RVs are homes on wheels but they can also make great offices and workshops too. What if you could take your work on the road? What would your office look like?
Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business entrepreneur, start up costs for running a business from your RV are exponentially lower than setting up a sticks-and-bricks location and the best part is that if your entrepreneurial adventures are successful, you can take your work on the road and change your office view whenever you get bored!
People have managed successful mobile businesses for decades. All it takes is a willingness to be your own boss – and the discipline to make it profitable. Here’s a sampling of ways some RVers are making real money on the road in their RVs, not just pocket change from craft fairs:
- Accountant, Bookkeeper or CPA
- Dog groomer, walker and sitter
- Independent sales representative
- Mobile mechanic for RVs and automobiles
- Photographer, illustrator, writer or other creative freelancer
- Software programmer, web designer or other Internet guru
- Solar power technician
- Satellite TV and Internet installer
- Virtual assistant
- Tattoo artist
- Traveling nurse
Even if you aren’t ready to hit the highway for good, you can still run a business from your RV. Ideas for successful RV-based businesses that don’t travel too far include:
- Barber or hair stylist
- Food truck vendor
- Retail fashions
- Tattoo shop
As with any other business you’ll have unglamorous business chores to oversee, like dealing with phone and Internet services, self employment taxes, rent, repairs and insurance. And if you plan on working with the public you can expect additional scrutiny when local officials don’t know how to categorize your unique location in order to issue things like permits and taxes.
The good news is that your expenses may be as tax deductible as any other business’ costs, but you’ll need to work with an experienced tax prepare to ensure you’ll make the IRS happy.
Even with all of these small business tasks, you’ll still have a leg up over your competition – the ability to easily go where the work is plentiful and the scenery is better!
A growing number of RVers are hitting the road and working from anywhere. If you want to do the same, start a conversation in the iRV2 Forums and talk with others who are making their small businesses rock the highways!
iRV2 Discussion Forums: Workamping and Volunteering
For more tips about how to get started, check out two stellar small business resources for RVers
RV Beach Bum: RV-Friendly Small Business Ideas
Workers on Wheels: Money-Making Ideas:
Often called “The O.G. of full-time RVing,” Rene Agredano and her husband Jim Nelson hit the road in a fifth wheel trailer in 2007, after their dog Jerry lost a leg to terminal cancer. Sixteen years later they are still traveling and sharing their nomadic adventures at LiveWorkDream. As a self-employed wordsmith, Rene shares her expertise for many RV industry videos, publications such as the Escapees RV Club Magazine, and has authored numerous books, including the Essential RVing Guide to National Parks, and Income Anywhere, a guide to earning money on the road. She has been featured in global media outlets including the PBS documentary “NATURE: Why We Love Cats and Dogs,” The Guardian Sunday Edition, and the Dan Pink book Free Agent Nation.
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