Run Your Business whilst Travelling the World – Tips to help you realise two of the most popular dreams, running your own business, and to travel the world.
Tips to help you realise two of the most popular dreams, running your own business, and to travel the world. It’s often thought that to do both of these at once is an impossibility, but the truth is that you can easily ensure that you are able to approach both with some forward planning and helpful tips. If you are equally invested in the world of business and the joys and experiences of travelling, then there’s really no reason that you have to choose between them. But you might well be wondering at this stage: how can you possibly run a business while you are travelling the world? It is actually relatively simple, and it’s something that you should think about if you are keen to really make the most of life. Here a few tips how you could manage this…..
Travel Cheap
The first tip is to try to be thrifty and travel cheap if you are hoping to run your business whilst travelling. That is because you may need to channel as much of your finances as possible into your business venture, whilst being able to travel for as long as possible too. That means finding a variety of ways to keep your travel costs to a minimum, which is something you can do by simply paying attention to what you are spending your money on. You can share cutting the costs of travel by booking well ahead, as well as staying in cheaper accommodation. Where you go also plays a big role in how much money you are likely to spend, so if you need to save money, you could always make a point of going somewhere that is a little cheaper at first. This could be true when your business is going through a bit of a tough time, or you are in the “Start Up” phase. Once you find an easy solution to this problem by cutting back on costs on both sides due to careful planning, you’ll find it really does make a difference to how easily you can run your business whilst travelling the world at the same time.
Manage Time Zones
It’s important to remember that there is often going to be a difference in time zones, and it’s important that you make sure that you pay attention to that whilst you are travelling. It may sound like a small or even insignificant thing, but the last thing you want is to make the faux pas of waking up your business clients or partners at four in the morning just because you forgot about the time difference. Keep a world clock app displayed on your phone or on your laptop, and make sure that you refer to it frequently, and especially whenever calling home. That way, you will find that it becomes a natural thing for you to do, and you might even find that you start to become something of an expert on time zones too, as I often am when I am travelling!
You also need to think about time zones when you are making plans with people in your business, as you will have to find a time that works for both of you. Depending on where the two of you are located, that might not be a problem – or it might be a challenge. This is one of those times when you can really benefit from knowing when a meeting could have been an email, so that’s something to think about too.
Make Use Of Temporary Offices
If you are in a major city, you’ll probably find that there is no shortage of office spaces you can hire out to use. The same is true of many smaller cities and towns in many parts of the world too. While part of the fun of running your business while abroad is being able to do so from your laptop in your hotel room (or on the beach…) you will find that it is sometimes necessary to just be able to sit down at a desk for the day to get the work done. That’s something that you could make a point of doing every now and then, and hiring out a temporary office is a great way to do that. These can be shared office spaces or you can sometimes hire your own cubicle, and there will generally always be internet and power points to use, as well as facilities for tea and coffee and snacks too.
Clearly, these are incredibly useful, and there are a lot of occasions when it might prove necessary to be able to have access to such a place. You might be in a position where you need to send someone a fax, for instance. These offices will usually have a fax machine, but if it doesn’t, then you can simply use a helpful fax from computer service instead – but it’s still good to have the space from which you can work to do that. You might also just find that the act of being in an office for the day means that you encourage yourself to get much more work done, which is something that you can absolutely be sure you are going to be happy about. Make use of temporary offices here and there as much as you need to, and it should make a profound difference to how well you can run your business from abroad.
Video Conferencing
Nowadays, it’s sometimes not necessary to even be in the same room to have a meeting at all. In fact, we could probably turn things around from a climate change perspective if we started to do away with jet-setting business meetings, and relied more instead on simply using video conferencing in order to hold meetings with people. This is something to think about whilst you are travelling, and would reduce your air-miles to a certain extent. Whenever you need to have a meeting with someone, you can absolutely do so, with the use of video conferencing services like Skype, Facetime or other conference services. These are very useful, but there are some things that you will want to consider in order to make them work for you even better.
Firstly, there may be difficulties with video quality, especially if you are in a part of the world with poor internet, or you just happen to be in a blackspot with regard to WiFi. It might be worth trying to keep all the settings on video quality low, so that you can still at least hear each other and see the basics. Secondly, remember again the issue of time zones, and make sure that you find a time which is mutually agreeable. This will mean that you can both be perfectly awake and ready for the meeting, which ensures that you get much more out of it too. Thirdly, you should aim to keep such meetings as to the point and brief as possible, so as to make it a little easier to get through it. You should also think about finding a good spot from which you can talk. It might be that sometimes the only spot you can find is the corner of a busy internet cafe, but this is far from ideal, and it would be much better to call from your hotel room where possible. Be sensitive here too – try not to take too many calls from the luxury of your private pool villa, or on a glorious tropical paradise beach. Your colleagues might start to feel as though you are not really taking things seriously. As long as you follow these tips, you will find that you can easily make good use of video conferencing while you are travelling.
Buy a Cheap Phone
One thing that you will still need to often do is to call home in the more traditional way – in other words, via a phone rather than a video conferencing software. It is a good idea to get yourself a cheap phone which you can take travelling, and to invest in a travel or local SIM which you can put into it in order to comfortably be able to call home. There are many of these on the market, and you might be surprised at how inexpensive they can be. They are certainly cheaper than using a normal SIM to call home, so you should make sure that you have thought about this. As long as you are able to cheaply call home at any time, keeping in touch with the business should be no problem whatsoever.
Take Care of Your Health
Though it may not seem that way, your company’s health often ties directly to your own health and well-being. For example, if you are frequently run down or feeling ill, you will not be able to work in the same way, and your productivity will be impaired. While you will likely be able to pass on duties to your employees, this is often not the same as doing it yourself and could be a cause of worry. As a result, it is important that you take care of your health as much as possible. If not only for the benefit of your company – for yourself too. Nobody wants to feel ill or worn down – especially when travelling.
For example, if you notice any changes in your body – such as prolonged aches and pains or a lack of mobility – address these problems sooner rather than later. It could be that you need the support of a doctor or even a partial hip replacement. Don’t head out on your travels if you’re encountering problems, as you need to ensure you can take care of yourself. Plans can always be rescheduled for a better, safer time.
I hope some of these tips will help to manage your time in a more effective way. If you can do that, you should be able to enjoy your travel for the wonderful thing it is, but also still look after your business in the way you would hope to.
*Collaborative post*
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