As many workers have learned over the past year, running an entire company from your laptop is possible today, with more and more brands embracing remote work. The days of having to take tiring commutes to the office are, thankfully, fading into the past. You can now perform all office tasks from wherever you are.
If you feel like you’re not cut out for the traditional 9-to-5 office lifestyle, here are a few tips to get you started with remote work:
- Use Appropriate Tools
Operating a business from home can be challenging if you’re not armed with the right tools. You may struggle to keep things in order — from your finances, your daily schedule, to your responsibilities.
To manage your payroll, accounting, and payments correctly, you may need to get business software. It may save you the time you’d have spent trying to fix up your budget, allowing you to fully focus on growing your company.
Remote tools not only benefit you, though; they also benefit your workers. Some platforms can help promote teamwork, boost productivity, and cultivate a culture of teamwork. Trello, for instance, offers a board where employees can interact and communicate freely. You can assign tasks to specific staffers, according to their strengths. And you can set a due date for each task to ensure they’re always on top of their tasks.
As a savvy business owner, you know that simple acts of recognition from the higher-ups can improve a worker’s drive tenfold. There’s a platform, Wooboard, that enables you to appreciate your employees for the work they’ve done. It allows you to create rewards that celebrate your workers.
Wooboard and Trello are just a few of the apps at your disposal when it comes to operating a remote business. You have to evaluate your needs to find the tools that best suit you.
- Hire Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants are people who offer different services to business owners from a remote location. Even though they’re not workplace employees, they can perform office tasks virtually. They can help with your accounting, customer care, and data entry.
VAs can be huge assets in your remote business if you use them correctly. Hiring them not only takes some mundane tasks off your plate, but also frees up time for you to accomplish more demanding business projects. Replying to emails, updating your social media channels, and doing paperwork can quickly overwhelm you; VA’s help you deal with these chores.
To top it off, they allow you to scale up your company operations without much fuss. Recruitment processes often demand too much time and resources. By hiring people on a project-to-project arrangement, you can deal with increasing work tasks, without going through lengthy recruitment processes.
- Find an Ideal Location
Contrary to what many owners may think, operating your business from your laptop doesn’t necessarily mean you can operate it from anywhere. Your environment plays a huge role in working remotely. Some places might be distracting, preventing you from doing your best work. Other locations may energize you, enabling you to get the most out of your workday.
Try out different locations before settling in one. You can try out a coffee shop if you enjoy seeing other people work too; and a home office if you enjoy working in isolation.
Conclusion
Managing a remote business offers several enticing perks. It means you don’t have to pay office rent, furnish the workplace, or pay for in-office staff. You also get the flexibility to work whenever you want, from wherever you want. And since you’re free to work at the time you’re most productive, you can get more work done than when you’re in an office setting. The tips we’ve mentioned above can help you make a smooth transition to a remote lifestyle.