22: Nomad Cruise Founder Johannes Voelkner on Kitesurfing, Brand Loyalty and Building Nomadic Communities

Johannes Voelkner takes us on his digital nomad journey, which started in 2010. ____________________________________ Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.). Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________ He shares many of his initial failures and setbacks, all of which led him to start what would become one of the largest Facebook groups for digital nomads. He explains how that ultimately lead to the founding of The Nomad Cruise, which now attracts nearly 500 participants per voyage and is one of the largest ‘workation’ events in the world. Johannes then takes us behind the scenes and talks about how he runs and grows The Nomad Cruise as a business. He explains his process for identifying and hiring his team, his process for managing distributed staff and volunteers across time zones, the project management software he uses, and the operational systems he has developed for organizing the Nomad Cruise conference. He also explains why he incorporates a “night of failures” on every cruise and shares his personal belief in the importance of repeated failure in order to create the eventual outcome of success, and wanting to foster a supportive environment on the cruise for people to talk about their failures. He also reflects on how he has been able to cultivate fierce brand loyalty from customers, staff and volunteers who continually return for cruise after cruise, and why building ‘community’ is his core passion and driving inspiration. He also discusses his personal day structure, work routines, and his passion for kitesurfing as a destination sport that inspires many of his personal choices in travel locations. FULL SHOW NOTES AND DIRECT LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED IS AVAILABLE HERE. ____________________________________ See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn  See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ____________________________________ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally.  You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)