Hey,
I've written about skills, about building a team, about runway. All of it assumed one thing I never actually said out loud, that you're trying to build something of your own.
But that's not the only path here. Plenty of people reading this want a remote job, a real employer, a steady paycheck, not a business to run. Both paths work. They just require completely different moves, and most people never actually pick one, they try to do both halfway and end up slower at either.
(Quick one before we get into it, if you already know you need real clarity on this, job or business, that's what the call's for → expatbuildr.com/consulting)
For me, running a business abroad has been genuinely difficult, it takes a lot of planning before you even move, and it's not the fast path for most people. So for a lot of you, a remote job might actually be the quicker route to the thing you actually want, freedom, not necessarily a business with your name on it.
◆ // THE PLAY
Two Paths, Not One
Path 1, the remote job. You're looking for an employer, benefits maybe, a steady check, someone else's business to plug into. The skill here is positioning, a strong resume, a portfolio, interviewing well, standing out in a stack of applicants. This path rewards patience and polish.
Path 2, the remote business. You're the business. No employer, no steady check until you create one. The skill here is finding your own clients, pricing your own work, carrying your own risk. This path rewards speed and discomfort with uncertainty.
Neither is better. They're just different games with different rules, and trying to play both halfway, applying to jobs some days, pitching clients on others, usually means you're bad at both instead of good at one.
Here's what going halfway actually looks like, because most people don't realize they're doing it. You spend Monday polishing a resume for a remote job application. Tuesday you're reaching out to a potential client about freelance work. Wednesday back to job boards. A month goes by and you've got three half-finished job applications and two cold pitches nobody replied to, because neither effort ever got enough real attention to actually work. Compare that to someone who picked one path in week one and spent the whole month getting good at just that.
How do you actually know which one you are? Ask yourself one honest question. If a stable paycheck landed in front of you tomorrow, steady, predictable, someone else's business, would you take it, relieved? Or would it feel like giving something up? That answer is usually the real one, more honest than whatever you'd say if someone asked you directly.
Some people read that question and still don't have a clean answer, and that's fine, it usually means one of two things. Either you haven't actually tried either path hard enough yet to know how it feels, or you're carrying real financial pressure that makes "steady paycheck" sound appealing regardless of what you'd actually prefer, which isn't the same as genuinely wanting the job path.
If it's the first, the fix is simple, spend a real week on each, one serious job application with real effort, one real outreach attempt to a potential client, and pay attention to which one you dread less. If it's the second, that's worth naming honestly instead of mistaking financial fear for a genuine preference, they're not the same thing, and building toward the wrong path because of pressure usually just delays the real decision instead of solving it.
I was dealing with decaying runway and had started to realize I was running out of time to get the business to take off, so I switched my path to remote job and went heavy applying for jobs. I figured I could bring in remote job income and speed up my business growth. With a family relying on you sometimes the fastest path is the best path, getting something in the range of $2000-$4000 a month because you can always do the other path once your runway is extended.
◆ // THE NUMBER
Two
That's how many real paths actually exist here, not twenty. Most people get stuck not because the path is hard, but because they haven't picked one, and every piece of advice they read, job search tips one day, entrepreneurship tips the next, ends up contradicting the last thing they read.
Picking one doesn't mean you can't ever do the other later. It means you stop reading advice meant for the other path as if it applies to you right now.
There's actually a third option some people run. I'll get into it next issue.
◆ // IF YOU'RE ALREADY LEANING BUSINESS
If you already know deep down it's the business path, not the job, that's exactly the kind of decision worth getting real clarity on before you spend a month guessing. That's what the call is actually for, figuring out which path makes sense for your specific situation, not just this fork in general → expatbuildr.com/consulting
[WATCH: "I'm building a business so I never have to go back home" → youtu.be/MCNdrsrUdJI]
Tag me on Instagram or X with your leak number → @ExpatBuildr. The most surprising one gets featured next issue.
◆ // WHAT THE FIRST 30 DAYS ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
If you're on the job path, the first 30 days is volume and polish. A tight resume, a handful of strong applications a week, not fifty scattershot ones, and real prep for interviews, because remote roles get flooded with applicants and the polished ones win. You're optimizing to be chosen.
If you're on the business path, the first 30 days looks completely different. It's one real conversation with one potential client, not a perfect pitch deck nobody's seen yet. You're not optimizing to be chosen, you're optimizing to find out fast whether anyone will actually pay for what you're offering, and adjusting just as fast if the answer is no.
Those two months don't overlap much. That's the actual proof you're on two different paths, not variations of the same one.
◆ // THE MOVE
Reply to this email with one word. "Job" or "Business."
That's it. I want a real read on where this list actually stands, not a guess. If one side clearly outweighs the other, that tells me what to go deeper on next, and if it's close to even, I'll find a way to cover both without diluting either.
◆ // PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Paste this into any AI chat, swap in your real numbers:
"I spend $[amount] a month converting USD to [local currency]. Banks typically markup the exchange rate 2-4% above the real mid-market rate. Calculate what that markup is costing me annually, then tell me exactly how much I'd save per year switching to a service like Wise that charges under 1%. Give me the dollar amount, not just the percentage."
Run it, then DM me on Instagram @ExpatBuildr and tell me your number. Best one gets featured next issue.
— Galaxy (Tony Long II) 🌏
Building from Cebu. Earning in USD. Sharing the math.
P.S. — Still deciding which path fits you? That's exactly what the call is for → expatbuildr.com/consulting