For us, working location-independent means something very concrete today: exclusively digital products and services, exclusively for business clients. No exceptions. Here’s how we arrived at this rule — and why our old business had to disappear completely for it to work.
The Filter We Run Every New Idea Through
Whenever a new business idea comes up today, we ask ourselves two questions before any decision: is it purely digital? And is it aimed at business clients? Only if both are true do we pursue it. Otherwise, we drop it — as harsh as that sounds.
Why Physical Products Tie You to a Place
The reason comes down to tax. If you ship physical products, you generally have to pay tax wherever you ship from — which ties you to a fixed location, even if you’ve long since moved elsewhere. If you still want to offer physical products, you can bring in a service provider to handle shipping and VAT for you. For us, the simpler path was: skip it entirely.
B2B Instead of B2C: Where the Tax Actually Falls
The second lever is the type of client. For purely digital services to business clients, the so-called reverse-charge mechanism usually applies within the EU: VAT is due from the client, not from us — we only pay tax where our company is based. For private clients (B2C), it’s the other way around: VAT is generally due in the customer’s country, with all the reporting obligations that come with it. That’s why: strictly B2B.
Our Old Business No Longer Exists
With this in mind, we completely rethought our business model. Not adjusted — rebuilt from scratch. What existed before doesn’t exist in that form anymore. Since then, we run every new idea through this filter first, before we even talk about implementation. It costs us a good idea now and then. But it’s given us the freedom we actually wanted.
How we brought structure and location independence together for our own company, we tell in more detail on our Build page. Want to check your own business model for travel-readiness? Get in touch.
As of July 2026. Personal experience report, presented in a strongly simplified form and supplemented with general information on EU VAT for digital services (reverse-charge for B2B, destination principle for B2C) — not tax or legal advice. Depending on product type, client type, countries, and individual case, entirely different rules and obligations may apply; clarify your situation with a tax advisor.
© Image: Generated with AI