Aileen Adalid entered the corporate world at age 19 after graduating from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines, with a degree in business management.
But the trilingual Philippines native quickly grew envious of the flexible lifestyles of "digital nomads" she met while freelancing on the side in Manila.
At 21, Adalid quit her entry-level job at Deutsche Bank — which paid just $300 per month — to transition to a life of perpetual travel.
For the next year, Adalid freelanced in graphic design, web design, SEO management, and online marketing, sustained largely by one stable client contract that earned her more than double her previous salary. The best part: The flexibility enabled her to travel frequently to places like France and Thailand.
In May 2014, Adalid partnered with a friend to start an online Amazon retail business called Adalid Gear, a health and outdoor accessories company, and relocated to Belgium.
She also revived her one-time teenage diary blog, I Am Aileen, fashioning it into a lifestyle and travel blog that has gained traction among online travel communities.
Adalid now earns about $5,000 a month from her online ventures, and she travels from her home base (now back in the Philippines) at least once a month to destinations throughout Europe and Asia.
You can follow her adventures on her blog, I Am Aileen, or through her Facebook or Instagram.
Adalid told Business Insider about cutting ties with the corporate world to chase after the "digital nomad" lifestyle, and finding a balance between traveling the world and running two successful ventures. Read on to find out how she did it.
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Back in college, Adalid studied business management and had a combined year of training experience under her belt at huge multinational companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and Siemens.
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In Belgium.
But after graduating college at 19 and spending two years working as a product controller at Deutsche Bank, she realized the corporate life wasn't for her. She was increasingly intrigued by both entrepreneurship and travel, so she left her job with about $600 in savings in April 2013.
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In Dubrovnik, Croatia.
"I started working as a remote freelance graphic designer, web developer, and marketing assistant taking on different projects but with a main stable client who employed me. My pay at this point was more than double of what I earned at my office job and I was able to control my time more for working as I started to travel around more."
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See the rest of the story at Business Insider
