When travelling you don’t want to carry anything you don’t need so scan all those old paper documents, sketches, notes and upload to GDocs.
Communication, Payment and Snail Mail
Most of the time while travelling you won’t be in the same city as your client. You will want to let your client know that you will be working remotely before starting a project so they know you can’t meet in person.
Realistically though, this is not a problem. You can email from anywhere, talk in real time via instant messaging or over Skype.
One thing to keep in mind is the time zones though. When writing down deadlines or appointments be sure to note the time zone of the client and also the time zone you are currently in.
Payment shouldn’t be an issue either. It is simple to ask a client to pay via PayPal or if need be directly into your bank account. PayPal even offers to convert the payments into your own currency.
It can be hard for some people to reach you though and they will send mail to a real address. The best way I found to get over this is to setup all the bills you can to go to email such as bank, phone etc. For everything else get them sent to a family or friend’s house that you trust. They can open it and send via email all the important information you need or even scan it and send you a copy. There are services that provide this but a friend would be cheaper.
Finding work
A lot of people are scared to make the jump in fear of not finding work. It is a good idea to save enough to see you over a few months (I don’t know why I never take this advice).
So before you get going make sure you have a portfolio website. Show your best work, what you do and have your contact details on every page.
Start a blog. Blogging will help in so many ways. If you post tutorials or guides for your profession, people will see you as an authority on that subject and link to you or ask for help.
If you have a blog on the homepage then Google will see the site as changing frequently and so you will have a better chance of showing up in searches.
Don’t think you don’t have something worth writing either. You’re going off to see the world! Write about the sights you saw or the events that were happening. Upload photos. It’s also a good way for the people back home to see how you are doing.
Most importantly, it’s a form of release. You can spill out all your days events, thoughts and rants and it helps put them into perspective. Well maybe, it does for me.
You could also keep track of job boards, I do this via Google Reader, for when times are rough. Bidding sites are the devil but sometimes a quick project may be needed and they can be good for learning new skills.
Get listed in online directories and if you can you can try out Google AdWords to try and generate more traffic to your site.
Ask all your old clients, family and friends to refer you to people who may need your help. Also interact with locals and let them see how enthusiastic you are about what you do, it might turn into a lead. Have business cards ready.
The ultimate achievement is to have some sort of business that generates passive income. This could be a website that has very little maintenance from you that sells a product or a subscription based service.
I am currently working on a project that will be setup in many different cities and will require a lot of work. Fortunately I am recruiting help from friends to do all the face to face stuff in these towns while I work on the software from wherever I am.
Equipment
Depending on what you do you will need different equipment and tools with you. However from a tech standpoint I would say all you need is a laptop that is light but powerful enough to do your job on.
Maybe a spare battery or two. A large USB pen drive. You can get 10GB for next to nothing these days.
If you are a travelling musician or video editor then I would say get an external hard disc drive also. Again, a Terabyte drive is so cheap today.
Also, get a 3G phone like the iPhone. It’s quicker to email when in a hurry and don’t want to setup laptop. You can quickly check maps, guides and obviously be able to phone in emergencies. Try and get a roaming contract deal with your network provider.
So to wrap up I would like to just say, if anyone is doing this or thinking of it, get in touch. Email or leave a comment. I would be interested in how other people are approaching this or how they are coping out in the wild.
Most importantly, send me a link to your blog, I want to read your adventures.