Growing a Business as a Nomad

Nomad Profile

Jan 12, 2026

White man with a grey beard is wearing a blue-jean shirt and smiling. He is holding a vintage camera and has sunglasses hanging from his collar.

I met Eddie on the Central Asia Nomad Train, and we got to hang out a few times in Almaty, Kazakhstan, before the train departed (including a pretty fun nighttime rollercoaster ride!).

Throughout the train trip, Eddie shared his love of vintage cameras and 35mm film. Check out his Instagram Missingtmax to see his photos from around the world—from London to Kyrgyzstan, Salt Lake City to Albania.

9 Fun Facts

First Name: Edward (Eddie)
Age Range: Early 60s
Nationality: American
Nomadic Stance: Part-Time, about 7 to 9 months per year. Sometimes longer.
Last Corporate Job: 1985
Current Job: Remote business owner (I hate the title of CEO) of LoDo Massage Studio, LoDo Chair Massage, and RiNo Yoga Studio
Favorite Country: Netherlands
Next Stop: Amsterdam, then some other last-minute decision while there
What do you like best about the nomadic life? Unbound

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2 Questions

1) You’re an American who spends very little time in the United States. Why?

My nomadic lifestyle came to fruition in my 50s. I imagined living minimally and experiencing the richness of different international cities. In my 20s, I had barely left the United States, visiting only Mexico and Canada. In my early 40s, I ventured to Europe for the first time, and that sparked my travel buzz, though those trips were structured tours. In my late 40s, I set out with a neighbor to England and Ireland, carrying only a backpack and no plan, and I realized I loved this lifestyle.

In my mid-50s, I joined nomad groups like Remote Year and the Nomad Train, which fueled my desire even more. In 2019, I began traveling mostly alone and eventually reached 62 countries and countless cities.

I enjoy settling into different neighborhoods, meeting locals and other travelers from diverse backgrounds, creating small social circles, and living part-time like an expat. It’s now my norm, as I truly love experiencing cultures, cuisines, and the arts I don’t see at home. While in Tbilisi, I was reintroduced to 35mm film photography, which continues to fuel my journey.

2) Unlike most nomads, you still manage a bricks & mortar business. How do you manage physical locations from around the world?

One of the reasons I am just a part-time nomad is that I own a business in the United States. One division has retail locations, while the other is fully remote, with employees working from different cities in the Americas and employing or contracting over 2,000 people.

Getting to this level was no easy task, since I was always very hands-on. The first step was hiring and training management to replicate what I did in day-to-day operations, a process that took about five years. The second step was teaching myself to let go, which was the hardest part. I needed to trust the people I hired to run the business implicitly.

Once I managed that, something remarkable happened: my business grew in ways I never imagined, far beyond what I could have achieved alone. These days, I check emails and make or approve the bigger decisions and direction of the company, which allows me to focus on my nomadic ventures, enjoy my retro film photography, and work on a coffee table photo book I plan to publish featuring my travel photos.

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