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Meet Mika Vincheuski, who runs a business helping digital nomads get a driving license in Georgia. Welcome to “How I Escaped.” This Discovery Sessions interview series probes inspiring individuals who successfully ditched the rat race to inspire readers just like you. 

 

Where are you from or where do you feel local to?

Mika Vincheuski: I’m originally from Minsk, Belarus. I grew up there and moved to Germany when I was 19. I kinda had to build everything in a new country far away from my family with no starting capital. During university,  I spent a lot of time volunteering and building my skill set in social organizations like AIESEC.

 

How did you escape the rat race? Tell us the backstory of your former profession.

MV: I used to work in leadership positions for NGOs with different social causes. These jobs had a social impact and were fulfilling, but the financial aspect was limited. Unfortunately, the social impact sector usually has limited financial resources and there were no growth opportunities available.

 

I started building my personal brand on social media next to my job and got my first leadership coaching clients while still working full-time. This gave me confidence and some financial buffer to quit my job and start a location-independent life.

 

In a year, I switched what I was doing cause it didn’t work anymore as I imagined it would in the beginning. Currently, I am running a business where I help digital nomads get a driving license in Georgia. But I would never have come up with this idea if I hadn’t started with something else and hadn’t come into the need for a driving license for my trips outside the EU.

 

 

What advice would you give someone looking to start a digital nomad business? 

MV: Start while you are still in the safety of your current job and then pivot. I am a big fan of going all in while you still have some stability in life, as it might cause a lot of counterproductive stress if you don’t. It depends on your psychotype, I guess. But for me, it was perfect to try out my business idea while still having a paycheck. I could fail without a big risk.

 

Instagram and TikTok were also big game changers for me. Figuring out how to market my services and having reels going viral (many over 1.000.000 views and a total of over 10.000.000 in just four months) enabled me to fully focus on my business, and hire employees and freelancers. Social media changed my life and enabled me to be location-independent, so I would really say you should start as soon as you can and don’t worry about the haters. Start posting, learn on the way, and get help from others who have made it. There’s so much potential out there and people who are too afraid to post are doing a disservice to themselves.

 

What does a typical day in the life look like for you (if you have one)? 

MV: Currently, most of my day is spent answering requests from potential clients for the driving license service in Georgia. Thanks to good social media marketing, requests are coming in quite often. As a digital nomad, it’s very helpful for me to have a team locally, as my business requires a physical presence. This way, I can run an offline business from anywhere in the world. I can travel, meet friends, spend more time with my family, and generally plan my time as I wish, as all of my tasks can be completed from my phone. Content creation doesn’t take much time either; maybe 5-10 minutes per day.

 

What’s the biggest challenge of life running a digital nomad business? 

MV: Leading a team while not being in the country where they work requires good leadership and management skills. Especially as I plan to scale it gradually, I need good employees, and luckily, I have found people who love our service, and we make it a win-win-win situation.

 

What’s the biggest reward of running a digital nomad business? 

MV: My business empowers people to improve their mobility. Many digital nomads don’t have a driving license, which is very useful for more flexibility and freedom, which is a big value for many travelers. It makes me really happy to see my clients get a driving license in Georgia and be grateful for our service. Some of them send videos of their new car or from trips that they take on motorbikes in exotic countries. It’s rewarding to see them happy. Of course, doing this 100% location independent for me is a blessing that enables me to do whatever I want wherever and with whomever, while still having a stable income stream.

 

 

What does freedom mean to you? When do you feel freest?

MV: Freedom for me is deciding what I want to commit to. I don’t seek a lifestyle where I am just chilling on the beach 24/7, because I love growing personally and in all other ways. I prefer pursuing new ideas and experiences out of abundance and curiosity, and not out of the need for perspective.

 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to become location-independent, work online, and maximize their freedom?

MV: Start as soon as you can: Experiment, test, fail, repeat, improve. Don’t be afraid of failure, as it just brings you closer to success. Also, don’t follow the glamorous expectations that travel and digital nomad bloggers create on their social media feeds. Go on your own path and if it means that you live in a Norwegian forest instead of on a Caribbean beach, or spend more time with your family in your hometown instead of climbing volcanoes in Guatemala. Follow what makes you truly fulfilled and happy and not what others see as cool.

 

What do you wish you did differently (in work or life)? 

MV: I am grateful for all the experiences and mistakes I have had. I don’t care what others think of me because they actually don’t even think of me at all. Living on my own terms and not trying to fit into anyone’s imaginary expectations. Life feels much better this way. It’s possible to be happier in a job than location-independent in exotic locations when your inner world is not at peace. I experienced this and learned it the hard way.