1. What is your website if you have one? Talk about your brand, company or the work you do online. In other words, give us your elevator pitch.
My website is AshaLBH.com. I focus on teaching self-love, self-care, entrepreneurship, and examine the role that travel can play in our lives.

2. What led you to pursue a remote career?
I moved to Atlanta in 2003, and after five years of working my way up in my corporate job, I had a run-in where my personality and desire to live a life where I could put all of myself into my work caused me to have to make a lifestyle change. I decided to go to Central America and was there for six months; then I lived in Jamaica for another three months. I was reinforcing some ideas I had about myself and learning about faith, the power of intention, and what focused action could produce in my life. It was a bittersweet nine months. I ended up returning to Atlanta and was a shell of myself. In Atlanta, I did work outside of my new corporate jobs that furthered my education in faith, intention, and action. 

When those projects could no longer sustain my needs, and I had learned what I went back to Atlanta to learn, I chose at the end of 2014 to further put my faith, intention, and action into play and put all of myself into saving for, and planning to leave America, and if I were to return, to return on my own terms. My focus was unparalleled. 2015 yielded every drop and more of what I put my energy into. December 31st, 2016 I left for London and have since been traveling through Europe and Southeast Asia up till now. My inner work has, of course, continued because we all have to maintain and grow the visions we set out for ourselves. I've been steadily challenged and evolving in my ideas about myself, the life I want to live, and relating to the world around me. Needing the space to explore and know intimately what my life means to me has kept me traveling and working primarily online. Being away from the American system, culture, and all of the layers that come with it has allowed me the space to see myself more clearly while doing work I'm proud of.

3. Where in the world are you located?
I'm currently in Koh Lanta, Thailand.

4. How did you find your remote position or why did you start your business?
I started self-mastery coaching because the questions and methods I've always explored for myself I thought to be useful for others. I have always been that friend. My actual friends or people in bars or wherever I'd meet them because they felt safe with me and not judged, would always open up and share their pain with me. It's hard to expose your wounded self to someone that doesn't get it. I've had the experience where people are out of their depth when I'm sharing, and they'll change the subject, or less frequently just be honest and say they don't know what to say about my situation. I saw an opportunity and got more training; I studied, I examined my own hurt parts and talked myself through murky waters. I sought professional help, and finding little relief to my existential questions, studied harder. I needed answers. I needed the truth. So on my quest to solving my own problems, I learned to work with others to provide the same path to peace in their life.

5. What is the biggest challenge you faced working remotely?
A lot of life is marrying the talent with the business portion of the deal. My biggest challenge has been promotion I'd say. Most musicians just want to show up for the gig. They don't want to hand out flyers, engage in social media, and otherwise politic to get people to the show. They most enjoy playing on stage. That's not me, but I've had to test a trillion different ways and face more of my inner blocks to be able to connect effectively with potential clients. It's something I'm always fine-tuning. But I'm also thankful because honestly, had it come easily; I wouldn't have had to confront those parts of myself that needed to heal and grow.

6. What is your best and worst experiences with working remotely? What did you learn from them?
Traveling has for me come to be about the people I meet. The best experience is being somewhere where I can flow well. That means I can eat well, sleep well, get exercise, and connect with locals. Oh, and of course good enough wifi, lol. Every place doesn't lend itself to each to each of those, but I'm at my best when I have all of those. Vietnam was very difficult for me, and I actually developed anxiety trying to stay there. Locals would point and laugh at me, and otherwise ostracize me to where I'd usually only come out to do shopping at a store at night, vs. the open air market where you could find really yummy food and inexpensive groceries. The best has been in Penang, Malaysia so far. I had local friends I connected well with, the food was beyond believable, and my other needs were sufficiently met with some compromise here or there. Each place has shown me more of myself and has helped me to expand my worldview to navigate different cultures and customs. For example, I learned more about Muslim people in Malaysia.

7. How has it been working outside of an office setting? How do you stay productive?
I have a different schedule that I follow every day. I understand how best I work and have crafted my schedule accordingly. Being realistic about what I can accomplish in a day has been the most helpful in fulfilling my needs.

8. How do you find clients?
I've used a combination of online and in real life marketing to make those connections. Social media is huge, but being plugged into expat or English teaching communities has helped me to network.

9. What’s a typical day for you? Do you have a set schedule?
I wake up when I get enough rest, hydrate, take a moment to check in with myself and then those I love. I have a tomorrow list I work by, so I get my list out and get to work on my projects. I usually break for a meal and a nap at some point during the day, work a bit more in the evening, and try to go out and enjoy wherever I am at night. Sometimes I'll meet a friend for lunch or coffee during the day, which is a nice break too. I usually take Sundays off to decompress.

10. What advice can you give someone that wants to either quit their office job and work remotely or start a business for more flexibility?
Take a good look at yourself. If you want to have a meaningful connection with your travel and work, it usually ends up being a mirror for you anyway. You get to see yourself in ways you might have been able to avoid before. And remember you're taking whoever you are on this journey. Sometimes different places allow you to express a certain side of yourself more, but for the most part, you are who you are wherever you are. Travel isn't going to "fix" you per se. Be gentle, but deal with your shit. You'll feel lighter and enjoy your life and travels more.

11. What are your top three resources for either finding online work or accommodating your digital lifestyle? ie. Slack, Asana, Trello.
I use Trello, Evernote, and Deezer/YouTube.

12. What is your favorite inspirational quote?
Thrive in uncertainty-Me

13. Okay, tell everyone a fun fact about you!
I can sing runs for days!!!

14. How can people find you online? Social Media.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AshaLBH/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ashalbh
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashalbh

1. What is your website if you have one? Talk about your brand, company or the work you do online. In other words, give us your elevator pitch.
DanDannDesigns.com and DanDann.me
Essentially, I am a wandering musician and artist. I made videos of my music, sell my fruit, veggie, and melanin-themed art, and occasionally feature other artists and musicians that I meet along my travels.

2. What led you to pursue a remote career?
I am a wanderer at heart, come from a long line of wanderers, from a country of wanderers (Jamaica). The only way to stop QUITTING jobs to travel was to work for an airline (which I did until they were bought out and disemboweled) or start my own business.

3. Where in the world are you located?
I currently live in the beautiful city of Valencia, Spain. It is the first time that I have ever felt like I was in the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time doing exactly what I ought to be doing.

4. How did you find your remote position or why did you start your business?
There is always some number of great business ideas floating through me. After trying various ones, I finally gave myself permission to do the one that I REALLY wanted to do - play music, make art, meet people, travel. How? All I had to do was run full tilt toward things I didn't really want until I finally gassed out, gave up and got real. Try it! Or just... believe in yourself enough to gamble on your truth.

5. What is the biggest challenge you faced working remotely?
My biggest challenge is in maintaining a high enough level of belief in myself and my ideas. If I believe, I can do anything. I will put in the work, I will toil tirelessly. If I allow doubt or low self-esteem to creep in, I can become almost completely immobilized. It's rather interesting.

6. What is your best and worst experiences with working remotely? What did you learn from them?
My worst experience has got to have been living through the NUMEROUS times that I closed down DanDannDesigns in favor of trying to develop something more 'responsible.' It's what I asked the Universe for, it's what the Universe laid in my lap on a silver platter, it made me happy, it made other people happy, it made money - but it was 'just art' (or 'just music', seeing as how I've also stopped performing, HUNDreds of times over the last 15 years...), so I kept shutting that door. I would shut the door and try to "do it right." It has taken me until now to finally allow myself to say that what I make is enough. It doesn't have to be a Fortune500; it doesn't have to have a 20-page proposal, it doesn't have to bore me to tears. No more business with an artistic spin. My art is enough.

My BEST experiences have come from seeing people's eyes as they encounter various aspects of my creative output. Sometimes the abject joy and surprising burst of giggles as they wrap their hands around a wall-mounted bottle opener that says "Nobody puts broccoli in a corner." Sometimes the tears. There is that moment where someone out there connects, through the music, directly to my soul, where we look into each others' eyes and silently whisper, 'you SEE me' in awe. I live for those moments. They recharge me. They inspire me. It is enough to affirm my determination as I set everything else aside and pour my everything into this project. These moments teach me that contrary to what I have been led to believe, my creativity has value. A value that is deeper and more meaningful to me than a simple monetary transaction through a computer screen could ever be.

7. How has it been working outside of an office setting? How do you stay productive?
Working wherever I choose is a freedom for which I am exceedingly grateful. I am not going to lie, I spend a huge percentage working from bed, but that bed might be in Spain, Morocco, Thailand, Amsterdam, or any number of other places. And sometimes I go to coffee shops, parks, or other interesting places with wifi (again, anywhere around the world). And when I need to craft, I am finding that there are quite a few Hackerspaces and Makerspaces around the world, all fitted with the tools I need to produce my products. Productivity is something that I am learning, but I find that adequate rest, water and play are ABSOLUTELY essential to my ability to focus on the more left-brained aspects of my work. Another thing that really helps is to work at something that I consider play - like cutting sheets and sheets of bright yellow banana earrings!

8. How do you find clients?
I find most of my clients by being extremely social. I perform at open mics and jazz jams, I talk about my work, I wear my jewelry - people ALWAYS ask about it (if you saw someone wearing broccoli earrings and a tomato necklace, wouldn't YOU be intrigued?). My type of business, promoting my art and searching for other creatives with whom to collaborate, or to promote, I basically have to hang out where artists and musicians hang and rub as many elbows (in non-awkward ways) as possible.

9. What’s a typical day for you? Do you have a set schedule?
Sch... sh... Sche... Schedule? What is a schedule? Sometimes I sleep a lot (though, usually that happens once a month like clockwork), sometimes I stare blankly at my screen, sometimes I try to find a beautiful place in the park to sit with my Guitalele, sometimes I go on Artist Dates to find inspiration (thank you, Julia Cameron), sometimes I work furiously for 13 hours straight on a project while listening to Gogol Bordello and giggling to myself. Sometimes I make a "nice, respectable"-looking daily itinerary for myself and follow it with militant precision... for a few days. It just depends.

10. What advice can you give someone that wants to either quit their office job and work remotely or start a business for more flexibility?
Where there's a will, there's a way. Yea, it's scary, and YES it will be more difficult than you think, but if you're passionate about it, and push for it, you can do pretty much ANYthing - and it is WORTH it. Oh, and all those people who told you your idea was stupid that one time? They're scared. Don't worry about them. It's not about you. Do it anyway.

11. What are your top three resources for either finding online work or accommodating your digital lifestyle? Ie. Slack, Asana, Trello.
Trello for keeping my brain together (duct tape gets stuck in my hair), iTalki for taking the pressure off the whole 'if this is going to work IT NEEDS TO WORK NOW' thing, and Patreon(.com/heydandann I ain't ashamed of a shameless plug) for communicating directly with the people who like my work.

12. What is your favorite inspirational quote?
"Do not fear mistakes. There are none." This quote by Miles Davis is partially responsible for DanDannDesigns every taking existence (he was quoted in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron - who is DIRECTLY responsible for DanDannDesigns every taking existence).

13. Okay, tell everyone a fun fact about you!
I REALLY like broccoli. Almost all of my art has something to do with fruits and vegetables, and there are many forms. Broccoli happens to appear in just about every form I've made so far, from earrings and necklaces to movie-quote bottle openers. Oh no wait, I haven't written a song about it yet... I wrote a song about eggplant. I REALLY like eggplants.... The complete first thing I ever sewed was an eggplant. But then... I also have a giant broccoli that sleeps in my bed (his name is Oli) and a giant broccoli hanging on my wall (his name is Brocc, and he was my makeshift Christmas Tree one year). So, I guess I really like Broccoli and Eggplants....

How can people find you online? Social Media.
I can be located all over the web under @heydandann (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Patreon).