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MBA2442 Best Laptop to Buy as a Digital Nomad
00:15:30
Are you a digital nomad or a business owner that's always on the move? Ever wondered which laptop would be your trusty sidekick for your jet-setting lifestyle? If these questions sound familiar, then you're in luck! Today's episode is all about finding the perfect laptop for digital nomads and entrepreneurs who need reliability on the go.
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- [00:01]
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And we're back, folks. It looks like Jim from sales just got in from his client lunch and he's got receipts. His next meeting is in two minutes. The team is asking, can he get through his expenses in that time? He's going for it. Is that his phone? He's snapping a pic. He's texting Ramp. Jim is fast, but this is unheard of. That's it. He's done it. It's unbelievable.
- [00:21]
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On ramp expenses are faster than ever. Just submit them with a text. Switch your business to ramp.com hey. Oh. Welcome to the $100 MBA show. No fluff, just the good stuff with our practical business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zenholm. And in today's lesson, you will learn what's the best laptop to buy as a digital nomad? Whether you define yourself as a digital nomad or a business own that just loves to travel, having the right laptop is critical. I'm a big believer that if you're an online business owner, your computer, your laptop is the number one piece of equipment you should invest in. You should always try to get the best quality product your money can buy, whatever your budget is, because everything you do is on that machine. Yep, you might be doing things on your phone, but the bulk of your work, your writing, your posting, your creation is going to get done on a laptop. So which one should you buy? Whether you're looking to buy a new laptop because you're getting started in a new business, or you're looking to upgrade your current one, I'm going to give you the straight up answers. And of course it's going to get spicy because you know there's going to be people who love PCs and love Macs. So I want to share my experience, share what works best for me, give the reasons why you would want to choose each of the recommendations I give today and how to start taking action, even if you're not looking to buy right now. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. I'm a big tech lover. I love technology because it just makes life so much easier, especially in business. I can tell you, when I started 20 years ago, half the stuff we have today didn't exist and life is so much easier now. I mention this because a lot of the reasons why you would use your computer or your laptop in the past just don't matter anymore. A lot of the software programs I use, especially like video editing software, audio editing software, graphic design, it's all now in the cloud. It's all online. So the tech specs that you would need on a computer in the past are just not required anymore. But at the same time, you're really multitasking a lot in today's online business world. And of course, we're going to talk about portability, ease of use, ease of travel, reliability, and how to get the most out of your money. So let's get right into it. I want to start by saying that I have a philosophy when it comes to buying anything, whether it's a car or clothes or, or a laptop. And that philosophy is buy high quality, but less often. When you buy something that's high quality, you don't need to buy it as much. So if I buy a really good quality sweater, that sweater is going to last me 5, 6, 7, 8 years versus buying a low quality sweater that might just wear out after a few wears. So I rather spend more money up front and be able to one, enjoy this thing that I bought for longer periods of time, two, not waste my time and energy buying a replacement every so often. And three, the overall experience of that product is going to be better because it's such a great quality product. So this applies, this philosophy I use in life applies to laptops. This is why I'm going to urge you to spend as much money as you can in your budget on this equipment. Because again, it's the most important piece of equipment you're going to be using in your business. This is like a farmer and a tractor. They can't irrigate. They can't have a farm that runs well without a tractor. They need it. This is like an Uber driver with a very high quality, reliable car. They don't work if their car doesn't work. Same thing goes for you and your online business with your laptop. So I'm going to give some suggestions, but I'm going to tell you to get the best you can with your money. I want to start with the laptop I believe is probably the best fit for most entrepreneurs online that love to travel. I'm going to explain why, but if you just want me to tell you what to buy, then this is the laptop and it's the Apple MacBook Air M2. The M2 is the processing chip and it's crazy fast. Okay, now the reason why I Recommend the Apple MacBook Air is that it's so, so good at what it does. It's such complete package. It's going to be reliable, it's going to be durable, it's super lightning fast, It's Got amazing security, which I think is a high, high priority for anybody running an online business. You got to make sure that your cyber security is tight. But most of all, it's light. Okay, a MacBook Air is quite light, especially if you go with the 13 inch versus the 15 inch. So it's great for travel. Now MacBook Air has a M1 chip version, but I recommend getting the M2 chip. Try to get as high spec as possible so that you don't have to replace this laptop anyt. You can easily have this computer for four or five years. The 13 inch M2 MacBook Air starts around $1,100, which is an incredible price for this machine. It's got a great keyboard, it's got a webcam, it's got great battery life. It's just going to serve you well while you travel running your business. Now, if you do not do any heavy video editing, graphic design, motion design, using something like Adobe After Effects, if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you're totally fine with the MacBook Air. If you're not doing any of that on a daily basis, then you don't need to go anything beyond a MacBook Air. The MacBook Air is going to serve you. Even if you do some light editing using tools like Canva, again, these are web tools or you're using something like Cap Cut or even just short video editing with Adobe Premiere or any other tool for like, you know, social reels, things like that, you're going to be totally fine with the MacBook Air. Now there are a couple downsides. One, it doesn't have plenty of ports as a few ports and you're gonna have to use like a dongle adapter to get more ports in. Easy fix, but it's a downside. And if you like to do anything other than work like play computer games on your actual computer, then the graphics card is not the best, but it's still all right. Now this is my ultimate kind of all rounder. Best laptop you can get as a digital nomad or a entrepreneur that likes to travel. But I got more recommendations if you're a PC lover, if you want more power, if you know your budget can stretch or money is no object for you and you're willing to spend more money. Sit tight because there is more to come. But a little bit about sizing. Okay? A lot of these laptops come in 13 or 15 inch or 14 or 16 inch. I've had laptops that are 13. I've had laptops that are 16. I had laptops that are 17. In my opinion, when you're traveling, the difference between the 13 and the 15 actually is significant in weight and size and just moving around. I don't think it's worth getting the 2 inches to have a little bit of a bigger screen, especially if you're just going to hook up to an external monitor when you're at home or in your home office or even when you're abroad and working, maybe in a co working space or something like that that offers a monitor. I find that 15, 16, 17 inch laptops, they're just quite big and they're kind of bulky and they're much heavier. So even with a MacBook Air, I would go with the 13 and not the 15. Remember, when you're traveling, you're pulling it out of your bag, you're going through security, you're working on a train, you're working on the plane, you want to be mobile, easy, lightweight. Okay, what else do I have in store? Now? If you're not a Mac lover, I understand not everybody loves Apple computers, but I'm going to say for the record, I've had both PCs, I've had both Macs. It's hard for me to recommend a PC sometimes because I know how amazing the quality of Apple computers are. They last long, they're virus free, they're very, very good or virus free as possible compared to a PC. But I do have a recommendation if you are a PC lover and it's a Microsoft Surface laptop, not the tablet, but the laptop, and the Microsoft Surface laptop is such a good, good choice if you're going the PC route. There's something about buying a laptop that is built for the software, meaning Apple computers, they have their own software and they have their own hardware. The hardware works for the software. Now when you go with Microsoft, obviously now you're going to be using Windows and so it's great to buy a piece of hardware that's built for the software. You'll also notice that these Microsoft Surface laptops are beautiful. They look kind of like MacBooks, but they're really elegant, really nice mouse pads, great keyboards, super awesome monitor and quite portable. The only difference is the Surface laptop is just a little bit heavier than a MacBook Air. The MacBook Air 13 inch is 2.7 pounds while the Microsoft Surface Laptop is 3.4 pounds 13 inch as well. The reason why I recommend the Microsoft Surface laptop for PC lovers is that the hardware itself is durable, it's strong, it's going to serve you well, while you're traveling, pulling out of your bag, you might drop it on the tray by mistake. Things like that, you want something that's actually really well constructed. It's also going to do all the heavy lifting that you need when it comes to processing power, speed, multitasking. It's a good solid computing device. And guess what? The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5, which is the latest model, starts at the same price as the MacBook Air 13 inch M2 model. Now what if you want to go big, bold and endless power? Maybe you want to use a laptop to do some heavy coding, some graphics, some really incredible video editing and animation. Or maybe you just want the best of the best and you want to buy a laptop that's going to last you for years to come. Well, then I highly recommend you get the MacBook Pro. I have a MacBook Pro, not the latest model, but the MacBook Pro lasts a very long time, many years because it's the latest technology in Apple computing. So they put all the great stuff in there that is going to laptops later on. Now the MacBook Pro now has the M3 chip, which is also very fast. But the difference between the M2 and M3 is not huge. But it's big enough for you to notice. This means your computer is just going to move faster, things are going to be smoother. You can have many, many tabs, open, many applications running at the same time and you're not going to have a problem. MacBook Pro also solves the problem of the ports. Many ports. You even have ports for SD cards, usb, C ports, all that jazz. Now if you go to the Apple website, you'll see that the MacBook Pro M3 comes in three different models. The M3, the M3 Pro and the M3 Max. I've done a lot of research on the difference in these three. The Pro really is something that not really worth buying. The difference between M3 and the M3 Pro, very, very small difference in terms of processing power or difference in what you're going to notice when you use the computer. The M3 and the M3 Max, on the other hand, is kind of your two choices. If you want to spend lots of money and you want to drop it on your laptop, go ahead and do the M3 Max. But the M3 is going to be brilliant. I'm going to tell you right now that when I buy a laptop, I always get the MacBook Pro because I do do a lot of video editing, I do do a lot of animations, and I do a Lot of editing of images and graphics myself. Sometimes I do a lot of audio recording, audio editing when I need to, and I just don't want to be held back with power. So I just go with the MacBook Pro and I just don't buy a new laptop that often. Now, the MacBook Pro is, is not cheap. It starts at 1600 US dollars, and depending how you can spec it out, you can go up to 3,000, 4,000, even $5,000 on a MacBook Pro. But it starts at an expensive price. But it's not like double the price of a MacBook Air. This laptop also comes in 14 and 16 inch. I would go with the 14. It's plenty of size in terms of screen real estate, and it keeps its portability. So what about the Pro version? The I want to throw money at my laptop and make sure that it lasts forever. Ver version for the PC.
- [12:28]
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And we're back, folks. It looks like Jim from sales just got in from his client lunch and he's got receipts. His next meeting is in two minutes. The team is asking, can he get through his expenses in that time? He's going for it. Is that his phone? He's snapping a pick. He's texting. Ramp. Jim is fast, but this is unheard of. That's it. He's done it. It's unbelievable.
- [12:48]
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On ramp expenses are faster than ever. Just submit them with a text. Switch your business to ramp.com. well, we're going to go back to Microsoft. I love the Microsoft Surface laptops as a PC version and they have a studio version. It's kind of their pro version. It's called Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, and the current version is Studio 2. This laptop is pricey. It starts at $2,100. That's nearly double of what the Microsoft Surface laptop. You know, just the basic one that I mentioned earlier. Costs. But this thing is a powerhouse. Crazy graphics card, amazing processing power, super durable. And don't forget that the big differentiator between the Apple computers and the Microsoft computers is that these Surface laptops, whether you get the Surface Regular like I mentioned, or the Surface Studio, it's a touchscreen, so it can be a tablet and a actual laptop as well. So if you like to annotate and note things on your screen like you do with a tablet, then you're going to love the Surface. This is a very solid computer and is going to serve you for years to come. It's going to be able to do everything you want it to do in PC form. So if you're a PC lover, this is the one to get the Surface Laptop Studio. Now those are my recommendations, but I need to say a few words. Number one, a lot of people don't know this, but you can run Windows on a MacBook. Apple allows you to install Windows as a second option. So if you want to load up your computer using iOS, which is Apple's operating system, or you can load up your Apple computer to load up Windows. So if you are used to Windows, you want to switch to iOS, which I can understand, but the switch is not that hard. But if you want to stick with Windows, you can do it with a MacBook. You can't do the same with a PC computer. Whatever you choose, my advice is to stretch your budget as far as possible where it's comfortable to get the most computer for your budget. So whether Your budget is $1,200, $1,300, $2,000, whatever it is, this is an investment that is a good investment because you're going to be using this thing day in and day out to build and run your business. Thanks so much for listening to the $100 NBA show. Hope today's episode helped. If it did. The best way to show your love is to follow the show, to subscribe. Go ahead and do that right now on whatever podcast app you use, whether it's Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It's the best way to show your love and be able to push the show to new heights and reach new audiences. Thanks so much in advance for doing that. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. There are literally hundreds of laptops you can choose from, but in today's episode, I wanted to simplify things. I just wanted to give you straight up what I think is going to serve you as a business owner, as somebody who likes to travel, somebody who's going to be on the go. All these laptops have great battery life and are durable and are lightweight for what they do and are going to get the job done. Don't go down the rabbit hole and try to search and find the best laptop in the world and customize it and all that kind of stuff. I made things easier for you because in a lot of ways the technology has gotten so good that even the basic models of the laptops I mentioned are going to serve you really well. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in the next episode. I'll see you then. Take care.
- [16:34]
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And we're back, folks. It looks like Jim from Sales just got in from his client lunch and he's got receipts. His next meeting is in two minutes. The team is asking, can he get through his expenses in that time? He's going for it. Is that his phone? He's snapping a pick. He's texting around. Jim is fast, but this is unheard of. That's it. He's done it. It's unbelievable.
- [16:54]
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On ramp, expenses are faster than ever. Just submit them with a text. Switch your business to ramp.
- [17:02]
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Com.