We recently connected with Andrea Valeria and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea , appreciate you joining us today. If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment

When I started out as a remote worker back in 2015 with my first full-time remote job, the excitement of being able to work from anywhere & manage my schedules pushed me into becoming a digital nomad. That meant traveling non-stop & learning to balance a life of work while being on the road. I am super grateful for that time where I got to live in many different countries & move from city to city every month. However, there was not a lot of money-saving going on. My focus wasn’t on career growth. I just wanted to travel, have fun & enjoy my new-found freedom & flexibility. During that time, I wish I would have lived under my means & invested a little bit on my personal + career growth. That would have allowed me to reach a lot of my goals much sooner.
It wasn’t until the pandemic came around that I stopped traveling for obvious reasons. The good part about that was that I was finally able to save money. Instead of spending all my earnings on traveling & fun, I started investing my earnings in myself & my growing online business. I finally invested in programs & tools that allowed me to get paid for my content. Most importantly, I invested in coaching & an online course that taught me so many skills, tools & ways to monetize my social media platforms & content.
What I learned from this experience is that if you’re not where you want to be, live under your means & invest most of your earnings in growth — for example: coaching, automation tools, hiring or an online course.

Andrea , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From being a TV news reporter in Florida to starting my first YouTube channel back in 2012, I’ve always loved being in front of the camera, telling stories & sharing content online. I belief in work-life balance, doing what you love & having freedom & flexibility to do more of what you love. In 2015, I landed my first full-time remote job & since then, I have documented my experience as a new remote worker. I shared about working while traveling, being a digital nomad & making money online. Ultimately, people not only wanted to know what I was doing — but how I was making it happen & how they could do the same. In 2019, I launched a Remote Job Directory, started offering the service ‘Remotify Your Resume’ to help people get into remote work. My first full-time remote job was as hiring/recruiter focusing on remote candidates, so it was a perfect way to tie in my expertise & my passions. I started doing online workshops & in 2020, I launched my course ‘Land Your First Remote Job.’ The step-by-step remote job search roadmap for everyone who wanted to start working remotely. In 2022, my goal was to help at least one person per day land their first remote job, and so far I’m killing it. I’m very proud to be receiving daily emails, DMs & comments of people who have landed their first remote job thanks to my guidance & my resources.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I had my first full-time remote job up until I was making enough money as a freelancer to quit, but I didn’t quit. Instead, I transitioned to part time with them. While quitting was an option, I didn’t want the pressure to be building a business without some sort of steady income stream. During that time, I had SO many online jobs. I landed remote jobs by applying. I got remote jobs on different freelancing platforms. I got referred to online opportunities. I pitched myself for other online gigs. I used social media to find remote jobs. I also took advantage of everything the Internet has to offer. My first source of passive income was a book I published on Amazon in 2018. I later started doing affiliate marketing for online programs. I did all of this while still having my part-time job as a hiring/recruiting manager, freelancing, building my online platforms & following & eventually my business. I finally quit my part-time remote job in December 2019 & invested all my earnings into my business & my growth. The lesson here is — don’t be afraid to have a part-time or even a full-time remote job while building your business. The stress of not knowing if you’ll hit your monthly income goals can be overwhelming & you won’t be able to concentrate on building a business if you’re worried about how you’ll pay your rent. Plus, in some cases your job will give you benefits & perks that you shouldn’t give up on until you’re absolutely ready. So, don’t quit that too early.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

My business’ current revenue streams are: – Remotify Your Resume service
– Online Course
– Affiliate Marketing
– Partnerships + Collaborations
– My 2 Books on Amazon
– Instagram Bonuses

Contact Info:

• Website: www.itsatravelod.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/itsatravelod
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/itsaTravelOD
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@itsatravelod

Image Credits
Photo in the couch with laptop is by Vernée Norman, Photo outdoors with the colorful flags is by Carlos Villalba. Other 2 are mine, no need to credit.