This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Since 2020, more than 60 countries from Portugal to United Arab Emirates, many others have launched digital nomad visas. And basically they're inviting digital nomads, people who have skills that are transferable or can work remotely to move and set up shop in their country and typically pay taxes or otherwise invest in real estate or do something that makes it worthwhile for the country. And all these countries promise easy residency, but there's a great variance in what that looks like and the amount of wealth you need to have to be able to get one of these digital nomad visas. And so there's lots of loopholes and shortcuts and hacks as part of this process, just because whenever there's a bureaucracy, that's what happens. Remote worker visas are booming and bewildering.
So we're going to hear today this guy who is Swedish, I believe, moves to Portugal. He becomes like the friend in the know. He's the one who knows stuff and he wants to help advise other people on the process. So will clients actually pay for this? Well, some will, of course.
So how do you find those clients? How do you protect yourself? If there's some change in the law or maybe some other legal issue and whether also the customer pool is deep enough to make this a business, I think that's important because yes, some people will pay for the service, but who are they? How many of them? Is it a big enough niche or market?
Let's hear the detailed question from him and then I'll do my best to provide a helpful answer. And by the way, welcome to Cytosol School. So glad you are out there. Hey, Chris, my name is Sven and I'm calling from Lisbon. I moved here from Sweden on Portugal's digital nomad visa.
And the process was a maze of paperwork, translations and unanswered embassy emails. Now friends keep asking for help with visas in Portugal, Estonia, Barbados, you name it. I'm actually considering turning that knowledge into a paid remote worker visa concierge service. But what would I actually charge for filing a paperwork and guiding people through confusing websites? Are there liability issues if someone's visa gets denied?
And is this niche big enough to become a meaningful Cytosol rather than a favor for friends? I think the size of the market is pretty big actually in this situation. I think it's bigger than it looks. Airbnb estimates 35 million people self-identify as digital nomads. It's funny, I was first writing about this concept many, many years ago, 15 years ago, I think.
I wasn't the first, but I was one of the first. And I don't actually love that phrase so much these days, but it's kind of gone on to have a life of its own. So the point is, it is a big group. So even if only 1% of those people apply for visas, that's 350,000 potential customers a year. And so you can say, well, can I get 100 clients, 100 people out of the 350,000?
Maybe my price is $300, 300 euros mid-tier. For more of a concierge service, it's $750 or euros. And so you develop these tiers of like, maybe the first thing is like a budget option, an eligibility check for 100 euros. You do a quick Zoom, PDF checklist, you qualify, what documents do you need? Maybe the mid-tier service is more of a detailed review.
The client completes some forms. You audit those forms, you translate any pages as needed. You prep any embassy appointment instructions, probably an hour or two of work. And then again, that concierge service, which can go up from there. In terms of liability and expectations, I think it's important to not have a guarantee in this particular business.
I often encourage people to have really like robust guarantees, but I think for this kind of thing, it's like your contract is, I prepare the documents, the government makes the decision, like that's out of my hands. I'll do the best I can. But ultimately, I'm just the middleman here. And then how do you find these first paying clients? Well, there is a subreddit called Digital Nomad on Reddit.
You could write a post that says, "I just got Portugal's D8 visa. Ask me anything." And you could end it with need one-on-one help, book a session in limited spots. What about co-working spaces? Digital nomads flock to co-working spaces. So perhaps you want to look for co-working spaces outside of the area where you already are in addition to the local ones.
That way, it's like you're helping people who are already there and perhaps want to stay longer. But you're also reaching people in the US, in the UK, back in Scandinavia, who are interested in learning more at least. I do think remote worker visa help is potentially a good fit for a boutique service. Package it in tiered fees, protect yourself with that no guarantee clause, maybe some cheap insurance, and it could become a good add-on to what you're already doing. So I'd love to know what happens.
And, of course, wishing you the best of luck. Listeners, let me know if you have a question and experience. If you have been around the world as a nomad, sidehustleschool.com. You can also access the complete archive of the show. You can access resources and notes for every episode.
Last but not least, new episodes come out every day. You can always listen wherever you prefer. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.
