Chelsea Giles

Travelling, being a digital nomad, starting my own business.. its hard but its a dream come true and a total life saver. The Digital Nomad Society by Traveller By Trade started as a FB group and I'm now growing it into an online resource for anything and everything digital nomad life. The website goes live tomorrow and I am fucking STOKED to be sharing this with everyone🤙🏾 ⠀ We’re starting with trips, retreats and online courses with some of the best companies out there (like @livebeyond.global & @theremotetrip ) ⠀ And in the new year I’ll be launching the blog and shop sections. ⠀ ✨ Have a product you want to sell in the shop?⠀ ✨Or want to write a guest blog post? ⠀ Hit me up! I want this to be an collection from anyone and everyone that is out there travelling, working for themselves and just overall getting off their ass, breaking away from the norms and chasing their dreams!🔥

Just a shot (finally) of me, happy, blissful, barefoot, running around on a beach with my camera in my hand. ⠀ ⠀ I found my love for photography in high school and it took me YEARS to come back to it but damn am I happy that I finally did. A huge thank you to @thatwanderlustboho for catching me in action 🙏🏽 ⠀ Swipe to see the original - a very red and smoke filled sky from all the wild fires burning up and down the East Coast.⠀ ⠀ Pray, dance, put out good intentions, whatever it is you do, for rain to come and help this land 🇦🇺💦💙

Last month I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to fly over to South Africa and join a @workwanderers retreat and holy hell did it not disappoint. ⠀ ⠀ ✔️My first time in Africa (knocking off my 5th continent)⠀ ✔️My first time on a co-working / co-living trip (and defo not my last)⠀ ✔️My first time going on a safari (and seeing wild animals like this outside of a zoo)⠀ ✔️My first time teaching a masterclass (and sharing my passion with other digital nomads)⠀ ⠀ I worked my ass off to claim the title of ‘location independent’ and start my own business and it’s experiences like this that make every long day, mental breakdown, squished 14 hour flight and nasty ass plane meal all worth it.⠀ ⠀ Just a happy little Leo star sign and her lioness high AF on life😻😸

I’m watchings thing unfold in front of me faster then I can keep up with them. ⠀ ✨This time last YEAR I was living in a tent, working for a company that didn’t value my work and dreaming of starting my own business. ⠀ ✨This time last MONTH I was technically homeless, couch hopping and wondering if I would ever get my online course finished. ⠀ ✨This time last WEEK I was stressed out beyond belief and fighting with every person I knew on the planet. ⠀ ⠀ But this time today is different. ⠀ ⠀ ✨This time TODAY I’ve taken responsibility for my part in those fights, I’ve launched my first online course (and had raving reviews from everyone taking it), I’m living with the love of my life in a house we’re building into a home and I’m running a business that I fucking love. ⠀ ⠀ Moral of the story: Life is always gonna throw you curve balls, its how to handle them that defines you. ⠀ ⠀ PS This van is a new battery away from some epic adventures and I cannnnnnot wait!😏🚌👏🏽

Doesn't matter if you're work from home, work from an office or work from wherever you happen to be in the world that day - being a small business owner is a blessing and a curse. We love what we do, it's the reason why we risked it all to pursue our passion, but that doesn't make it easy. In fact, it usually makes it harder. ⠀ ⠀ Create To Connect is my first online course and it’s finally out there in the world! ⠀ Its been just as terrifying as it has been exciting but I KNOW that I need to share all my passion and knowledge with the world. ⠀ ✨I know that this course and all its contents are going to help other small businesses. ⠀ ✨I know that someone is going to take this information and go from a passion project to a career.⠀ ✨I know that it worked for me and I know that it will work for someone else. ⠀ ⠀ I feel like making’ dreams come true and that exactly what Im going to do🤙🏾

Let’s drop the bullshit of liking posts and thinking you’re engaging .. because you’re not. No one gives a damn about a like - now more then ever because they’re being taken away platform wide (Im in Australia so they’ve been gone for months.)⠀ ⠀ What do people want? CONVERSATION and CONNECTION - and I looooooovvveeee giving it to them!👏🏽✨ ⠀ Gonna be mad honest with all of you ... if it weren't for Instagram I wouldn't be full time in my business today. ⠀ ⠀ Im NOT an influencer⠀ I DON'T get paid for my posts ⠀ ⠀ BUT I've engaged with a ton of people that are now clients and been offered insane opportunities for the way that I show up on this platform. ⠀ ⠀ Learning to code in a stunning Balinese villa with @instituteofcode ? Found them on Insta and applied for a ton of scholarship until I won one.⠀ ⠀ Flying down to Sydney and speaking on stage for @fiverr at a @ga_sydney ? Woke up to an email one day after an event coordinator found my Instagram profile and loved my passion for the digital nomad lifestyle. ⠀ ⠀ Going over to Cape Town to join @workwanderers cowering digital nomad retreat (for free) and teaching a masterclass on Instagram engagement? Found through my profile, asked to join, and decided to go for in with a weeks notice. ⠀ ⠀ I STARTED this business myself but I BUILT it with the help of this community and I will be endlessly grateful to everyone that supported me along the way. ⠀ ⠀ Finding your way through business ownership is NOT easy and I’m just here to give everyone out there chasing their dreams some tools for success. ⚡️Create to Connect⚡️ is the course that teaches you to harness the power of social media, get in front of your ideal audience and start converting other game changers to clients. ⠀ ⠀ 🚀TOMORROW MORNING IS THE LAUNCH! ⠀ ⠀ I couldn’t be more terrified or excited🤙🏾😂😍

⚡️WHOS KEEN TO WIN THE WHOLE COURSE FOR FREE?!⚡️ ⠀ Create To Connect is an approach to Instagram unlike anything else online!! It focuses FULLY on organic engagement methods that you can implement immediately to get your business in front of a new audience! ⠀ ✌🏽GOODBYE to the days of obsessing over beating an algorithm to grow a massive following … ⠀ 👋🏽HELLO to optimising your feed to attract ideal clients and open up opportunities for your business! ⠀ ⠀ The launch is in TWO DAYS but I loveeeee winning things - because who doesn’t love free knowledge!?⠀ ⠀ ⚡️1st Chance: ⚡️⠀ Join the waitlist - one person from the waitlist will win! (Link in bio)⠀ ⠀ ⚡️2nd Chance:⚡️ Tag a mate in the comments that you know NEEDS this course! ⠀ One entry per account tagged …no limit on tags / entries BUT they must be on different comments. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ - Contest closes ONE HOUR PRIOR to launch at 6am on Friday AEDT (Sydney, Australia time zone)⠀ - I will be using a number selector to choose the winner and they will be notified by email / direct message AND will be added to my story ⠀ - Winner will be notified 30 minutes prior to the launch!⠀ ⠀ GOODLUCK 😍🚀💃🏽 xx

Spent the other night catching up with a very good friend. Over the last month I've continent hopped quite a bit so we haven't seen each other in a while. She asked about my trips and then a bit about the course I’m building. We went to sit on the front deck and she asked me, "Tell me your why locca (She's from Chile.) Why this course? What is fuelling it?" ⠀ ⠀ "My passion for it," I said. "This is something that I built. It's something I created. Everything that I put into the course I did for my business and it’s been a huge reason behind my success over the last 8 months.”⠀ ⠀ I may have started this business myself, but I didn’t get to where I am right now alone. I had more moments then you can think where I questioned everything, thought about giving up or wished I just had a ‘regular’ job where I went to work, clocked in, did my job, then went home and that was it. I eat sleep and breath my business. Its beautiful and exhausting all at once. Why tell you this? BECAUSE I’M NOT ALONE! There is someone out there thats going to read this and think “Oh damn, she said it! Thank the lord because I’m soo tired.” ⠀ ⠀ If one small business owner or wanna be digital nomad finds my feed, reads my caption and can resonate with it then I’ve done all I need to do. If I can offer even one person the inspiration to go out there and chase their damn dream like I did then I’m happy. This is why I’m creating a course. To help other people in my shoes get their passion out there and share their bit of magic with the world. Engaging on Instagram has put me in touch with people that push me, inspire me and just hella motivate me on bad days and that alone is beautiful.

Everyone in my life right now: “You work too much.” ⠀ Me, while arranging photos from a safari in Africa, a flower bath in Bali and an adventure through the Blue Mountains in my scheduling program: “Ummm, yea but like are you gonna pay for my country hopping obsession?” ⠀ ⠀ You know what, I friggen love what I do. It’s the furthest thing from easy but in 2020 I plan on hiring a Virtual Assistant, a Pinterest Manager and any other outsourcing geniuses I need to so I can run around with my boyfriend on global adventures. Why? Because it’s what we love to do. ⠀ ⠀ But it goes go much further past just making money. ⠀ ⠀ Ever given a friend some hella good advice and helped them through a shit situation? What about a stranger online? This literally sets my soul on fire. I put it all on the line and started my own business. I worked / am working my butt off and sharing my passion with the world. I’m showing up online, being my raw, genuine and downright messy self and it’s connecting me with some AMAZING humans. I’m inspiring them, they’re inspiring me. We’re all working together to create this world where you can lift up a total stranger thats on the other side of the world just through your phone?! Like what?? This is amazing! The impact a kind word can have on someones day is just too good to pass up. No platform should be a stress source where you judge yourself because of a like count. SO get out there.. engage, connect, inspire and start using these damn social platforms to do some good in the world. // 📸 @farski_

Want to know why I love this platform so much (most days at least)? I get to share all my passions with the world. ⠀ ⠀ I captured this shot at the end of a little shoot with @workwanderes in Cape Town. I went into another room, looked over at this spot and was like “YUP!” Then grabbed some books for a makeshift tripod, jumped down with my tea cup and pushed away on the camera control app on my cell. I literally had a blast playing with the angle, the lighting and the props only to be told that it was amazing to see how passionate I was about my photos. ⠀ ⠀ Today I had a Zoom meeting with a Pinterest manager. After explaining my business and my goals she responded with “Wow, I love how authentic you are.”⠀ ⠀ See, the thing is, I’m an open book. ⠀ ⠀ I’ll have a chat about everything from my childhood living with different families and calling multiple different women ‘Mom’ to moving across the world just because, anxiety attacks, starting a business, living my dream and continent hopping around the globe… I show up as me, messy as hell and sometimes a little too honest, but thats just who I am. ⠀ ⠀ This is my (sometimes) all over the place, dramatic, beautiful life and I’m going to share my story on this platform. Why? Because this is my WHY! This is the fuel to my fire in my business and my life choices. These messy moments are the reason why I’ve never felt settled in one place and chased the title of digital nomad in the first place. ⠀ ⠀ I have a course launching in 8 days and I’m stressed as all hell but damn is this thing going to shout ME! I’ve got hay fever… still voice recording. I have to do an intro video.. still not going to wear shoes or makeup. Being authentic in an world pushing you in a ton of directions is hard, and keeping that authenticity through your online presence can be even harder…. but it’s exactly what your community needs (/wants.)⠀ ⠀ It’s time to take back Insta, ditch the follower count and algorithm obsession and just come forward HONESTLY, ORGANICALLY & GENUINELY to showcase the best of your brand or business and attract a beautiful tribe of people in the online world. Who's ready? Because I'm friggen stoked! 🤙🏾💥👏🏽

I transitioned to a fully remote/online income earner fairly quickly. It wasn’t until then that I realised how hard it can be to make friends or meet new people outside a conventional workplace. None of my mates work fully online, I had no one to co-work with and no one cared about my complaints of time zones and bad wifi signals. ⠀ ⠀ I love people and talking and feeding off each others energy, so I started looking for more connections online… I showed up in the DM’s, messaged people that have digital nomad in their bio and commented on a ton of other freelance and small biz profiles. ⠀ ⠀ It was through all of this that I was not only found by @workwanderers but I also designed my online course Create To Connect. Why should anyone give a damn about organic engagement on this platform? Because thats where the magic happens baby!✨ I was gifted a 2 week retreat and experience of a lifetime in South Africa and got to meet some of the most epic humans I’ve ever met in my life.⠀ ⠀ So yea, harnessing the power of this platform genuinely is pretty damn important. Ready to learn my tricks? Mark November 28th in your calendar because I’m sharing all of my secrets - 💥TEN DAYS TO LAUNCH DAY!💥

I’ve officially made it back to Byron AND moved into a new house…. (just in time to be slapped in the face with jet lag and time zone confusion.)⠀ South Africa was a dream come true but a huge hectic adventure after Bali andddddd in the middle of getting the course together but TOMORROW THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH DATE WILL BE EMAILED OUT! ⠀ ⠀ If I wasn’t so tried I would happy dance my life away…. Until then, enjoy a happy-go-lucky-work-away-self-shoot from our amazing private villa in Seminyak and get stoked for the release of Create To Connect! ⠀ ⠀ It’s time to make Insta fun again PLUS learn all the strategies I’ve been implementing over the last few months on this platform to help with my business! From finding the coding bootcamp I received a scholarship for, to getting an amazing gig at a business conference which lead me to my amazing business coach, to getting a free trip to South Africa to teach a masterclass and get to photograph a coworking retreat - this platform has opened all the damn doors for me! Who’s ready to start rocking this platform organically a make some genuine (and life changing) connections!? 👏🏽

Spent the last few days being a little stress head over this platform. I haven’t been feeling very connected and getting back to all the messages in my DM’s and post comments has been like a chore… what a time to be in the process of building and launching an organic engagement Instagram course! (Go figure)⠀ ⠀ I’ve been rushing my editing, trying to make my ‘ideal post time’ and using somewhat superficial captions like ‘I did this and it was cool.’ Posting and creating without the right intention behind it is SO unlike me and its defo been showing in my engagement - Then I sat back, took the day off the gram and just checked in with myself for a minute. ⠀ This alone really shows me that I’m doing exactly what I should be✨THIS IS MY WHY! ✨ My Create To Connect online course is all about connection through the content we create. Without the right intention behind it who are you really trying to speak to through your content? Whats the point? ⠀ ⠀ I’m a pretty big open book when it comes to this platform. Everything from travels and starting a business to my issues with anxiety and all the times I’ve found myself homeless. Yea I’m sure some of you love my pretty photos from country hopping, but if it doesn’t give some sort of value who really cares at the end of the day? ⠀ ⠀ So whats your ‘why?’ When you go onto any social media platform whats your intention? Do you want to connect and inspire or just scroll aimlessly and kill some time? ⠀ ⠀ Post FT. a massive grin, mid-whiplash from a few days ago adventuring some epic places in South Africa! 🇿🇦

Spent the day overindulging on wine, cheese and olives while being carted around between wineries on a tram.. what a day to be alive 🍷✨👏🏽 ⁠ If you followed my stories yesterday you’d of watched a horrible ramble of videos where I laughed my ass off with red wine stain lips and seeds in my teeth because we missed the last buss back to the tram station and just barely made it on the ride back to Cape Town. Day off well spent. ⁠ ⁠ I love my job and tend to forget to take days to myself.. usually because I just don’t want to. But yesterday was a hella good reason to take the whole day off damn did it feel good. A wine tour is always a good excuse to ignore my laptop for a day damn did the South Africa wine not disappoint🇿🇦💚

Running around like a happy little tourist getting to explore as much as I can squeeze in between work! I can already tell that two weeks in this amazing country isn’t going to be enough. Can also tell that I’m not going to get as much work done as I had originally thought I would on this trip either (not that I'm the slightest bit upset about that.)⠀ ⠀ To be completely honest I had no idea what to expect when I was invited by @workwanderers to fly over. In true adventure fashion it was a last minute decision and I didn’t even get the chance to buy the flight until 5 days before, but holy damn was I blown away about 5 minutes after leaving the airport. ⠀ ⠀ There is so much to love about Cape Town and people keep sending me DM’s about must-see and must-do adventures all around the area! Its a blessing and a curse to work remotely… you get to bring work with you anywhere you go, but then work is with you everywhere you go. Balance is hard AF when you’re an adventure junkie that just wants to do it all and I’m feeling that this trip for sure! Just another excuse to come back one day in my opinion. ⠀ ⠀ Have you travelled somewhere that blew you away and you instantly knew you’d have to come back again? Cape Town, and all of Africa in general, is on that list for me!