I’m now on Day 9 in Bali, working on my laptop by the beach (yay!), getting a feel of what it’s like to work remotely in a paradise location.
I first encountered the phrase “digital nomad” in 2014, when I met someone who traveled the world as a lawyer while servicing clients back home in Australia. He wasn’t a backpacker looking to fund his travels with odd jobs and a travel blog. He purposefully designed his life to accommodate a mobile lifestyle.
What is a mobile lifestyle?
There are so many iterations of this now but here are the basics:
- Location-independent, i.e. not tied to a physical office or space and able to work anywhere
- Time-independent, i.e. no 9-5 clock in
- Internet-dependent
A digital nomad is someone who fulfills all of the above plus one more: he or she hops from place to place. Coworking spaces–communal offices designed with shared facilities–are a growing breed of office-lifestyle spaces where digital nomads feel welcome and readily connect to others who are just like them.
I got to try three of these in Bali:
Onion Collective
The Onion Collective is technically a guesthouse/hostel with a nice cafe that invites people to stay and work all day.
It’s centrally located in Ubud town. The Cafe is open air and free flowing, and is open to walk-ins or non-guests.
I stayed here from lunch until late dinner at 9pm and sat by those stone benches to work. The vibe is very chillax and easygoing, with hip interiors and a nice relaxing view of the pool.
Hubud
Hubud is literally a hub in Ubud: located in Ubud town, across the Sacred Monkey Forest.
It is more in line with what a typical coworking space offers: flexible rooms (airconditioned and open air), shared workdesks, and enclosed spaces or booths for meetings or private calls. I didn’t get to take pictures of the coworking space itself, which is available for use of members for a fee (daily fee available).
Shoes off when you enter, which is typical of Indonesian culture when one enters a home. It sets a nice tone to the whole place: everyone who passes through the door knows this place means family or community.
The aesthetic is industrial rustic with nice Balinese picture windows and touches of natural materials.
Also typical of a coworking space, Hubud offers a range of events to its members, from entrepreneur talks to day trips around Bali. My visit fell on a Sunday so there was nothing set then. I also only had a little over an hour to stay, so I went straight for the Cafe, which is available for walk-ins without having to pay the membership fee.
My view for lunch: green rice fields.
You have to hand it to the Balinese–they can make a destination out of a rice field!
I probably missed out on the proper coworking vibe because I just hung out in the Cafe and didn’t even interact with anyone, but for a quick peek, this was as good as it got.
Genius Cafe, Sanur – Coworking on the Beach
Definitely the best for me because… beach!!! Game over!
I planned my Bali trip with 7 days in Ubud and 3 days by the beach, but I should’ve done it the other way around. Hands down, I belong to the sea and just stepping on the sand with the wind blowing on my face had me giggling on the inside.
I love love love the beach, and what a genius idea to set up a coworking cafe right on the beach!
The Genius Cafe is in Sanur, the family-friendly district of Bali. It’s on the beachfront of Mercure Resort, which is on the Southern tip of the Sanur beach walk.
What makes it different from a normal cafe? As with any coworking space, it is the community that defines and directs it. The Genius Cafe is home to GenuisU, a global network of future-oriented entrepreneurs mentored by Roger James Hamilton. Because I’m going through the Entrepreneur Mentor Certification course under GeniusU now, I’m automatically a member here and enjoy the annual benefits, which include 20% discount on all food and beverages.
The Cafe serves delicious healthy food and is also open to walk ins.
I also had a vested interest in checking out Genius Cafe because I believed in the concept so much, I literally invested in it (a teeny tiny amount made possible through crowdfunding!).
Why I’m extra giddy hanging out at Genius Cafe in Bali: apart from being home to GeniusU, the global network of entrepreneurs that I’m learning so much from, it’s also part of my first offshore property investment, the Entrepreneur Resorts! When our mentor Roger James Hamilton launched the pre-IPO call for crowdfunding E-Resorts, the resonance with a business engaged in education, tourism, wealth creation and alternative lifestyles was so strong I promised myself I’d find a way to get involved. So here I am, sand beneath my toes and the Bali wind blowing in my face as I get out of my comfort zone and engage the world with a global abundance mindset.Hope you’re also having an amazing Monday and start to the second half of the year!
After spending 3 full days here, working (yes, I did get work done, despite the call of the sun, sea and sand!), hanging out, meeting inspiring people and getting plugged into a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, I can say I’ve experienced a good enough sampler of the mobile lifestyle and how it can translate to the lifestyle I want to build for myself and others, interchanging between work, play, socials and recovery.
My takeways from this experience:
- It is possible to build an inspiring working environment in the middle of nowhere.
- Most of these spaces build a community through membership plans and build up their businesses serving the needs of that community: providing resources and facilities, holding relevant events, etc.
- Attracting the right community is so important and this means having a good number of members staying put on a semi-permanent basis (at least a few months) to hold the community together.
- Work and travel still don’t mix for me, i.e. I cannot be a digital nomad. The Genius Cafe Beach Bar concept has gotten parts of the formula right: build a thriving, robust community of entrepreneurs engaged in sharing, collaborating, and uplifting each other, regularly meeting in an inspiring seaside location. If we extend this a bit further to include a holistic environment with housing, schooling, and an option for people to stay put longer— what a wow community that would be. That would be an Alaya community right there!