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Business & Pleasure is the show that discusses what it’s really like to be a digital nomad. We talk about the ups and downs, the lessons learned and the big discussion about whether you can really have it all.
Lydia: Hello and welcome to the Business and Pleasure Podcast, the show that discusses what it's really like to be a digital nomad. We talk about the ups and the downs of the lessons learned and the big discussion about whether you can really have it all. Today we have Simon Daley on the show. Simon is a designer and UI developer who has recently launched Hacker Cabin, a community for remote workers and digital nomads.
Welcome Simon. Thanks so much for joining us.
Simon: My pleasure, Lydia. Nice to be here.
Lydia: Amazing. So can you tell us a bit more about what you do?
Simon: Sure, yeah. I'm based in the UK, near the Lake District. For the last 15 plus years I've been a developer and for the last, at least a decade now, I've been working remotely. in 2017, I started working for a fairly well known company in London. even though it was, mostly remote, it was still nine till five, Monday till Friday. And there were meetings, lots of meetings, and they were quite solely destroying. And, we never seemed to resolve anything on those meetings. It just seemed like meetings for the sake of meetings. So I worked really hard on that project and after about a year and a half, I just knew I'd come to the end of the road with it.
So, early 2019, I, I just left there and I had no backup plan, uh, no safety net. Exactly what you're not supposed to do.
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: but since then I've managed to work on some really interesting things. I've very fortunate.
Lydia: And could you tell us a bit about Hacker Cabin?
Simon: so I started it basically because I could, I launched it on the 23rd of March, 2023. I just read a report in Trends vc. And I had a gap of about two weeks to make something. I'm already building a few different SaaS products. I've got things going on there, so I, I didn't want to just create something else like that.
I made this, I think it went from concept to completion in about seven days. I'd set myself the goal to get more active and to get outdoors more. And some of my favorite building public tweets are people just sharing like, Where they're working from. I saw yours and a few others, and I've bookmarked loads of them and I think, subconsciously this might have been part of the catalyst for me to put this together.
I felt like I wanted to connect with other people that are in similar positions, not identical, but, and also from different parts of the world.
Lydia: Yeah, that's great. it's so nice having all these sort of different communities and places to go where people are going through the same things, the same ups and downs, you know, you can talk to them and, you know, share the problems. It's, it's brilliant. So you mentioned you, are a remote worker, but Hacker Cabin is $ mainly targeted towards sort of the digital nomad life as, as well as remote workers everything that fits under that umbrella.
What was it about the digital nomad lifestyle that really caught your attention?
Simon: What's not to like? Just take your example, for example. Just, just look at the, look at the places you've, been able to go to over the last year. it looks like you've prioritized experiences over possessions and I, I think that's just really cool.
I mean, looking at my situation, I looked on Wiki Wikipedia about what a digital ad is, and , it says, Digital nomads, someone who can travel freely while working remotely using technology.
I'm not your stereotypical digital nomad, but I'm fortunate to be in that position where I can travel whenever I want, and work wherever I want. As long as there's an internet connection. and I plan to do a bit more of that over the next couple of years.
Lydia: To me sort of re remote working in Being a digital nomad is a very, very similar, I don't think there's actually that much of a difference really, because like he said, You being a remote worker, you can work from anywhere as long as there's internet, and that's basically the same as a digital nomad as well.
What have you learned so far from creating this community?
Simon: Yeah, so many things really. I've learned that people enjoy connecting with others and sharing things. Provided you can create a welcoming space and if people relate to what you're doing. I've learned how to send better Twitter dms by about a million percent. When I first started, I was a bit too like over enthusiastic.
and I've learned to tone that down a little bit. cause I've tried to put myself in other people's shoes. How would that come across if they were approaching me like that? I've improved my approach there. I've learned that people will help you sometimes way more than you expect, and you might be pleasantly surprised and.
The other thing is that I've learned that just being willing to put myself out there and tell my story, that's resonated with people more than trying to be too clever and create a perfect article. Um, I liked what Arvid Kahl mentioned on Twitter recently. He said, it's not about showing off. It's about showing up. I just like that message.
Lydia: Definitely. Yeah, I fully agree with that. I think. When I first started out, I was very much the same as in, oh, I don't wanna ask someone, I don't wanna put them out, and all of this. But people actually really enjoy helping other people and it's nice and it helps build a relationship, build a community, and.
More often than not, you ask a question or you ask someone to be on your podcast or anything like that. The majority of the time, people are happy to help and they'll say yes, and even if they don't, there's a valid reason for for saying no. And I think that's something that's so nice about the Indie Hacker, digital Nomad, remote worker spaces.
People just want to see other people succeed. And that could mean anything. That could mean like in a business sense, that could mean in a like personal growth sense. They just want to help people improve and do well, which is really nice. It makes sense that you wanted to target and focus on this audience.
Currently you class yourself as a remote worker. You're currently based in the UK and you mentioned that you, you travel around the uk. Would you ever fully go down the digital nomad route? Would you pack up all your things, put stuff in storage, go wild, or would you mainly stay in the UK with a a base?
Simon: I mean, I'd love to do it like going all in, you know, like what you are doing at the moment. never say never.
Lydia: No. Exactly.
Exactly. We'll see. We'll see you in five years and you would've gone around the whole world at that point.
Simon: I saw something, um, what was it now? I can't remember. I started watching something. There's one guy that's been doing it for about 50 years. Um, I only started watching the beginning of it yesterday. but yeahs to, it must be like the original digital.
Lydia: Yeah. Is
Simon: just stopped traveling the world.
Can't remember what it's called now.
Lydia: is he doing it alone?
Simon: Yeah. 50 years solid.
Lydia: Wow. That's impressive.
He's a citizen of the world.
That would be amazing. I dunno if I could hack it for 50 years, but maybe never say never.
Simon: exactly.
Lydia: So what is next for Hacker Cabin?
Simon: So the, the goals are to get roughly 10 members a month and get people interacting with each other. I really want to see a situation where people, making connections with each other, not just me. I think it's, I want it to grow organically. You can't force relationships, and I just think that that takes time.
A as for other projects, to be honest, I've probably got too much on right now and I'm in a situation where I'm reevaluating what, what I want to do. in fact, preparing for this podcast has made me think about things. You know, there's a certain amount that you need, isn't it?
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: I'll come onto that later a little bit.
I'm probably trying to do a little bit too much. I've got quite a few opportunities. I've turned one down recently. Um, it's just again, like getting that right balance, isn't it? that's where I'm at, at the mo at the moment. Hacker Cabin is, it's not my biggest, venture right now is a side project.
It's a passion project. It's to do with where I'm at in life. I really believe that it's important to not just be about work. And as a developer you can, you can get trapped into a certain comfort level of certain things and I just wanna push myself out of my comfort zone a little bit, do other things on podcasts like this.
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: yeah, and I think community is very important for that. That is, it is when I started getting involved with community that I felt like I grew and it's just amazing the opportunities that opened up after I started putting myself out there. I've got a lot of developer friends that sort of stay in their own bubble. and I think that's a shame because I think they're missing out on some opportunities there. I tried to be a little bit different over the last few years.
Lydia: I think that's a great point. Like when you have that community there, you feel more comfortable to push yourself and push the boundaries and get out of your comfort zone because, you know, you almost have like a, a safety net. You have the people around you to help you when you are facing problems or if you are just struggling with whatever the new thing is that you're trying, it's more of a motivation to try these new things cause you don't feel so alone when you are tackling these new challenges. So I think it's really nice that you are creating a, space that will motivate people and drive people to do something that they may not have done before being in the community.
Putting yourself out there, trying new things. Sort of goes hand in hand with being a digital nomad and being a remote worker as well, because it's not as known as, you know, what society says is a normal lifestyle. you are going into the unknown as well.
It's all sort of connected as well. It makes sense, like with being a digital nomad, there's a lot of stuff you, you sort of just do and you figure out, out and you go from there. and you are pushing yourself out your comfort zone.
Simon: I mean for you For example, in your situation, do you feel like there's times where it's been a bit scary and you've had to push yourself a little?
Lydia: yes, I've been very lucky in all of my travel. I've like, nothing majorly gone. wrong touch word. but there's definitely been times when I've been a bit like, oh god, in a work sense where. It's taken me a good while to get used to the ups and downs of having your own business.
You can be jam packed for months and then it can be dead quiet, and then you are like, oh God. And that's taken me months to get used to. And then from sort of a travel sense, when I first arrived in Argentina, I didn't know any Spanish and I'd just come from Asia where Depending where you go, they speak a like a level of English, so you can get by.
and I arrived here and I was like, oh, I dunno what you're saying. And then I quickly realized I need to sort that out. So started a Spanish course, which has helped massively, but I think it's nice. I enjoy being put in uncomfortable positions because you. Then have to figure it out.
You have to come up with a solution and fix it. You always figure it out as well. So it's having that sort of blind faith that you'll, you'll come up with something and you'll be in a better position than you were. So yeah, I think I've been very lucky. I haven't had any major, major issues, but it's all learning.
We'll see. I'm sure something will happen.
So when you first, answered the question, you mentioned you have a lot going on at the moment, which is always good, but sometimes it can feel very overwhelming and it's hard to prioritize. You don't really know where your time should be sat. And then also you have your, your life as well and your personal.
Personal life, and finding that balance when it comes to you prioritizing in a work sense. How do you prioritize projects at the moment?
Simon: Honestly, it's difficult because some projects you, they're quite busy and then they'll go quiet and, um, you think you just sort of managing, okay. Then that quiet project seems to get really busy all of a sudden. The honest answer is, I haven't figured it out
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: Um, I just thought of, and, and it's not good.
And you don't wanna cut back too much in case then, you know, the situation in the world isn't great from financial point of view. You know, there's, things are going up and up and you don't wanna cut back too much. So it's like a constant juggling. Um, I'm in that position right now where I've probably got too much work, so I might need to reevaluate some things.
I know a lot of people talk about notion being like the miracle organizer, and perhaps that's true. Maybe, maybe that's the secret. I dunno. It's notion something that I've tried a couple of years ago, but I never really explored it fully. Is it something you used to organize or are you just quite organized in general?
Lydia: I've used it a lot with my clients. Like I, I love notion, but I think I'm still very like top tier with notion. You can go so, so deep and you can create all these amazing things, but when it comes to, me being organized, I use My calendar and that is what I go by. I love time blocking, so I'll literally block out my day with everything that I need to do It's great because if I don't do it, I'm like, oh God, I feel like I've let myself down. It's like if you have a to-do list and you're like physically ticking it off, which I also love doing, it gives me a lot more motivation.
Just seeing it in my calendar, seeing the time coming up. I'm like, okay, I need to do that. Then I can do this. So I use, I use that mainly for my. Organizing what I need to do, but notion is amazing. I would highly recommend you getting back on Notion.
Simon: Right, right. I'll, I'll dig into it.
Lydia: It's the best. It's the best. Okay. Amazing. Well, Simon, the final and the big question is, can you really have it all? Can you have a balance of business and pleasure?
Simon: Yeah, why not? I mean, you can, but it's not easy. Like I said earlier, I feel there is a lot of pressure on people at the moment and in the UK for example. The cost of living has just gone up so much over the last few years, but I think if you can keep your costs low live, live well within your means,
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: um, set proper boundaries, remember what really matters in life,
Lydia: Yeah.
Simon: Then yeah, I think not only can you do that, you probably should do that.
if endlessly chasing. Higher revenue means that you are losing out on opportunities to get outside or spend time with your family and friends. And it's probably time to reevaluate, times probably our most valuable resource. I watched an interview with Peter Levels in Sampa, the one he did, I think it was a year ago we all know as Indie Hackers, he's. You know, one of the front runners, he's making so many interesting things, making a lot of money. But he admitted he only spends about $5,000 a month. any, anything on top of that, he just sort of invests or whatever. So I think the point is, is there's a certain level that everyone needs.
So I've reached that level. So I'm determined to just get out more, um, have more good experiences and meet more interesting people. And I've already done that, and I plan to continue doing that. that's my goal.
Lydia: That's amazing. That's great. And where's next on your list? Where are you traveling to next?
Simon: Um, not somewhere that exotic, um, it'll be Scotland, but
I'm trying to find somewhere like as remote as possible, and the plan is to
share where I am. And then, you know, the, the typical room of the laptop.
Lydia: The mountain in the background.
Simon: Yeah, exactly.
Lydia: Oh, lovely. That would be amazing. , I'm looking forward to seeing that. I've never actually been to Scotland, so you need to send me all the pictures and inspire me to get up there.
Simon: We've, you've done Scotland.
Lydia: I know, I know.
My parents used to live there as well, and I've never, I've never been, but I've heard great things, so it, it is on the list. I'll get there
Simon: Yeah. What about you? What's next after Argentina?
Lydia: so I'm here, for a week and a half, and then I will be in Brazil. I'm not too sure for how long just yet. I'll be in South Paolo and then. We'll see,
Simon: I
Lydia: see how I get on in Brazil and then after Brazil, I, I wanna go to Columbia. but with being a digital nomad, you can never plan too far in advance.
So it'll probably change.
Simon: Yeah.
Lydia: Yeah. I'll keep you posted with photos in Hacker Cabin. Okay. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Simon. It was great to talk to you. And thank you everybody for listening. We'll see you again soon.