Daniela Morán, From Maracaibo to Medellín: One Remote Work Coach's Journey

When she answered our questions, Daniela Morán was sitting on a pouf she shares with her dog—she'd just moved in alone and didn't have a couch yet. "But honestly, I feel at peace," she writes^[1]. At the start of the pandemic, this Venezuelan sent a hundred emails to land her first remote job. Between then and now, there were 15-hour workdays, a resignation, and a career she created: helping others find remote work that fits them. In November, she'll host Medellín's first Mira Class in Spanish.

The Land of Beloved Sun

Daniela grew up in Maracaibo, Venezuela, a city nicknamed "the land of beloved sun," and its residents, she says, are as warm as the climate^[1]. As a child, she traveled across the country with her family. She treasures these memories all the more because most of her loved ones now live scattered around the world, following the migration wave Venezuela experienced^[1].

"Danielita" to her friends, she's 25, calls herself "very Sagittarius," loves art and music, and never visits a city without touring its cafés^[1]. To describe herself, she picks three words: passionate, full of good energy, and charismatic. Her biggest flaw? "I'm a very structured woman." Her greatest strength? "Leadership and focus"^[1]. What drives her forward comes down to one phrase: "the passion I have for my projects"^[1].

She studied advertising and marketing at Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín from 2017 to 2021, then completed a master's degree in marketing at EUDE Business School^[2].

A Hundred Emails, One Reply

Before the pandemic, Daniela worked as an advertising professional for a publishing house. "No one was prepared to spend months confined," she sums up: the company didn't survive and dissolved^[3]. Daniela found herself without a job. "At the start of the pandemic, I needed stable income"^[1].

She didn't yet know exactly what she was doing, but she built a method. She found a hundred small and medium-sized businesses online that she thought needed a community manager, prepared a sales pitch with what she could do at the time, then emailed them all^[1]. Only one gave her a chance: a company based in Puerto Rico^[1]. "They sent me the Zoom link. And the next day, I was already working," she recalls^[3]. She landed her first remote job without ever leaving Venezuela^[1].

Her professional profile tells the rest: from 2020 to 2023, she led marketing and advertising for Open Gate Staffing, a recruitment firm based in Puerto Rico, while taking on other community manager, project manager, and writer roles for companies in Venezuela, Mexico, Spain, and the United States^[2].

Many around her didn't understand. "In 2020, 2021, 2022, remote work wasn't yet so popular. Many people told me I was crazy, that I wasn't really working"^[3]. Yet she worked a lot, for multiple companies at once: project contracts, several big projects in a few months. "It made me good money," she admits, but more importantly, it helped her understand what she wanted and didn't want for her career, which projects she took on for ambition and which for passion^[1]. It's the mistake she says she's grateful for today^[1].

She also knew the other side of freelancing: "the uncertainty of having a client today and zero clients tomorrow"^[3]. "Believe me, it wasn't simple. It was reinventing myself, reinventing myself, reinventing myself. I failed a lot"^[3].

Fifteen Hours a Day

Later, Daniela took a leadership role for a company based in Spain. She managed a team of about fifteen people spread across the globe, with different time zones and languages^[3]. In the corporate world, she explains, the boundaries you set at first eventually fade: "They can schedule a client meeting with someone in Europe at 5 am, Venezuela time." Working across multiple time zones, you adapt, "but in the long run, it catches up with you"^[3]. "I ended up working 12, 13, 15 hours"^[3].

In 2025, she went through a silent depression, linked to long hours working alone and serious health issues. "I didn't recognize myself," she writes^[1].

The turning point came from her partner. "He told me: Dani, what do you need? What are you missing?" She answered that she needed money. "He told me: okay, I support you, let it go"^[3]. Surrounded by her partner, family, and friends, she found the courage to quit and reclaim her life, well-being, and passion through her own projects^[1]. Today, she puts it simply: "You should work to live, not live to work. I do my things according to this philosophy"^[3].

"Dani, help me find a remote job"

While she was thinking about what's next, friends started asking her: "Dani, help me find a remote job"^[3]. For years, people have been asking her how she does it; she realized she could turn it into a career and help professionals who want to transition from office work to remote work^[3]. In 2025, she launched her consulting business, "Dani trabajando remoto"^[4].

Her method starts with the person, not the job offer. With each client, she begins with a personality test, "to understand, beyond what they tell me, what they like, what they're good at, and what they're not"^[3]. Together, they choose a direction: someone who communicates well might aim for sales, for example, and she builds the strategy to connect them with a brand or company looking for that profile^[3]. Then come the tools: a resume that passes recruiters' automated filters and highlights results achieved rather than a list of tasks^[3].

She remembers her first client who landed the job she was aiming for: "the first person who invested in my talent and knowledge." "A year later, there are more than 15, and I still get emotional as if it were the first"^[1]. Yet she insists on being honest: "I can't promise my clients they'll get the job they want; that's not in my power." If plan A doesn't work, you change strategy, "because looking for a job is work"^[3].

Her mornings belong to her clients: four hours of coaching^[1]. As soon as she turns on her computer, she opens Gmail, Calendly, Drive, and Gemini, then relies on Notion and Asana to organize her tasks and track each client^[1]. The rest of the week, she schedules sessions, follows up with potential clients, prepares content for social media, and works on her other projects^[1]. For now, she wants to keep this one-on-one connection, even though she knows that as her community grows, she'll eventually need to move to group sessions^[3].

There are two misconceptions she'd like to clear up. The first: you need a technical background. "To work remotely, you need more human skills than technical ones: knowing how to communicate and being proactive"^[1]. The second: remote work would be an easier version of work. It simply has different challenges, starting with not letting it absorb you: "if you don't set boundaries, work can spill into your personal life without you noticing"^[1].

Feet in the water during a meeting

Daniela considers herself a digital nomad. In addition to her consulting business, she collaborates with brands and hotels as a content creator and travel blogger: multiple income streams that allow her to travel^[1]. This year, Medellín was her first solo trip: a month creating content for a hostel while following her clients and collaborations^[1]. It was actually a video shot during that stay that introduced her to Hello Mira^[1].

People often ask her what she's doing at the beach with a laptop. "What if I want to dip my feet in the water during a meeting?"^[3] Her answer comes down to one word: organization. Mornings for clients, afternoons for exploring; weekends for longer trips with no meetings scheduled; and if she wants to spend an entire day in a village, she works the evening before^[3]. With an employer on fixed hours, travel has to adapt: the city she chooses must remain compatible with the company's time zone^[3]. "You have to be realistic with yourself and know that you'll have to work. It's the only way to make it sustainable."^[3]

She doesn't see nomadism as an endless race. "You're not going to change countries your whole life. There will come a time when being a digital nomad means staying home and working. And you'll still be a digital nomad."^[3] What has travel taught her about herself? The joy of planning a trip, living it fully, and meeting people who, like her, are building their own business^[1].

A Nomination Arrives by Email

It's in Medellín that she receives the email: she's been nominated for the Latam Digital Awards, in the category of women transforming digital^[1]. The ceremony takes place a few weeks later in Bogotá, the same day her contract with the hostel ends. She buys a plane ticket^[1]. "Everything was God's work so I could keep traveling and making my dreams come true," she writes^[1]. She receives an honorable mention in her category^[4], then stays a month in Bogotá to work and explore the city^[1].

Another chapter begins today: living alone for the first time. "It's another dream come true."^[1] Hence the pouf, the dog, and the lack of a couch. Yet she admits a paradox: "Even though it doesn't show, change and the unknown scare me." But she's learned that you can move forward despite fear, by facing what inspires you^[1]. Today, she sums up what she's looking for in three verbs: "create, believe, and build."^[1]

What She Says to Those Who Hesitate

• The most common mistake: applying out of desperation, with no strategy or objective, with only one rule: "I want a job now."^[1]
• English isn't required, but a second language increases your chances of landing the position you're targeting^[1].
• Freelance or employee? Both work. As a freelancer, you set your rates, conditions, and payment methods; in a company, they're already set. The right path depends on your personal and professional goals^[1].
• On your resume, highlight the results you achieved, not just a list of your tasks^[3].
• Her non-negotiable values: honesty, respect, and discipline^[1].
• What she wishes she'd heard at 20: "Hay momentos para todo, no necesitas tener todo resuelto ahora mismo" (there's a time for everything, you don't need to have everything figured out right now)^[1].

And to those dreaming of working remotely but afraid to take the leap: "Yes, it's possible. With the right tools and strategies, you can not only work remotely and become a digital nomad, but also work in what you love, earn well, and make your dreams come true."^[1]

Her Mira Class in Medellín, in Spanish

From November 8 to 22, Daniela is hosting the first fully Spanish-language Mira Class in Medellín^[4]. She thought she'd come in December for her favorite DJ's concert; after adjusting dates with <a href="/en/blog/a/cedric-tumminello">Cédric</a>, November worked out^[1]. It will be her second visit to the city this year—a place she loves^[1].

At the end of the two weeks, according to Daniela, each participant "will have learned what valuable skill they possess and what strategy to follow to land the remote position they're targeting."^[1] She teaches from her experience, her mistakes, and her successes, to save years of trial and error^[1]. What she's most looking forward to: "meeting you and learning together," convinced she'll learn something valuable from each participant^[1].

Her favorite phrase, the one that guides her: "Nada pasa si no te mueves"—nothing happens if you don't move^[1].

Daniela's Mira Class in Practice

• Program: "Your Profile Ready to Work Remotely," eight modules, from professional assessment to salary negotiation^[5]
• Location: Medellín, Colombia, in a dedicated workspace^[5]
• Dates: November 8–22, 2026^[5]
• Format: 20 hours of in-person group sessions and one hour of individual coaching^[5]
• Group: 15 spots^[5]
• What You'll Get: Resume optimized for recruiter filters, portfolio, polished LinkedIn profile, application templates, and salary negotiation guide^[5]
• Price: €500^[4]
• Language: Spanish^[5]