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It’s not everyday you meet someone with the luxury of running a multiple 6-figure online business, while being able to explore the world at the same time.

This is why I’m excited to be sharing this interview with Natalie Sisson, who is a best-selling author of The Suitcase Entrepreneur — a title that she calls herself.

What is a Suitcase Entrepreneur you ask?

In Natalie’s case, it’s travelling to 69 countries breaking the world record for Dragon Boating, winning world beach ultimate championships, and winning body sculpting championships at Nationals. Basically, a lot of wins.

Her story wasn’t always this exciting though.

After eight years in the corporate world and quitting her tech startup, Natalie was left with $2,000 in her bank account living in Vancouver (which is enough to last a week in Vancouver). Her mission was to start an online, remote business that allowed her to explore the world, while being able to grow a successful and profitable company.

This year, she’s celebrating her 5th year in business. And after years of grinding and making mistakes, she’s sharing her advice and all of her lessons learned to the aspiring entrepreneurs looking to build an online business.

What I love about Natalie’s business is her transparency. Everything from the backgrounds of her adventurous lifestyle (i.e. helicopter rides overlooking Las Vegas, infinity pools, sailing the ocean), but also how she earns her income:

And this interview is full of transparent gems, where Natalie and I talk about everything from how to make the transition from 9 to 5 into entrepreneurship, skillsets required, how to market your new business, and much more.

Here’s the details.

Highlights of the Episode:

• What is the difference between running a tech startup vs. a location independent, online business
• What are the 3 core skillsets required that will give you a competitive advantage when starting an online business
• What is the ONE thing you should do before you make the leap into starting your own business
• How Natalie went from $2,000 in the bank to $15,000 in one month
• The 7 different revenue streams Natalie has built into her business
• Which revenue stream you should start with, and how to set it up
• The pitfalls of running a remote, online business that no one ever talks about
• How Natalie ensures she has the most productive morning with The 6 Minute Morning Miracle

Links Mentioned in the Episode

• Natalie’s Blog: The Suitcase Entrepreneur
• Natalie’s Best-selling book: The Suitcase Entrepreneur
• The Freedom Plan
• 6 Minute Morning Miracle

Recommended Posts on the Blog

• How to Travel to 20+ Countries While Building a Startup
• How to Travel the World on $50 USD a Day with NomadicMatt
• 32 Lessons You Learn Traveling Around the World Alone

I’d love your thoughts on this episode! What did you think?

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Apple is getting closer to achieving a “connected home” with its HomeKit initiative. Among Apple’s plans for its own Internet of Things is an app to manage everything from your mobile device. Apple is reported to be designing an app for iOS 9 called “Home” which would act as a master control for all HomeKit connected accessories. Aside from the … Continue reading

Want a taste of Windows 10 on your Xbox One? It’s coming sooner than you might’ve thought. Xbox boss Phil Spencer tweeted today that a beta of the program that ties your console in with your desktop computer is coming “post-summer.” Exactly what feat…

As many of the top language learning experts have stated, the fastest and most effective way to learn a new language is by practicing with a native speaker.

Luckily, because of the advancement of technology and communication tools available, language learners have the ability to connect with native speakers around the world for conversation exchange.

One method of practicing is a concept known as language exchange or conversation exchange.

There has been a lot of debates online of whether this specific style of learning is effective or not. In this guide, I’m going to summarize the different points from both sides, so you can analyze them and decide for yourself.

The Pros of Conversation Exchange

a. You can meet new people

If the idea of discovering new cultures, and interacting with people you wouldn’t normally have a chance to speak with sparks your excitement, then conversation exchange is a great place to start.

With conversation exchanges, it’s easy to start a conversation with more than one person from different countries around the world. For example: if you’re looking to by MacVx” href=”#”> learn Spanish, you can message someone from Barcelona, Spain, Buenos Aires, Argentina, or Bogota, Colombia, and have your pick of the pie.

Once you connect with your native speaker, the two of you will be able to learn about each other’s lifestyles, cultures, and share what it’s like to live in your current countries.

b. Improve by speaking

There’s two parts for this section because conversation exchange platforms normally offer a “penpal” option, where you can practice through text, and a second version where you can interact with someone over the phone or video chat.

Depending on whether you’re looking to improve your writing skills or speaking skills, you can decide which one fits your style.

As we have written in our previous post, the fastest way to learn and improve is to speak directly with a native person, and that requires getting out of your comfort zone initially. We have found that when most people get over the initial stages of speaking with someone new, it becomes much more natural and it’s easy to build a relationship over time.

c. It’s free (most of the time)

This is the reason most people are attracted to conversation exchanges.

There’s no cost to entry, and for people that have time and patience, this could be an avenue that makes sense, especially if you’re strapped financially and unable to by MacVx” href=”#”> invest in a professional service.

However, as the popular saying goes: “you get what you pay for.”

And with that said…

The Cons of Conversation Exchange

a. Basic conversation level required

In order to participate in a conversation exchange, you should have a basic proficency of conversation skills. Unfortunately, not everyone is as patient as we would like them to be, and it’s very likely that the exchange will not last long, when it’s not benefiting either party.

From my experience, as I was trying to by MacVx” href=”#”> learn Spanish, I’ve found that there are many native Spanish speakers, but very few of them knew enough English to provide me explanations or corrections of my mistakes. On the other hand, I have had cases where I would connect with another English speaker trying to by MacVx” href=”#”> learn Spanish. In this case, the other party could be more understanding but you’re still not getting the real experience of learning from a native speaker.

Once you have taken 6-8 weeks of classes or private lessons, where you have a solid foundation of grammar structure and rules, you should be ready to go out into the world of conversation.

b. Difficulty finding the right partner

In addition to the points mentioned above, where it’s difficult to find someone with the right profiency of both languages, there’s a personality barrier in many cases.

The point of doing a conversation exchange is so you can build a relationship and continue practicing in the long-term. Because of the cultural differences or the randomness of how you’re connecting for a conversation exchange, there’s a good chance your partner may not be a good match for you, personally. In other words, it may involve switching and trying out multiple exchange partners before you find one that you are comfortable with.

With that said, some of the conversation exchanges out there do have sections where you can share your interests, but overall my experiences have been quite unsatisfactory.

c. Requires time and patience

Yes! It is a conversation exchange, which means you have to dedicate half of your time giving back and helping your partner with his or her conversation skills. Essentially, a conversation exchange requires each participant to become a teacher in order to get involved.

For most busy, working people who may not have the spare time may find conversation exchanges difficult to arrange, coordinate, and dedicate half the time teaching.

In cases where your conversation partner is in a very different timezone, this can be particularly complicated to schedule an exchange in the first place.

d. Lack of motivation and accountability

Just like going to the gym, starting a new business, or learning a skill, we need accountability to sustain our efforts and make progress. In the case of conversation exchanges, the difficulties of scheduling, required patience, and time it takes to find the right partner, many people lose the motivation to continue practicing.

Unless you’re incredibly self-motivated, it’s likely that your efforts and commitment will slowly begin to diminish. It’s best to have an end-goal in mind that is going to motivate yourself, such as a foreign country you will be visiting soon, a job you will be entering soon, or a recent relationship you’ve formed.

If you’re looking for faster, effective results, it’s always better to by MacVx” href=”#”> invest in your education.

The people who achieve the greatest results in their health are usually the ones with a personal trainer. The entrepreneurs that succeed have a mentor or business coach to help them win in business.
And the language learners who reach fluency faster will be the ones who by MacVx” href=”#”> invest in a professional to help them achieve their goals.

This is why at Rype, we have taken the benefits from both the conversation exchange and professional tutoring lessons to provide a social, informative, and personalized experience of matchmaking you with a handpicked native speaking tutor for conversation lessons.

In summary

Pros of conversation exchange

• Easy to meet new people

  • Can learn about new cultures and lifestyles

• Improve your speaking skills

  • Learn by doing

• Free or very cheap

  • No cost to speak with native speaker
  • Good for hobbyists

Cons of conversation exchange

• “you get what you pay for”
• Basic level of conversation skill required

  • Difficult to find partners that have patience if you aren’t already somewhat proficient

• Finding the right partner is difficult

  • Personality mismatch, lack of similar interests
  • Timezone differences

• Requires time and patience

  • Half practicing, half teaching partner
  • Not a good choice for busy people

• Lack of motivation and accountability

  • Difficult to maintain on-going practice and relationship with partner
  • Better to by MacVx” href=”#”> invest in a professional if you want fast, tangible results

There’s no right or wrong answer to decide which is ultimately better. It depends on your own personal goals, what your motivation is for learning a new language, and what timeframe you have to learn it.

If your interest of learning a new language align as more of a hobby, where you can connect with new people, have the opportunity to chat, and learn about their cultures, conversation exchange may be a better option for you.

However, if you’re serious about learning, getting results, and making the most of your time, I would highly encourage you to by MacVx” href=”#”> invest in a solution, that provides effective learning methods, proven results, and accountability.

Rule of thumb:

If you’re just beginning to learn how to speak a new language, it is better to go with an academic language school, or a private tutor, where you go through an intensive 4-8 weeks of learning the basic rules, grammar, and structure.

From there, the best way to improve is through practicing with native speakers who can provide you immediate and direct feedback on a consistent basis.

You’ll reach fluency in no time!

Best of luck on your journey, and I’d love to know what your thoughts are on conversation exchanges!

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Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Bartha, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe and Nicole Lowrance in Permission by Robert Askins. Photo: Jenny Anderson

Playwright Robert Askins, while writing Hand to God, presumably never expected his irreverently absurd comedy to land on Shubert Alley with multiple Tony Award nominations. There it is at the Booth, though, with a strong set of ardent admirers (including many reviewers). This type of success can change expectations for an unorthodox 30-something playwright from Texas. His next play, fairly or not, is sure to be looked at in a very different light — or spotlight — than what came before.

That play is now here: Permission, which is being presented by the MCC Theater at the Lortel. (MCC also produced Hand to God at the Lortel, although it was developed and initially presented in an earlier version by the Ensemble Studio Theatre.) Like Hand to God, Permission is outrageous and profane; like its predecessor, it can be seen as a sledgehammer attack on religion featuring violence and sex, albeit without as much bloodshed. But there the similarities end. Hand to God is inspired; Permission, alas, is not.

For his starting point, Askins has borrowed the real-life practice called Christian Domestic Discipline. (You can look it up on the Internet, as the characters in the play do, although you might just want to let it pass.) In effect–or at least as described by Askins in Permission — it suggests that it is God’s will that the husband beat the wife, constantly. Zach (Lucas Near –Verbrugghe), owner of a sporting goods chain, lives happily with his too-submissive lawyer-wife Michelle (Nicole Lowrance). When his professor friend Eric (Justin Bartha) has trouble with his stay-at-home-drinking-wine wife (Elizabeth Reaser), Zach convinces him to apply the rod. Or, rather, the hairbrush.

This he does, and it all works out not so well. Eric takes to locking his wife in a closet all day, which magically improves her behavior until the suddenly-enlightened Michelle comes round and disrupts both marriages. Let it be noted that the playwright seems to justify wife beating by giving us scenes in which the wives explicitly encourage — and force — their husbands to beat them. (We will assume this is Askins-the-playwright attacking CDD, rather than speaking for himself.) If people took the play seriously this might raise issues, but I don’t suspect many will take the play seriously.

Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Justin Bartha, Elizabeth Reaser and Nicole Lowrance in Permission by Robert Askins. Photo: Jenny Anderson

The actors are personable, but it can be difficult to sustain characters when dialogue and actions are unbelievable and inconsistent. Most interesting of the bunch is Ms. Reaser, who starred opposite Norbert Leo Butz in the 2012 Second Stage revival of How I Learned to Drive (and who more recently played Don Draper’s final flame, an enigmatic waitress, in the final stretches of “Mad Men.”) Alex Timbers — of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher and Rocky — directs.

There is a fifth character, Eric’s student-secretary Jeanie (Talene Monahon), whom Askins also injects into the swing of things. The action culminates in a tortured dinner scene which turns into high-octane comic turmoil (not unlike several sections of Hand to God). There is a very funny orgy/battle that suggests Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as lampooned by Christopher Durang. This lasts only five minutes or so, though; the rest of the time, Permission jabs away satirically without quite hitting its mark.

Imagine Hand to God without Tyrone, the puppet character. In some ways, methinks, that’s precisely what Askins has done here: Imagined Hand to God without the puppet, and that’s not enough.
.
Permission, by Robert Askins, opened May 20, 2015 and continues through June 14 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre

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