Michael Lythcott has been working from remote corners of the world since he started his web design firm in 2005. I met Michael at one of his bon voyage parties in NYC in 2014. After following his adventures on Facebook, I reached out to ask him about the pros and cons of running a business from the road.
Traveling entrepreneur Michael Lythcott spent some time traveling in Pokhara, Nepal in 2014. (Photos courtesy of Michael Lythcott)
Name: Michael Lythcott
Age: 36
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Country Count: 35
Blog/Website: www.wheresmikey.com
1. How did you start traveling?
When I was 16, I started following bands around the U.S. and realized I really liked going to new places and meeting new people. I used to photograph tons of bands so I was always at a festival or concert, and I met so many amazing people. I learned how to travel cheap, too. Hopping along with bands in their van (in return for photos), joining car pools to music festivals, etc. And, when I was 21, I had just started riding a motorcycle. Motorcycles get great gas mileage, so I decided in the summer of 2001 to drive my bike from Atlanta (where I was living) to Vancouver and back. I kind of became obsessed with seeing new places and [increasing the number of] states I had visited.
2. Tell us about your business. How do you manage to work remotely?
I’m a web designer. Me and a buddy started the business back in 2004. In 2005, I left my day job to do the business exclusively. I do front-end visual design for websites, applications and mobile apps. It’s not terribly exciting, but allows me to work remotely, which I do when I travel. Otherwise, I either work at our office in NYC. I was living in Brooklyn for the last eight years, and now, I currently live nowhere! Though the last place [I lived] was Lisbon, Portugal. I work out of a co-work space wherever I am.
3. Do you have an office?
To follow up the previous question, our company consists of a few people, and we officially have our office in Manhattan. We rent a space from a great start up, www.frame.io. While living in Lisbon, or wherever I will be next, I work out of co-work spaces. Most recently: www.liberdade229.co
Sometimes, the beaches of Southern Thailand double as Michael Lythcott’s office for his web design firm.
4. What does your average workday look like?
Honestly, when I am actually living in NYC or Lisbon, it’s not too different than anyone else’s. I get up, go to the office, work and go home. When I travel, my office is usually a hotel lobby (currently, this lobby in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which I am sharing with mosquitos), a beach, hotel room, friend’s couch, or wherever I can get Wi-Fi. And, usually I am working odd hours as I do have to maintain NYC hours.
5. How has working remotely impacted your business? What is the biggest challenge?
We’re a small firm, and we do not have the staff we had before so it’s more like the business impacts me. If we have a lot of projects, I have to cancel or postpone any major trips. When we had a bigger staff, I could leave for three months and still work while traveling knowing that we had other people to leverage the tasks. Now, it mostly falls on me, and when we take on a large project, I have to follow it through and working 12 hours or more ahead of my East Coast co-workers means missing out on a lot of activities in whatever country I am in and having a horrible sleep pattern as a result.
Even when it seems easy to just jump on Google Hangout, working on a different schedule as your team members and not being there in person to bounce off ideas or check work immediately is a problem that is getting harder to solve.
6. Why did you decide to work remotely?
I didn’t decide to work remotely at all. I’ve worked for myself since 2005 so I’ve always had the ability to travel and work from anywhere. As my passion grew to traveling internationally, it was just no different than working from home, except I was doing it from far away.
“I was able to travel without having to worry about not getting my work done, so working remotely was just a natural extension of what I was already doing. Except I was doing it from Paris or Istanbul!”
Turkey is one of Michael’s favorite places to work/travel. He fit Cappadocia in his schedule last year to visit the famous rock formations.
7. Share one of your travel highlights.
Turkey is a place of magic and history that has yet to fade. Every time I go, I have a blast in Istanbul (five times now). It’s so big that every visit I end up at a new place I have yet to see. I find a new favorite local restaurant, bar, tourist destination, historical landmark, or nightlife spot every time I go. And, a few buddies of mine there own some late night hotspots and hotels, so it’s never a dull moment at night. And, exploring the country never lets me down either. Every separate trip offers something new. One trip we did the south from Bodrum (amazing castles) to Marmaris and a southern cruise on a gulet (wooden sailboat). I’ve seen the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus. I went to Cappadocia for my first time last May, and the sheer beauty was unique in its own right.
I guess I could continue to list off all of my top destinations, but the thing about all of my travels is that it’s about the people more than the places. Yes, I love all the “bucket list” destinations and bragging, but none of it would mean a thing to me if it weren’t for the people.
8. What advice would you have for aspiring travelers who want to balance work and travel?
Be as self sufficient as possible and know your craft as best as possible so you can do everything yourself and not have to rely on others. As mentioned earlier, the hardest part of working remotely is having to rely on other people, who will have a different schedule as you. To find balance, you have to be strong in your skills and be disciplined enough to accept that your schedule will be inconvenient at best. If you have multiple co-workers, see if you can spread out the work in a way that allows you to travel while meeting deadlines without upsetting anyone.
I’ve missed out on some great events while traveling because I had to work suddenly. But a lot of those times, I was on the beach, or at the very least, in a foreign place with a plate of unique food next to me. So, I take comfort in that. It is hard, but simply being in the moment in a new place is enough of a balance for me.
When Michael Lythcott is not working out of a co-working space in Lisbon or NYC, he’s exploring places like Sri Lanka above.
9. Name three things you always pack for a trip.
Firstly, I have my iPhone wide angle lens. I can hang it off my keychain, but it allows me to take amazing shots without always having to have my camera.
Secondly, I always carry an electronics kit with a few basic items: one of each type of world plug (Asia, UK, and Australia), my mini power strip that has three U.S. outlets and two USB charging points, so when I plug in via a converter, I can charge my phone and camera at once, my laptop and have two spots left for friends to also plug in their devices.
Thirdly, a nice outfit. Usually, my Zara black button-up, a black tie and at least, one pair of nice jeans that can also double as “fancy” pants. This way, I can always be ready for a nice night out, even if I am on a beach in Thailand somewhere. I pack light so I actually usually have space for all three of these things AND my clothes and other basics.
10. What is your next adventure?
Well, starting soon, I am finally going to expand my travels to South America. Firstly, I want to go to Colombia, Brazil, Guyana (where I was born), Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador. My next MAJOR trip will happen later this year or early next year. In between though, I will do some short trips to Eastern Europe to hit up some friends and some places I haven’t been (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia).
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COMING UP:
Tips for Visiting & Photographing Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon was one the major stops on my cross-country road trip after Chaco Canyon. In my next post, I’ll cover tips for getting Navajo Nation photo permits and photographing the canyon!
