Digital nomads are professionals who work while traveling since they carry out their work online and have geographic freedom of movement. Consequence of this change of labor paradigm arises Nomad Cruise.
Its founder is Johannes Volkner, a German who, after many years of working and traveling alone, had the idea of sharing a transatlantic cruise to Brazil with other traveling entrepreneurs in order to do business on board and tour South America together upon arrival. The advantages were obvious: on the one hand, they would support each other to overcome the feared feeling of loneliness while traveling and, on the other hand, they would take the opportunity to meet and establish professional ties.
The result was a complete success and thus, spontaneously and without planning, this project was born in 2015, which already has a community of over 8,500 members. Since then Nomad Cruise has crossed the Atlantic Ocean on multiple occasions, transporting hundreds of digital nomads from one place to another while they attend training sessions and conferences on board a ship. Because learning and fun can also go hand in hand.
This cruise is only the beginning, as he points out Volkner “it’s a lifetime journey”because upon reaching the mainland is when the learning and knowledge acquired is assimilated and it is when the true connections of networking that stretch over time.
On the deck of the Nomad Cruise
We spoke with the ideologue of this initiative, Johannes Völkner, to tell us the keys to this project that has more and more followers. During the interview we also asked him about the upward trend in teleworking and the labor dynamics of the future. He receives us on the deck of the ship in which Nomad Cruise made a transoceanic crossing from Spain to Panama, passing through several Caribbean islands, aboard the ship monarch from Pullmantur Cruises.
Emprendedor.com (EMP): What is the mission of Nomad Cruise?
Johannes Volkner (JV): The mission is to build a powerful community of people who work remotely to support and help each other, creating a network of contacts around the world.
EMP: What do you consider to be your added value?
JV: The cruise is just the beginning. Our experience tells us that the participants then go into business together and meet and continue to support day after day. In addition, we are waiting for the first wedding of a couple who met on our cruise (Völkner states with a knowing smile).
EMP: What did you do before Nomad Cruise?
JV: I worked in online marketing and had a blog aimed at digital nomads, so I had a wide network of contacts on Facebook that helped me build this project without planning it, it was not planned, but it just happened spontaneously.
EMP: How exactly did this initiative come about?
JV: It was a completely improvised project. I had been working and traveling alone for a long time and always had problems meeting with other remote workers. Suddenly, looking for trips, I found a very affordable cruise to Brazil and I thought it would be useful to tell other colleagues so that we can do business on the ship and then travel together in South America.
EMP: Why is it so important for digital nomads to have a community to lean on?
JV: Because to be able to carry out remote work successfully, the trick is to be able to count on people to lean on and accompany you. Otherwise it can be very hard and you feel very alone. That is why we are such a broad and connected community.
JV: We support all those digital nomads who join our cruise and undertake social projects, trying to help them through our community with everything within our reach. We have, for example, the case of Stella Romanapromoter of the 22 Starts Foundation that is committed to the education and schooling of children in Uganda and which will soon be able to educate 150 more children.
EMP: Why would you encourage people to join your project?
JV: Because you meet very interesting like-minded people with different skills to learn from and also to experience this spirit of sharing and helping each other. Also, the most important thing is that you meet people from all over the world, you get to the ship alone and you get off with 80 new friends.
EMP: What novelties of Nomad Cruise would you highlight for the future?
JV: We will hold more meetings around the world to connect all the participants who have been part of the different editions without having to get on the boat. Different routes are also planned. There are many novelties, but after each cruise we are also guided by the suggestions that our community leaves us.
EMP: Do you consider that remote work is the future of work?
JV: Definitely yes, if you have a job that you can do online. People are still not aware of the benefits of teleworking, but little by little its advantages will become more visible and it will be put more and more into practice.
EMP: But not all jobs can be done remotely, what about those professionals who can’t work online?
JV: They can tailor their business to allow them to travel and work, although obviously not everyone can. But, for example, if you work in an office and make use of the necessary online tools, it would be possible, we will all be able to do it one day. The latest edition of Nomad Cruise left from Spain. It was the first time that she made a route through the Mediterranean. On board were more than 200 digital nomads from 43 nationalities. The countries that stood out by number of participation were: Germany, the US, the Netherlands and Hungary. The next edition will be in autumn, starting from Spain (Barcelona) to Brazil (Recife).