Running a remote business, and working from home, really is the dream setup. It’s easier on you, it’s easier on the environment, and it’s easier on any employers or clients you work with as well. All in all, it’s as flexible as the modern working world can get!
But sometimes, a remote business can become a little too remote. No one knows where you are, no one really knows how to find you, and it can be hard to build up a business when you have little to no such presence. However, we can stop this problem in its tracks with the use of the tips below.
Make Liberal Use of Online Networking Sites
Being a remote worker can feel very lonely sometimes. You don’t have anyone in the office to gossip with, and no team weekend retreats to go on, and you definitely can’t strike up a workplace romance either! You’re just working out of your own home, with no one else around, and that can be an incredibly isolating thing in the modern world.
But seeing as you’ve already got the internet at your fingertips, why not sign up to some professional social networking sites? Platforms like LinkedIn can be a Godsend when you’re your only company, and you can make as many connections as you want to. You can be both professional and sociable, and make some long-term business connections when you hit those DMs just right.
Go ahead and find people from all over the globe who have similar interests and/or career passions, and swap stories and pass on recommendations. In the end, it can make you feel like you’re part of a real community.
Ensure Your Data is Accessible
Running a remote company works just fine in theory, but in practice, it can sometimes be awkward to operate. All your data will be stored at home, and that can make it hard to search through. It might get mixed in with papers from your personal life, and wherever you are, there’s a good chance your data is somewhere else entirely!
Indeed, you’ll often need to attend in-person conferences and network events, and sometimes you’ll have to head out to meet business partners and potential clients where they are. And unless you want to print out reams of data and waste paper, it can be hard to manage appointments like this!
Because of this, you need a data storage solution that’s as accessible as you are, so why not turn to using cloud storage as a result? You can find a trustworthy aws partner to help you set the server up and manage it and then work safely and securely in the knowledge that anything you need is right there in front of you. It’ll be encrypted, which reduces the cyber risk, and you’re never going to run out of storage space either. Now that’s good news for the tiny office you’ve made in the back of your living room!
Collaborate with the Right Tools
If it’s not just you working in the ‘office’, then you’re going to need to find ways to reliably communicate. Many small business owners who work from home like to reach out to contractors and freelancers to help them turn over tasks and increase their overall workload, and that can work very well!
However, it can also be hard to get a response from two or more remote parties. It can be hard to stay on task when you don’t know where the other person is with their half, and you could be waiting days for a response in the worst-case scenario. You’re left unsure about the project’s deadline, and you can start to panic over your future success.
But before you reach this stage, it’s a good idea to turn to collaborative tools to help everybody stay on target and always be aware of how someone else is working. Project management apps are very useful for allocating tasks out, and seeing where someone is with their workload at the end of each day.
Be sure to also consider getting a contract in place to help communication efforts stay on track. If someone is dragging their heels or hasn’t responded in a day or two, they could very well be in breach of the terms you agreed upon.
A remote business doesn’t have to be shut off; make sure you’re working with all the right digital tools to propel your remote working company.