The Suitcase Office: What Digital Nomads Can Teach Us About Location Independent Work with Koen Blanquart (Ep 205)

Learn what years of location-independent work taught him about remote teams, mental health, and sustaining nomadic life. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Koen Blanquart starts off talking about growing up in Belgium and giving some travel tips for people that want to spend time in Belgium.  He then talks about his entrepreneurial trajectory and his transition into the digital nomad lifestyle.  Koen then reflects on his world travels, including his love for New York City, the time he took the train from London to Singapore, and his most epic travel memory of all time: Sailing to Antarctica in a 54-foot sailboat.  He then talks about his travel photography journey, including multiple trips to Alaska to photograph Grizzly Bears and Bald Eagles in the wild.  Koen shares his tips on how to take better travel photos.  He also talks about his love for coffee and shares his most memorable travel experiences involving coffee.  Next, Koen discusses his new book “The Suitcase Office: What Digital Nomads Can Teach Us About Location Independent Work”.  He shares his vision for the future of work and then gives his tips on managing a fully distributed team, building company culture in a fully remote company, attending to the mental health challenges of a remote work environment, and sustaining the digital nomad lifestyle over the long term.  Koen then talks about his love for scuba diving, his journey to becoming a scuba instructor, and his most memorable dive of all time.  And finally, he shares what travel means to him and talks about his upcoming trip to sail around the world. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!