FBC – 324 – One of the biggest smoke screens on the internet…BEWARE

One of the biggest smoke screens on the internet…BEWARE.

Today, I want to warn you against one of the biggest lies on the internet. You are certainly confronted to it on a regular basis and unfortunately, far too many people fall victim to this trap.

This has to stop and this is why I recorded this episode…

All the details and more inside.

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https://martinebongue.com/profit-machines

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In Bali, there is this place called Dojo, which is a co-working space. And people are so proud to tell you that, man, I am going to Dojo as if it was an honour or something, or it says that you're an entrepreneur.

If you go to Dojo, if you pay, you get in, that's it. It doesn't mean that you are an actual entrepreneur. And a lot of these guys, I've seen so many, people with their Mac who just go there and just show up, showing off there.

So when you go there, you think that people are busy and stuff and that they actually have a businesses and everything. But a lot of them are just pretending. They're just showing the life of, oh, look at me, I'm in Bali, this is my office for the day or something like that. How many times have you seen these pictures of, oh, view from the office and stuff like that.

I see that all the freaking time. And, you know, ninety nine percent of these guys don't have a business. They just want you to think that this is their life and it's really not the case. And it's something that really annoys me.

One of the biggest smoke screens on the internet…BEWARE

I don't want you to understand something. So when you are a digital nomad in the true form, in the beginning, you may go to like the beach or something and work there once or twice. But dude, nobody wants to go to the beach to work. Man, there is sand. There is wind. You know, they can get wet and stuff.  You have bugs and stuff like that. And then you're worried about your computer when you go in the water and everything.

So yeah, it might happen once in a while. But people who have you believe this is what they do every single day, well it's full of crap. They're just selling you something that actually doesn't exist. What will happen is that while you will do it once or twice in the beginning, because well, you know what you've seen it on Instagram or something like that. Very often you'll realize that, you know what, the number of people who actually have a business the time you spend in coworking spaces is a lot less than you think.

Don't get fooled by what you see on the Internet. Oh, I'm a digital nomad. I work from the beach and this is my office, blah, blah, blah. A lot of them are struggling. I know people who actually have businesses and stuff. They will have their own place. They will work there and then afterwards, once they're done, they can they can just go on the beach.

I don't know anybody who actually has their own business who actually goes and works at the beach. It's a mess. But it's all right if you put this on Facebook and or in the landing page and stuff, it makes people think, oh, man, I want to work at the beach as well. Dude, nobody does that.

So don’t be fooled by the guys in the co working spaces, posting stuff on Instagram about it. A lot of them are just pretending. They want to be cool. True digital nomads are doing it differently, trust me.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should aspiring entrepreneurs not be impressed by co-working space pictures?

Because paying for a desk at Dojo in Bali does not make anyone an entrepreneur. Martin Ebongue points out that anyone can walk in, open a laptop, and post a photo. The real business work happens offline through products, customers, and revenue, none of which show up in those images.

What percentage of co-working space users are actually running a profitable business?

A small minority. Martin estimates that roughly one out of every hundred people he sees at Dojo in Bali has a genuinely profitable online business. The rest are tourists, hobbyists, or aspiring founders who confuse the appearance of work with the harder reality of building paying customers.

How does social media give a false impression of online entrepreneurship?

By rewarding aesthetics over outcomes. Martin warns that photos of laptops, beach views, and co-working desks generate engagement regardless of whether any income exists behind them. The platforms amplify the lifestyle image, which trains audiences to mistake performative work for genuine business success.

What questions should you ask before believing someone is a successful online entrepreneur?

Ask what they sell, who buys it, and how often. Martin says these three questions filter out almost all of the laptop-on-the-beach crowd within a minute. Real founders can answer instantly with product names, customer profiles, and rough revenue patterns. Performers struggle to answer at all.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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