Alan Donegan: Ins and Outs of a Nomadic Business

Season 2

2 Mar

Today we are joined by the founder of the PopUp Business School, Alan Donegan.

Running a nomadic business across numerous different countries, he’s got a lot to share about how to start a successful business, and how to expand and operate in different countries and cultures once you do.

Alan is a strong believer in the idea that you don’t need a lot of money to start a business. All you need is a good idea and the right direction.

He tells us everything he does to help starting businesses, as well as what his own journey has looked like starting the PopUp Business School.

“We go through five different ways to start a business without debt. Because one of the most common beliefs is it takes money to make money, and that’s just not true.”

— Alan Donegan

Time Stamps:

00:11 - What PopUp Business School is and why Alan started the company.
01:20 - How it works and where the money comes from.
02:47 - How long the course is and how many people are involved.
03:55 - What kind of businesses have started with the course.
05:30 - How to get involved with PopUp Business School, and what the curriculum looks like.
09:09 - Where the business runs its courses.
13:36 - Where Alan’s team is.
15:26 - What it’s like running a company nomadically.
21:22 - The types of businesses that can be successfully ran nomadically.
26:45 - How Alan’s friends and family reacted to his idea to run a business nomadically.
29:42 - The risk involved with starting a business from debt.
32:49 - Expanding the business outside of the UK.
35:27 - How sponsorship changes across countries.
44:29 - The importance of focusing on the sales.
45:15 - How Alan has found the opportunities to expand into other countries.
48:31 - How to deal with different cultures as you operate in different countries.
50:48 - How people's reasons to start a business change across different cultures.
52:51 - Things to avoid when you’re starting a business.
56:13 - The amount of time it takes to build a business.
58:04 - Dos and don’ts for starting a company nomadically.