Founder Story: NielsBohrmann.com By

Today, we're thrilled to spotlight an innovative startup: NielsBohrmann.com They specialize in coaching individuals who are eager to break free from conventional life paths. NielsBohrmann isn't just about career coaching; it's about embracing a life that defies the usual expectations of 9 to 5 jobs, traditional relationships, and settled living.

NielsBohrmann helps people escape their routine jobs, explore non-monogamous relationships, and adopt a minimalist, mobile lifestyle. This approach, termed "Life Outside the Box," is for those who feel constrained by societal norms and are seeking a more liberated way of living.

The founder's journey from aspiring academic in German literature to running an MMA gym, and now to life coaching, showcases his diverse experiences and commitment to helping others live authentically. If you're someone who questions the status quo and dreams of a different kind of freedom, NielsBohrmann’s coaching might just be what you’re looking for.

Join us as we explore how they are empowering people to live uniquely fulfilling lives.

I have a very non-standard CV (some might call it over the place). I was originally planning to go into academia and become a professor of German literature. But I gradually realized how broken that system is — the department politics, the publishing game, the commodification of college degrees, etc.

So, I then did what anyone with a humanities degree would do — I started an MMA gym. That was a lot of fun for a lot of years. But eventually, I grew tired of teaching others how to beat people up.

Plus, there was also a lot of machoism and bro culture around MMA, at least at that time. Next stop — a dating coach business. Together with an ex-girlfriend, we taught workshops on how to talk to strangers and explore unconventional relationship models (non-monogamy). Eventually, we also started teaching sales workshops (those paid better).

This model was great fun and I might still be doing this. But there was one significant downside – it didn't work with a location-independent lifestyle, something I had been dreaming about for years. So, that was the next stage.

I started a digital marketing agency, specializing in content marketing and SEO. And financially, it did well. But the purpose was missing. So, one day I sat down and asked myself, "How can I combine what I love — teaching, coaching — while still being able to work online?" Thus, my current online coaching business was born.

Essentially, it's the culmination of everything that I have done before. It's a cliché, but I truly believe we are living in a time of unprecedented change. The digital revolution is about to change every aspect of our personal lives.

Specifically, it is already changing how we work. Many of us are no longer bound to the office and can work from anywhere. But this in turn will also change how we love. If you regularly change locations, it means that our relationship model must become more flexible.

The old monogamous relationship paradigm cannot keep up with this. We must start exploring more flexible, non-monogamous models. Constantly moving also means that we can't own as many things as we used to; that is detrimental to mobility. We must adopt a minimalist lifestyle.

That is even more important if you consider that the planet we live on is currently going down the drain. About 42 percent of all greenhouse gases stem from the manufacturing of consumer goods.

Finally, with the democratization of knowledge, but also with online fake news and the ability of AI to manipulate media, we must learn to think critically for ourselves. In the pre-digital age, it was enough to rely on ready-made templates like religion and other cultural conventions that we grew up with. In the digital age, that doesn't fly anymore. You must truly create yourself.

You must come up with your own values, your own goals, and your own ways of living life. You must overcome groupthink. This is what my "Life Outside the Box" approach is about — I want to help people navigate this new exciting, but also scary world.

I want to help them to come up with these new models for work, relationships, consumerism, and critical thinking. I want them to have clarity where most people simply feel lost.

NielsBohrmann.com is an innovative coaching platform that challenges conventional lifestyle norms and supports individuals looking to live differently. Founded by a former academic and MMA gym owner turned life coach, the startup offers guidance for those wanting to escape the traditional 9 to 5 grind, explore alternative relationship models, and adopt a minimalist lifestyle. This approach, termed "Life Outside the Box," encourages critical thinking and self-defined values in an era dominated by digital influence and societal expectations.

The platform is based on the founder's rich, eclectic background and personal transformations, utilizing his experiences to guide others towards more fulfilling lives. NielsBohrmann.com helps people navigate the complexities of modern living, focusing on flexibility in work and relationships and promoting a sustainable, minimalistic lifestyle as essential in today's fast-evolving world.

The startup not only addresses how to work and love but also challenges consumerist behaviors and traditional thinking patterns, making it a unique player in the personal development and coaching industry.

I help people to get clarity in a crazy, digital world. Our old models of living don't cut it anymore. The 9 to 5 is obsolete. The traditional monogamous relationship paradigm is obsolete. Consumerism cannot go on the way it's going on. We must learn to truly think for ourselves or fake news and AI will eventually take over. There ARE alternatives.

There are new, exciting models to navigate this new digital era we have entered into. My start-up helps intelligent individuals to adopt these models and get the most out of them.

The key for me to get customers was to create content regularly. From day one, I started posting in-depth blog articles talking about my ideas. I did so with great consistency — once a week; I never missed a week, even when I was sick. Within six months or so, I started to get some traction.

A few people reached out and inquired about coaching – now I had my first few paying clients. But the real game changer was building an email list. Once you get an email from somebody, you can now actively approach them. On the one hand, you can nurture the relationship by regularly sending them more helpful content. On the other hand, you can also send out an automated sequence of sales emails.

Just be careful to get the ratio right. You should be sending out a lot more freebies than you should be selling them. Most founders I talk to do it the other way around and get burned. They never build that trust with the audience. As a result, don't sell as much as they could. Don't be greedy — build that relationship first.

The biggest hurdle in gaining traction was positioning. In fact, it still is. The product that I'm offering is not something that you can explain in one sentence. There is no ready-made term for it yet like "the freedom lifestyle." I am essentially trying to establish a philosophy of living for the digital age, and that is rather complex. So, in essence, I always have a lot of explaining to do.

Some people get the idea faster, some people take a bit longer. Some people are completely put off by it (which is also okay). But I am also convinced that this type of framework will become widespread in the not-so-distant future, and then, I will be one of the early movers. We will see if I'm right.

I bootstrap the whole thing. I had some money from my previous business — the marketing agency — that I could invest in my new venture. I also knew a lot about digital marketing which meant I was sure that I could acquire leads quickly. I plan on keeping it this way. Personally, I think you shouldn't spend money that you haven't earned.

I now have enough cash flow to hire outside help. That is very exciting to me. It is also a completely new skill set for me to learn. I have hired people before, for other business ventures, but often, I was in industries where I couldn't choose from a large pool of talent. I had to go with whoever was available.

This is different this time around. There are lots of experts to choose from and it's highly exciting having these talks and seeing what they can do, how they communicate, what ideas they bring to the company, etc. It also forces me to embrace new ideas that I hadn't thought of before or that I was dragging my feet on.

For a while, I was very concerned with the explosion of AI-generated content. Content creation is at the heart of my business — it is how I find new leads. If suddenly everybody can produce blog articles or YouTube videos at scale, it makes you wonder how you will stand out in the future.

However, like all of these innovations, the technology was initially overhyped. The content is really not that great yet, and people are starting to realize it. I am not saying that AI is a fad — it is absolutely not and it will change everything. But it will take another 5 to 10 years to really get there.

Also, in an AI world, there will be even more of a need for personalized, human attention. I don't see people resorting to AI-powered coaches (even though some people are pushing this idea). We crave that human touch, in everything. So my initial concern has mostly subsided.

I should not have doubted the power of content creation. In my mind, I was looking at these bloggers and YouTube creators and thinking to myself, "That might work for a select few, but what are the chances of a content business working for me?" I was wrong.

I now realize that content-based business models are among the most reliable business models in the world. If you produce enough high-quality content it is virtually impossible to fail. You will get found by the right people, and they will inquire about your services. This is even true if your positioning is somewhat vague, as it is in my case.

They will still reach out to you and want to buy from you (which still feels like a miracle to me). Content works, period. Having said this, it only works if you are extremely consistent about it. For example, if we are talking about blogging, it means writing at least 100 to 300 articles before you see real traction.

That's the equivalent of several books. For YouTube, the numbers tend to be even higher — think 300 to 600 videos before you finally make it. Very few people have that level of staying power. But if you do, you can absolutely bank on your business eventually becoming profitable. Never doubt it.