Millennial Latina Travel Vlogger Andrea Valeria Helping Turn Your Wanderlust Dreams Into A Reality

With Digital Nomadism becoming increasingly popular, people are starting to consider how it can be a reality for them. Travel Vlogger Andrea Valeria is helping others figure out and navigate through their own journey by launching a platform into a unique and really cool resource to help others work online and be able to incorporate more travel into their lifestyle. She is the founder of Remote Gig Fridays where she dedicates her time to finding and sharing remote gigs with her followers. 

Andrea’s own path to the ideal lifestyle is quite interesting. After being a TV News Reporter, Andrea left it behind after realizing it wasn’t the job for her. She wanted to have more creative freedom and also give entrepreneurism a try so she combined her great camera presence and storytelling with her passion for travel, and her It’s a Travel O.D. website was born.

Her job today is the kind of life that many people dream about, with enviable wanderlust images dotting her website and Instagram accounts, coupled with practical ways and resources to help others get their own travel Vlogger lifestyle off the ground.

Andrea’s work has been covered by Forbes, and Travel Latina, proving that creating your own future shouldn’t just be a dream. Read to learn how Andrea turned her 9-5 into her dream scenario.

What made you start Remote Gig Fridays?

Aside from constantly receiving questions about how to start working remotely, how I do it, what skills are needed, I was also noticing people didn’t know where to look for remote jobs. Finding your first remote job might be challenging, so I wanted to provide that resource. Also, I have a big network of creatives, entrepreneurs & small biz owners who all work online, and they need help. They were coming to me asking if I knew qualified people who could work for them. I started by posting the remote opportunities on my Instagram stories every Friday – that’s how Remote Gig Fridays was born. But, I realized people wanted to have access all week, so I also started a directory on my website which I update every week. 

Was it hard for you to find your first remote job?

In my case, I was able to transition a 9-5 full-time job to remote. For employers, having remote employees can save them a lot of money. I presented all the pros of having me perform the same duties, but remotely. It was a new concept for them, so I suggested we did a trial period for a few months. I started working from home, and as I grew more comfortable with a new setup, I started traveling. How I did it is just one of the many ways in which you can embark on the remote work journey. 

What goes behind the scene of running your remote job directory? 

I research and find remote jobs, opportunities or one-time projects/gigs. I make sure they are legit jobs because there are tons of online scams out there, so I want to make sure that my readers can find real options. People who work in remote companies or biz owners looking for help have also started reaching out to me with jobs I can include. Jobs are shared every Friday on my Instagram stories, and the remote job directory is updated weekly, as well. 

Do you think working remotely is a temporary trend or the new way of working?

More and more companies are including a few remote positions and some are even becoming fully remote. Not every industry is made for this type of setup, but every company can have at least 1 remote position. From accountants to social media managers, from admin assistants to project managers, all kinds of jobs can be performed without ever having to go to an office.

Companies can save on office space, and small biz owners can hire without worrying where they’ll host their employees. Remote workers enjoy the perks of working from home, and it gives people like full-time mothers the opportunity to work and also take care of their kids. People like me who love to travel; enjoy being able to be location independent, so we are actively looking for these opportunities. 

Every day we see more and more tools to make it even easier – from collaborative platforms designed for remote teams to video-conferencing software with even more capabilities to make it convenient for virtual teams to work together. Working remotely is undoubtedly a growing trend, and it won’t go anywhere! 

Has there been any success stories?

I started this remote job searching initiative about 2 months ago, and the most rewarding part of all of this is seeing people actually start believing that remote work can be a reality for them! 

My favorite story thus far is a mother who had an unfulfilling job less than a year ago. After going back to school to learn coding, her goal was now to land some online clients and start working remotely. At this point, she had the education but not the experience, so she reached out to me to offer her services to maintain and revamp my job directory… pro bono. 

For her, this was like an internship. For me, this was much needed help – especially considering that I’m not making money with this new remote job initiative. After 1 month of working with me, I have put her in contact with a friend who was looking for someone with her skills… and that was her first paid opportunity after graduating. Another person saw on my stories what services she offered, and has also hired her for a project. Her story is proof that it’s never too late to switch careers, and that you can achieve your remote work goals if you acquire new skills or learn to present the ones you currently have for remote work… if you put yourself out there and network… and if you’re willing to take risks!

You can follow Andrea as she travels and vlogs from various destinations around the world by visiting her website, and following her on Instagram.