When you’re thinking about creating a lifestyle that you can pick up and travel, entrepreneurship seems to be a prerequisite. But is it really necessary to build a new business entirely from scratch in order to work from wherever you happen to be today? Not so much.

I had occasion to chat with my dentist’s bookkeeper — she was actually at the dentist’s office for once when I went in for an appointment. She told me that she doesn’t actually ever need to set foot in the office: she automatically gets all the files for the practice electronically on her home computer. She comes in every so often, just so that the rest of the staff doesn’t forget she exists. She’s already taken the computer with her for a couple of weeks out of town and she’s thinking of moving up to a bigger trip.

Telecommuting can be a great option if you want to start traveling but aren’t ready to step out on your own. Of course, there can still be some issues if you’d rather work in an office environment.

Having a job where you show up at least some what regularly at an office does suggest that you’re not particularly location-independent — but that doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge in your wanderlust at the same time. I’ve had a couple of discussions with people with very different career paths who want to live abroad. To continue advancing in their respective career paths, working for an employer is practically a necessity, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t take jobs anywhere in the world.

I have a friend who managed a move to Germany entirely on the basis of a job she landed with a German company which happened to need an English-speaking tech writer. Germany is now her base of operations (although she seems to have plans for moving to another country when she’s seen enough of Europe).

I have to admit that I have a preference for operating on my own. I like being able to control everything about my work, from the shoes I (don’t) wear to work to just how much I’m going to work in a given week. But I know many people find that they prefer a more formal working environment, even when they’re on the road. That’s why it’s important — crucial, even — to keep your mind open on just what kind of work is going to get you around the world. Not all travelers have to fit the entrepreneurial mold.

What do you think? Do you have a preference for building your own business — and do you want to make the shift to running a business and to living in a new country at the same time?

Creative Commons Photograph — Seaview99 — Office Complex, Kolkata, India