Running a business in a fast-moving dynamic world can be quite challenging and onerous. It requires a great deal of focus and multi-tasking. As an entrepreneur trying to keep up with clients, seek new clients and follow trends, requires a lot of meetings, retreats, seminars, conferences etc. Most of these events take place outside the office location and can be quite time consuming. This morning I will give you tips on how to run your business from anywhere.
Have a process in place
The first thing you want to do is to have a process in place. Businesses must have standard operating processes that outlines how routine task are carried out and who does what. For example, a fashion business will have an SOP for the department that takes orders from customers, bill customers, treat complaints etc. That way work flows in an almost automated fashion regardless of who is in charge. It also helps identify inefficiencies.
Travel with all your essentials
If you are going to be out of the office or indeed out of town then it is important that you travel with all the important things you use at work. Surely, you can’t travel with your entire office but there are things you can always carry along. For example, make sure you travel with your computers, flash drives, important files, online banking tokens etc. Some of these things can fit easily into your briefcase and shouldn’t be too heavy to carry.
Get a cloud service
The internet has opened a world of possibilities, one of which is the ability to work collaboratively online. With services like Google docs, Office 365, dropbox you can have your work saved in the clouds with you and your staff working together on the same document.
For example, there could be a proposal that you are working and handed over to your staff to finalise. With cloud services you do not need to be right there with them to get the work reviewed. In fact, you all can be working on the same document at the same time.
Be able to communicate
Being away means you have to be reached on time and whenever required. If you happen to be out of the country or in some distant location then it is important that you have an internet connection and a phone service that works. With that your clients or employees can be able to reach you whenever they want and wherever you are.
Cost of living
Some entrepreneurs can be away from their business for weeks if not months. For example, a small business owner may decide to go abroad for a post graduate course and still want her business to run successfully.
However, you also do not want your business to be heavily burdened by your cost of living and other expenses that may arise from you being away. One sure way of mitigating this is to select a city that is inexpensive.
Have an excellent travel agency
If your business involves a lot of traveling, it is important that you have a very good travel plan and itinerary. A travel agent can make life easy for you if they are efficient and capable of adapting to your often dynamic travel schedule. A busy entrepreneur shouldn’t be worrying about visas, passports, tickets, hotel bookings etc.
Check your time zone
If you happen to have a business that is located outside Nigeria but serves a Nigerian market mostly then it is better to have the business in a location that has the same time zone as Nigeria. Staying within the same time zone makes it easy to serve your market more efficiently and in a timely manner.
However, some businesses have been able to break this limitation despite working from a different time zone. Though this absolutely requires careful planning, an efficient process and a shift basis work flow that allows staff resume at different times during the day.
Use virtual assistants
Virtual assistants are employees who work from just about anywhere else except in your office location. These are professionals who rely mostly on the internet to meet deadlines, arrange meetings, attend to customers, produce reports etc. Virtual assistants can be very useful for a business that changes location each time the CEO or owner changes location.
Create a great working environment
For business owners who have day jobs it can be challenging getting your employees to be fully committed when you are not there.
While nothing can replace your presence, you can however create an environment that gets everyone pumped up to deliver on your objectives. Employees deliver better in friendly and confortable environment. Achieving this also requires employing the right staff and having a committed office manager.
Take advantage of networking
One of the key advantages of Traveling or working in offsite locations is the chance it provides to meet a lot of people.
The people you get to meet can be potential clients, business partners or marketing opportunities.
You can also use this opportunity to survey new markets that can help expand the footprint of your business. For some entrepreneurs, working offsite also gives them an opportunity to have fresh ideas and be more creative.