This is a subject I’ve been giving a lot of thought to since my recent trip abroad. In case you need to be brought up to date – I just spent two months in Europe and Morocco working and exploring and doing quite a bit of market research. And every year I do my best to live for at least 3 months out of my country.

You might be thinking: Why is Sheri asking this question and why does she care? Well, I’ve been feeling that there’s a HUGE difference between Digital Nomads and Wanderlust Entrepreneurs and I want to get YOUR vote on the matter and here’s why – so please read on…

I started this coaching business in 2014 but did not actually name my company until 2016. It took me TWO years of consideration before I finally named it Wanderlust Entrepreneur – and it took me that long because I was looking for a name that represented the highest aesthetic for my business. As you can see it took me a while to get clarity!

After 18 years of practicing medicine and being trapped in an office, my biggest fantasy was creating a lifestyle that allowed me to travel, work, and live anywhere in the world. I’ve always had an intense wanderlust (or das Fernweh in German) and during all those years of practice I felt like a trapped animal in a cage. And when I sold my practice, I felt like I could FINALLY create my dream life.

[**And by the way, the doctor in me has to share that wanderlust is genetic – the wanderlust gene is DRD4-7R and it is a variant of the gene DRD4, which is the dopamine receptor gene.]

Anyway, back to my story…

That was back in 1998 and after leaving medicine I started studying and working for don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements. In 2003 I began teaching his work and running my own retreats through my travel agency, Journeys of the Spirit.

However – my business was still not totally online, and I was not location free and I could not coddiwomple the world as I desired (coddiwomple is an English slang word meaning “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination”).

It took me until 2012 to fully understand what it meant to have a location free business and then it took me several years to put what I learned into action in my own business.

Why? Because I’m an old-school baby-boomer, and I didn’t grow up with this technology.

So for me it was NOT natural to create a virtual team or to use an app like Slack to communicate with my virtual team. Nor was it natural to have all my files on my computer (okay I admit, I still have two drawers of real live files, yes – the manila kind, that I work with while I’m home).

Thankfully NOW that I’m properly set up for travel, I can be gone for as long as I like, and I can totally run my business from wherever I am and I consider myself 100% a Wanderlust Entrepreneur – not a Digital Nomad.

Which finally brings me back to Digital Nomads and Wanderlust Entrepreneurs…

So I’m going to share my definition of both of these terms and I would love for YOU to share with me below which of these terms you most relate to.

Digital Nomads: Folks who leverage wireless digital technologies to perform their work duties, and generally conduct their lifestyle in a nomadic manner traveling from location to location. Normally they do not have a permanent home or car to “come home” to and they value experiences over things. They may or may not own a business.

Wanderlust Entrepreneurs: Business owners who want the freedom to travel and explore the world while running their businesses online using wireless digital technologies. They have a home and car to come home to, and they tend to travel for shorter periods of time and therefore don’t see themselves as “nomads.” Experiences are very important, but they also value their assets and a home-based life.

Feel free to post below and share your feelings…..

To your wanderlust life & business, Sheri

Dr Sheri Rosenthal is known as one of the most sought after retreat strategists for coaches, speakers, and authors — and is the owner of Journeys of the Spirit Travel®, a boutique agency specializing in the planning and management of group travel.

Through her Wanderlust Entrepreneur Community and her signature course, The Retreat Blueprint Program, she has taught thousands of facilitators how to design exceptional retreats that allow them stand out in their niche. She is famous for helping clients plan, fill, and profit from transformational retreats that change lives in a huge way while adding serious income to their bottom line!