Ep. 289: How This Remote Entrepreneur Left The Rat Race And Now Helps Others Create A Freedom Lifestyle with Jule Marie Rose
In this episode I speak with Jule who believes that work productivity depends on our overall happiness. Therefore an office 9 to 5 is not for everyone. Jule never started a 9 to 5 thanks to the help of LinkedIn. Now she’s helping others to escape the rat race through a mastermind community to do the same.
Listen on to find out how Jule travels the world while helping others create a freedom lifestyle.
Listen Below:
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Transcription:
Debbie:
Hey, everyone, thank you so much for being here!
I am really excited to speak with my guest today, I’m here with Jule.
Hi, Jule! How are you?
Jule:
Hi, good to see you, thank you for the warm welcome!
Debbie:
Thank you so much for being here!
Can you tell us about you and why you live an offbeat life?
Jule:
First of all, I’m from Germany and I’m 25 years old and I live an offbeat life because the offbeat lifestyle is just like for me, so special, because I think I was growing up in this typical rat wheel, kind of thing, you know, you do your 9 to 5 and then yeah, just have, not really like freedom outside of that life or you can’t live that lifestyle you want to have, so I found myself and right now, I have found a new home base for myself and there’s also no way for me to go back into this 9 to 5 lifestyle.
I also like prefer slow traveling though, so I wouldn’t jump from place to place, like this, I think typical digital nomad kind of image probably has, but yeah, I also recently started to learn, actually the language, like Bahasa Indonesia, and so it really is important for me to like get know the locals and be present here but for me it’s just like not Germany the place anymore where I feel like most at home, so, yeah, that’s a little bit about myself.
Debbie:
That is amazing that you find yourself in Bali right now and you’re actually learning the language, I don’t hear that very often, I do hear people moving to Bali, but not, you know, to go that extra mile to actually learn the language which is pretty incredible, I love that you’re doing that.
When you decided that this was something you wanted to do, did you know exactly what kind of remote work? I mean, did you have a job that was built for this type of life or did you have to figure your way into this type of lifestyle, how did that happen for you?
Jule:
So, kind of a mixture of both, so when I started, what I did first was social media management, I think that’s like a typical to go to if you want to work remotely, so I studied digital marketing in my masters and before that I actually studied international tourism management and this is also when I first stumbled across digital nomad life so I did an internship in 2019, which was also in Bali, so I think this is also when I fell in love with that island. I had an internship with an e-commerce start up and that basically opened my eyes a little bit because I saw, okay, there are like actual people working on their laptops, there are no, they’re not going to the office, and I was like, “Okay, how can I make this possible for myself too?”, and ever since that internship, I was like, “Okay, I need to figure out a way…”, and as I was doing Instagram and like creating content by that time anyway, I was like, “Okay, this is actually something I can do online.”, then covid hit, actually, and I was like, “Oh, maybe I would just stay in Germany for a while, you know? You never know.”.
So, that was kind of also the reason why I then started with my master and tried to be more focused on this digital marketing field and that actually like helped me then to realize, “Okay, this is actually possible to do something online.”, and there are like so many different ways, especially in the marketing section.
So, yeah this is kind of how it then evolved into, “Okay, this is actually, doable.”. LinkedIn and the O played a huge role for me as well, but yeah, I think more about that later on. So, this is basically how I started, yeah.
Debbie:
There’s so many things that goes into this type of life, right? And figuring out where you fit in is one of the hardest things, how did you know that social media management was it for you? Cause there’s a lot of different things, especially now in this tech world, you know? You could’ve been like a writer, you could’ve done some sort of IT job, why did you choose social media? Did you try different things? Or this was just something that really kind of drew you in and maybe it was already something that you already did?
Jule:
I think for me it was always, I liked that kind of creative part, and like the structure and organizing, planning, I think this is something I was always really good at, so the combination of both being creative and also have this kind of responsibility in terms of planning, organizing, I think that was just the perfect fit, and I also do have like a good understanding, like understanding of technical things, I would say, so, it’s like a combination of everything which made it easy for me to figure out, “Okay this is actually something I want to do. I can see myself doing it.”, though, I have to say.
After a while, I also realized and this is where LinkedIn plays a huge role as well, that I also kind of like the coaching field and also teach people how they can improve some things, or like discover new skills, etc, so then out of this social media marketing thing, I found myself doing LinkedIn Coaching not just for individuals but also for companies and how I came across LinkedIn is basically because as a digital marketing student, I listened to a lot of podcasts about marketing, social media management, about social media networks and in the beginning of covid, like LinkedIn and everything shifted, right?
So the whole remote work world opened up, basically, and everything was discussed through LinkedIn and so I heard ‘LinkedIn’ over and over again and I was like curious, “Okay, what is this LinkedIn about and why is everyone speaking about it and why I’m not active on that? Why is no one active on the platform in my network?”.
Yeah, so I think this is also how it started for me, that I just posted content there as well and I also understood the network even better and after a while, I noticed, oh my god, this is actually so helpful to be seen for what you’re doing, especially online and then, in the culmination of wanting to work remotely, it was just a perfect fit, so doing that for work, I kind of built an audience then everyone was just like coming to me and say like, “Hi, what are you doing on LinkedIn?”, and then I joined a mastermind and then these mastermind people asked me, “Oh hey, can you maybe host a training on LinkedIn?”, and I think this is exactly the point where I realized, “Okay, I like LinkedIn, I like the coaching.”, and then it kind of evolved together, I would say.
Debbie:
Isn’t it funny how life takes you in like a different path that you thought you would go to, because?
Jule:
A hundred percent, like because first of all I thought, “Oh okay, I can do social media marketing, right?”, I like can do that for a couple of companies, clients, whatever, like be more on that freelance kind of thing, you know?
But then it evolved into, “Okay, maybe I’m also like more into this entrepreneurial mind set, and I want to create my own thing.”, I think this is basically when I started the whole digital nomad lifestyle, when I was able to go abroad and like ditch the 9 to 5 and not even starting it, actually.
So I never worked in a corporate 9 to 5 job because I always knew, “Okay, that’s not for me, I really don’t want to go to an office.”, and especially not 40 hours a week, so yeah, that’s a little bit about my background story, yeah.
Debbie:
Yeah and it’s really great because most people don’t usually, I mean, obviously LinkedIn has been here for a very long time but most people don’t think about it, usually, right? When they think about connection, they just think that you go there to kind of have like an online resumè and that’s what you put on there, but building a community is a completely different thing, how did you know to do that?
How did you know that you can actually build a community? Because from my perspective, and I’m sure a lot of people too, it’s just that, “Okay, we put our information there, our experiences, we put it out there. If you apply for a job you just give them your LinkedIn information and then that’s it.”, but you took it to a different level.
Jule:
So I think that is also like the biggest misconception people have right now, that it’s only this business network, right? Where people share like news inside about industry news, etc, but it’s clearly not so it’s definitely more than that and it’s like Instagram and Facebook, it’s also like a social network, you know? So the social is already there and I think this is also why it kind of happened during covid time, it got more personal in a way as well because people were talking about this situation, how they feel, what they’re experiencing, so I think that kind of skyrocketed the whole thing as well.
So in terms of community building and networking is that I found out that when I am the one connecting with people, so this is also like one advice or one tip I want to give to everyone, in the beginning it’s really about growing your network and also outreach to people from your side, and not just only click, “oh let’s connect”, but also connect with people and tell them why you want to connect, so, LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to send like a connection message, with where you have like 300 characters so you can let the people know why you want have them on your network, right?
So, you can automatically start a good – great conversation with them, and you’ll never know where this is like, where this ends up, right? So, by doing that I already found out that like just sending a friendly message and tell them, “Hey, I’m”, at this point I’m still concentrating on social media marketing, so it’s just like, “Hey, I’m working in social media marketing, I would love to have you in my network and maybe share some information, etcetera.”, just by sending those messages I had like 2 or 3 job offers, straight away,
Debbie:
Wow.
Jule:
And I was like,”What the **** is this? Okay.”, and I was like, “Oh my god this is like so easy.”, you know? So yeah, I think this is also when I kind of fall in love with LinkedIn and seeing the possibilities out there and from then on, okay more people, especially younger people who just graduated, they need to see this and they need to understand there’s something else other than sending a CV or you know, a cover letter to a big company and then waiting for the, I don’t know, response for like weeks, other than just messaging people straight away.
Debbie:
Because that could get really, really frustrating, especially if you have been on a, you know, out there, just really trying to find a remote job and I hear that all the time from people, like, “Oh my gosh, I’ve been looking for a job for months, I put out my resumè there, I just don’t hear back”, or “I go on interviews and there’s like 10 interviews to go through”, and there’s just so much hoops that you have to jump through to get anything and then you still don’t get a job. So this is definitely kind of a short cut way to do it which is pretty incredible.
Jule:
Yeah, exactly. Also, you get to know the people who are responsible for giving you the job, like in person, you know? Like you can understand them, see their profile, see what they’re up to, etcetera, so you can be like even more personal when you reach out to them and that I think is also a great way to go about it because then it’s just not the cover letter you send, so it’s way more okay to actually have a picture and see you and see what you’re doing, so yeah, that’s I think a major difference.
Debbie:
I love that and if you all want to hear more about Jule’s tips on how to really use and utilize LinkedIn, so you can find remote jobs, make sure to check out her extended interview and she’s going to give us a lot more details, more juicy things for us to learn because you’re definitely somebody that knows what you’re doing because you have used this yourself and you know it’s working and that’s really what I look for when I see or I’m looking for mentors, it’s like people who have actually done it and not just you know went to a few classes and they tell you what is going on from other people’s point of views, so I love that about you, Jule, so thank you for that.
So, going back to how you got into this lifestyle and then all of a sudden covid hit and you’re in Germany, you can’t really go anywhere, you figured out LinkedIn, you’re getting job offers and now to kind of step into the life that you really want to have which is to be a digital nomad but a slow one, right? So how did you finally get to Bali and how did you choose Bali to be your place to kind of settle in for a little bit? Why there? Why not somewhere else? Because this is a big world.
Jule:
Yeah, that’s right, I think it was mainly because of my internship back then in 2019, so I felt like, okay, I really want to go back, because back then I have been here for 5 months or something like this, which was already a long time but then I felt like, okay I want to experience it also from more like a digital nomad perspective, if that makes sense?
So, I was like, I mean I love Bali, I love the vibes, I love the island, I love the food, I’m vegan, so there’s like tons of vegan options here to eat, so that also made it kind of easy to snack my way through, basically. They have great coffee, I’m a big coffee lover so, I don’t know, it’s just like a combination of everything and when the borders, so the borders were still closed up until I think, it was October, yeah, October a year ago, so October 2021, and then they had this like short window, I would say, where they opened the borders again and I was honestly, not even joking, I was on a newsletter list, so I got like updates everyday, about like the borders, if the borders are going to open and all that and I think when they announced that they opened the borders again, I was like probably one of the first ones to apply for the visa again, so I just like took the express version of everything, I was just like, I really want to go back.
So yeah, from getting those news and then booking the flight and then being in Bali, I think that was just 1 or 2 weeks in between, so it was like really like full on, “Let’s go now.”, because otherwise it can be kind of already too late again, you know? That was basically my way back, I was, in between I was in Australia for a week, yeah, exactly, other than that, I’m pretty happy here in Bali and like as I said before I found my home base kind of here, yeah and I definitely want to go from here, there’s so much more to see, also like in Indonesia itself, it has so many amazing islands and I mean, there’s 17,000 islands in Indonesia, I didn’t know that before, so there’s like so much more to see.
So, yeah, I think this is like the game plan for the next couple of years.
Debbie:
Yeah and it’s a place that’s just, like you mentioned, there’s just so much to see there, so it’s a really good combination between working and then also seeing a place that just has so much to offer and it’s also super affordable and I think that’s obviously what we all want when we’re trying to step into this, is like, we want to make sure that we can balance everything and also afford this lifestyle.
So, how do you maintain that? How do you make sure that this lifestyle that you have is sustainable?
Jule:
As you said, like definitely, you should always think about 3 levels of freedom, I would say, when it comes to digital nomad life, which is: time, location and financially.
So, it’s not just only about getting a remote job, right? There’s like so much more to it, I mean, I know you know, but for everyone else, and like there is, like you need to know, okay, “Where do I want to go? Is there like a specific time frame?”, like, “Do I need to work specific hours for a boss?”, “Am I completely independent? Am I my own boss?”, “So, is it more like freelancing stuff I do? Is this my own business?”, so then also knowing, “Okay I need to find a location, where I can first afford it.”, right? And then also, “Is the timezone working for me?”, so all these kinds of questions you really need to ask yourself before you start.
I mean, I’m right now in that lucky position that I can really decide for my own where I want to go like timezones doesn’t really matter for me, but yeah, if you don’t have that fully flexibility, I would highly recommend to just like sit down with yourself, figure out all those thoughts first and decide from there.
Debbie:
Yeah, and really going to look at the type of lifestyle you want is so important to that because if you’re a very simple person and you want simple things then you don’t necessarily need you know a 6 figure or multi 6 figure job or business, you could live on a lot less but if you want luxury then it’s going to take a little bit more work, you know? So just knowing your expectations, I mean, whether you want to be a digital nomad or a regular 9 to 5-er, I think that’s what we don’t usually think about, we just think about like, “Yeah, I need a lot of money, I need this, this and that.”, but then when you actually sit down, list out the kind of life that you see yourself like what you’re envisioning, maybe it’s actually a lot more doable and you know a shorter amount of time versus if you’re the type of person that wants the high life then that’s going to take a very long time, so it really depends on what you want and also, you had mentioned, Jule, when you are looking at remote work, there’s all of these different things, right? Time zones, whether your company, if you’re working for a company, will allow you to go to a different country because sometimes there’s some issues there, so those are definitely things to look into, but it’s not that hard because most of the time, there’s a lot more flexibility now, I think a lot more companies are understanding people’s needs so there’s definitely a lot more opportunities.
Jule:
Yes, I definitely agree and I love to see the change happening as well, I mean, that just already tells us, okay, what can we expect from I hope in the next one or two years, you know? That there’s actually a big shift happening also more and more countries are offering like the digital nomad visa and all that. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen about it as well, so I think this is like really a great time to look more into that lifestyle, into working remotely, digital nomad but it could also mean, okay, you just want to have your home base in your home country right? And then just go for two to three months somewhere else, it doesn’t always need to be that typical digital nomad lifestyle, just make sure you really decide for yourself what you really want to do and not just thinking first place about, “Oh I just want to get a remote job and then it’s all good and solid.”, I think this is also like a really, really important thing.
Debbie:
Yeah and to that I do have to say also understanding the type of life you want is so important because if you find a remote job and it actually doesn’t allow you to live that ideal lifestyle that you have, you may be as miserable as being in a regular office 9 to 5, because maybe they require you to be there you know at a certain time for like 9 to 5 still and you’re still at your desk and they’re constantly you know, maybe contacting you, having all of those meetings and you can’t really have the flexibility, so that is definitely something to keep in mind when you are looking for a job, like, are you okay with that? But at least you’re at home or you really want that flexibility, in that case, then you need to find a company or start your own business that will allow you to have that, so that’s super important that needs to be definitely highlighted and shared because we often just think, “Okay, remote work! Yay! I could do X, Y and Z.”.
Jule:
Yeah, a hundred percent, there’s definitely more to that than just thinking that.
Debbie:
Yes, I think a lot of us figured that out as we went along, you know? Because this stuff for a lot of people is fairly new, and I think so many more people have started remote jobs or remote work, when the pandemic started, and now people are starting to get back to the office and they don’t want to do that anymore and it’s like, “Okay, how do we do this and still have this type of lifestyle?”,so, which is pretty incredible actually, that, you know, the pandemic kind of brought this out.
Jule:
It definitely opened up the remote work field so much more that’s for sure.
Debbie:
Absolutely.
So, can you tell us, Jule, what is it about your lifestyle now, because there’s so many different types of remote work life situations, there’s like digital nomad, there is the slowmad, which I believe you are, right, Jule? And then I was talking to a guest the other day where they call it like a home-mad, I don’t know if you’ve heard of that, where it’s like you have a home base and then like you just travel from there, here and there and I’m like, is there any more terminologies that I’m missing, like what else is there?
Jule:
I love the last one, actually. I think I’m a home-, a home-mad?
Debbie:
Yeah.
Jule:
Nomad, home-mad, maybe a combination of both, so yeah, I’m here for now and for me it really feels like Bali is home, definitely, I don’t know if that is the same thing in a year or two, you know? As you said in the beginning, we never know where life takes us and just be open and enjoy. Enjoy the journey, I would say, so whatever, whatever comes is meant to be, I think, so yeah, but for now, definitely, I think a slowmad, home-mad, I love that.
So yeah, what about you by the way? Where would you categorize yourself in?
Debbie:
I’m definitely a home-mad, so, my husband and I we live in New York City like half of the year and then we go and visit family down south when it gets colder here, but we travel from, like we love to do, you know like, short, little getaways and we’re planning on doing a lot more longer than that but right now, we’re definitely home-mads, so that’s, I can’t do the like going from one place to the next, like for a few weeks and then I’m out, it’s too tiring and for me, personally, I don’t, it’s just not sustainable because if you’re working on the road, like, it just gets harder and harder and also for me, I would not be able to concentrate because I would just like want to see everything and not get any work done.
Jule:
Yeah, no, that’s actually a good point that you mentioned and I think this is also something really important, maybe if you start your remote work journey and then decide on one place first and then maybe also commit to one place, at least, let’s say for a month, I would say and really like find a routine, so, I’m like a super routine person, you know? I kind of need structure, I need a routine, otherwise it’s as you said, I also won’t get things done and then also the whole flexibility probably goes away because you are just like can’t keep up with the workload or whatever it is, so I think finding a good balance between slow traveling, finding a routine, also enjoying the destination itself, I think this is kind of the key to the lifestyle.
Debbie:
Yeah, I absolutely, absolutely agree with that and you know, you’re right, routine it’s the same thing with me, like I need to have a routine when I’m in New York and it’s the same exact routine that I have when I’m anywhere that I’m staying for like a long period of time because it does allow me to get work done and I feel settled, but it’s so important and it’s really funny too, Jule, because when I was back in my 9 to 5, I was like, “Oh I hate this routines, etc”, and then you go off on your own and then in the beginning I don’t know if this happened to you but this is happening to my husband right now because he just started working remotely, like when you first begin, you don’t know what to do with yourself because now you have this freedom, right? And you can do whatever you want but then you end up also trying to set a routine for yourself because if it’s just all over the place you get too distracted or there’s not a lot work done and you’re just kind of screwing around so that routine really helps me balance what I need to do and I know a lot of people, you know, or some people don’t need it but I definitely do and it seems like you do too, because otherwise I’ll just be kind of sleeping all day or eating and that’s it.
Jule:
Yeah, I agree a hundred percent, especially when it comes to the, when you start having your own hours, because I think it takes a lot of self discipline as well so you really need to like keep pushing, I would say and not getting distracted too much and then see the long term bigger picture especially if you work on your own business or have freelance clients, right? Where no one is telling you, you need to be online during that time, right? If you’re like a remote employee it’s even like more dangerous or whatever you name it, it’s just like, yeah, like you said, get distracted and just like two different things, yeah it’s like as you said a good reminder, “Okay, you need to be fully focused, have a routine, be organized and also, disciplined.”, I think.
Debbie:
Yeah, it’s another level of commitment because,
Jule:
Oh yeah!
Debbie:
Because, when you are at an office, people see you, they know what you’re kind of doing and you have to be there but with this type of lifestyle, especially if you own your own business or you have like a very flexible company you’re working for, you have to make sure you are in charge of yourself so autonomy is great and I love it. I love it! Like I couldn’t get back to that like you have to you know structured type thing from other people but it also comes with a lot of responsibility like you mentioned, Jule, it’s,
Jule:
Yeah.
Debbie:
It’s a superpower you have but then you can also mess it up really fast.
Jule:
Yeah, that’s actually true.
Debbie:
Love that.
So, Jule, let’s move forward to maybe let’s say 30 to 50 years from now and you’re looking back at your life, what legacy would you like to leave and what do you want to be remembered for?
Jule:
That’s a big question!
I definitely love it, let me think about it quick.
Yeah, I think definitely to having built a community for remote work enthusiasts who don’t necessarily want that entrepreneurial digital nomad life, you know, because as we said there are like different ways to go about it also via slowmad or home-mad but maybe then also combine that to educate and empower people that there’s something else outside an office building and kind of serve as a stepping stone in a way that they can feel like it’s not so scary as it might seem in the beginning, and then also with that community support, so, building that for people who feel like, “I’m not currently in the right bubble.”, you know?
Because we sometimes grow up in a specific bubble and people in our bubble they don’t really think about other options so we feel stuck and cannot like leave that bubble so easily but I think it becomes easier if you surround yourself with like minded people so in like 20 years from now, I hope I have a lot of people to ditch their 9 to 5 or the office building, i would say, yeah, and go after their dreams and just like realize, okay, there’s like more out there and there’s a way to make it happen and it doesn’t like, it’s not so scary as it might sound or feel in the beginning and being a supportive cheerleader on the side, I would say, so yeah, I would say that’s definitely my goal.
Debbie:
Yeah and I love that you’re doing that right now through LinkedIn and your coaching which is pretty incredible because so many people are still super confused about what’s going on so you’re already on the right track, that is amazing.
Thank you so much, Jule, for joining us today! We really appreciate you being here, if our listeners want to learn more about you, where can they find you?
Jule:
Thank you, first of all so much, for inviting me, for having me, for your time, Debbie and they can find me on LinkedIn of course, Jule Marie Rose but then also on Instagram, Jule Marie Rose, altogether.
I’m happy to connect just send me a message whenever and talk to you there.
Debbie:
Perfect, thanks, Jule!
Jule:
Thank you!
Listen to Jule’s extended interview where she talks about how to use LinkedIn to find remote jobs.
What you’ll find:
In this episode, Jule’s gives us tips and tricks on how to land remote jobs using LinkedIn.
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