orest zub’s self-development journey

For Ukrainian e-⁠resident Orest Zub, travel is more about self-development than anything else

Orest Zub is a true digital nomad, having visited 128 countries. He also happens to be an Estonian e-⁠resident and entrepreneur. With the help of his new digital homeland, Orest is expanding the boundaries of his business, using his experiences from travel to guide him and his followers on the path of personal development.

E-⁠Residency's communications consultant for Ukraine, Julia Piilmann, caught up with Orest recently to find out about his digital nomad life and how e-⁠Residency is helping him run his business on the road.

Orest, what has led you to visit so many countries? And which is your favourite?

I believe it is something from the way I was brought up and maybe even genetics that makes me want to have new experiences, rather than just live for things. My parents were professional travellers even in the Soviet times, so I’ve got that gene, just expanded it a bit (smiles). 

In terms of my favourite destination, I’m not original: it’s my hometown of Lviv in Western Ukraine, but I also appreciate my new digital homeland of Estonia very much. I’ve visited a few times already as part of bigger trips around Europe. Believe me, when comparing countries in Europe to others around the world, we should be really grateful for the comfortable, logistically well-built, very diverse and beautiful life we have here. 

And where else have you enjoyed travelling besides Ukraine and Estonia?

Medellin in Colombia. Great climate, beautiful people, nowadays quite a safe place, fresh mountain air, 22 to 25 degrees all year long. Medellin is a place where a lot of digital nomads meet these days as their time zone is very suitable for people working with USA clients. 

Also, Spain and Turkey are fantastic destinations. They are great countries to visit because of their amazing geographical diversity, rich history, tasty food and good infrastructure. 

How do you make a living while travelling around the world? Is it your travel blog?

Not exactly, even though my blog is a big part of it. A travel blog on it’s own would be quite exhausting, you know. Travel brings a lot of relationships with people from different cultures and walks of life. It’s quite intensive, so I would not recommend it as a means for living for introverts. Approximately 20% of my business comes from the travel topic in the form of various endorsements. I’m also present on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram with a total audience of over 100,000 people. 

But, I also have a lot of experience and insides from different cultures and ways of life and it is the second thing I do in my life: share my views on personal development, travel, borderless business and ways of being a digital nomad. You can visit my platform at openmind.ua, where I’m sharing my content in Ukrainian. 

My main business is in consulting though. I’m an expert in online launches, product development, business automations, content marketing, recurring payment models, etc. In general, I help people to become more free in their life and business by using simple online tools and advanced mindset strategies. Same applies to companies. 

I also run Kartel - my own membership platform which unites online entrepreneurs in Ukraine. 

Do you feel people need more information on travel or self-development? What is more demanded?

I would opt for the second one, as travel is a very volatile sphere of business, as you know. Globally, humanity is undergoing huge changes, crushing boundaries and really creating new societies outside of state borders. So, I believe a lot of us are checking our life barometers to find our own way or make the next step in life. I like very much the Japanese concept of IKIGAI or life’s purpose. It’s a reason to get up in the morning and face the fast-paced world we live in.

How has e-⁠Residency helped you to move forward with your business? Maybe your experience can inspire or help someone in our community. 

Definitely! As I’m developing my own digital platform, at some point of its growth I needed to automate it so as not to get buried under everyday administration.

E-⁠Residency helped me join international services allowing automatization for the online member platforms, which also meant automated payments for subscription, membership and bound actions. Let’s say it is the next tiny step that makes my business run smoothly and synchronize things. The pandemic hit the travel business hard, so I used the moment to automate my business model and therefore make my approach more structured. 

And what’s next? What are you planning to do and where will you visit?

I just wrote my first book where I share all the travel, motivation, and time-management tips and self-development experience I acquired until now. So right now my full focus is directed towards my followers, for whom I’m trying to create useful and helpful content. 

I’m also working on visiting every country in the world. Currently I’m on 128 and there is still a way to go. Hopefully I’ll be done with all 193 UN member states by the age of 40. I’m turning 34 soon. 

In the near future, I will travel with my wife, visiting some global art events in Istanbul and Miami with side trips to Bahrain and Jamaica respectively. And then we’ll see. I’m a pretty mobile person and flying across the globe has become part of my routine. 

One thing I’m excited about is to enter global markets with my expertise. So far I’ve been a self sufficient entrepreneur for all my professional life. Maybe joining some talented team in a global project could bring a fresh look. There are many roads I can take and I’m super grateful that I’m in such a privileged position. 

In the meantime, I very much hope that our world will recover fast from COVID-19.  But thanks to e-Residency, I've been able to keep my businesses running smoothly even during a world crisis.