Are you interested in online community building? As part of my new series “Digital Community Innovators,” I had an opportunity to interview Oli Nold from NomadX.

Oli is a global entrepreneur from Switzerland having launched several brands and startups and has a huge personality and background in online community building, direct sales, and organic marketing.

As NomadX’s Global Operational Leader, Oli is the face for the global community brand and runs the NomadX business operating units for affordable housing.

I spoke to him to get an insight into what it takes to build such powerful communities that create financial freedom for him and it’s members.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path in remote work and digital nomadism?

I always was a community builder. I love to connect with people. 7 years ago I switched my whole career to the online world and started to travel the world. In the beginning, I tried many different methods to make money including having a lot of offline jobs. But 3 years ago I founded a company called Homelessnhappy which was supposed to be an online startup accelerator. But we quickly learned that all our clients had awesome ideas but no cash for marketing. We developed strategies to hack the Facebook algorithm through group building and to get a massive outreach by marketing through highly targeted audiences.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?

I could share a million of them. So many highlights on this journey. My most interesting is probably happening right now. Due to Covid-19 one of my newest businesses I am involved in NomadX, a housing platform for Remote Workers. Since fewer people are traveling right now I decided not to focus on marketing campaigns or any sales at this point. 

Right now I am only focused on building the community and expanding the network. And this is going very well. We have been providing endless value and bringing all these like-minded people together in one place. We’ve done so well we’ve even managed to get Gary Vee on the show and to join our tribe. 

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Again, there were probably a million of them. Success is built on failure, this is what I believe in. So fail fast, and keep going. One of the funniest was when I launched an email campaign to a pretty big list and I forgot to set the setting to “hello – first name” so everyone who received the email was mentioned as “hello, potential cash machine.” This campaign wasn’t really successful. What I learned from it is definitely to double-check everything you do. 

Ok super. Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact in the remote work community?

I use my platform as a space to create value, to share my beliefs and to create a space where everyone is welcome, can learn and can get connected to a huge audience to scale and grow faster. My message can get heard and it is supported by a very loyal audience. This really makes a difference.

Wow! Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?

Thousands of them. We help and support, but even more important we empower others to follow their dreams and to chase the next stage of their achievements, whatever it takes. If they come back at one point and show gratitude, then you know this was worth the effort.

Was there a tipping point that made you decide to focus on remote work and digital nomadism? Can you share a story about that?

About 3 years ago I realized that this is the future. Not the classy break out of the 9 to 5. Just the simple fact that people are getting out in the world and running their businesses from everywhere in the world. 

And on the other side, I try really hard to go against the belief of working 2 hours from the beach and making 6 figures in the first two months. This propaganda of the laptop lifestyle is completely against everything that I believe in and I see it as my mission to shape a culture that is showing the real world of the remote work scene.

Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?

Spread the word, join my community, and understand that what we are doing is not just a daydream. It is the future of work and it is becoming accessible for almost everyone. 

What specific strategies have you been using to promote and advance this cause? Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for social good?

Be real. Simplicity is the key. Don’t act weird or rude just because you are in the online space. Loads of people think there is no need for kindness anymore because it is happening in a digital space. This is wrong, take all your behaviors from the real world and transform them into the only world and online community. 

What are your “5 ways to build a profitable online community.” Please share a story or example for each.

 Don’t sell – never sell actively in your community. Sell outside in your sales funnels and on your external pages

Make sure everyone in the community is pursuing the same goal – a highly profitable community always follows the same movement and goes towards the same achievement. So members start to push and motivate each other.

Always ask questions – show interest in your community members. This show isn’t about you, it is about your audience

Provide a lot of value – people are overwhelmed with useless content. Create so much value that they will always come back to you

Give before you take – a community is only the entry point to your funnel. Make sure to give as much as you can to attract as many people as possible. The taker part comes further down the road.

You are a person of enormous influence in the remote work community. If you could inspire a movement  that would bring the most amount of good for the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I wanna shape a culture. Not just providing a product or a service. I wanna make sure to leave a legacy behind and to make sure to inspire everyone who is ready to be inspired. If I can achieve this, then my job is done.

Can you please give us your favorite  “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? 

“Life is Rock n Roll.”It is as simple as that. I believe that you have to play wild and hard to achieve your goals. I have it even tattooed on my chest. And never forget, it is about the journey, not the destination. So make sure to enjoy the ride.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Gary Vee, but since he agreed to come to my show, I would go for Keith Richards. This dude is just freaking cool and after all the history he wrote, he is still alive. As you can tell, I like Rock n Roll.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/nomadx/

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!