Managing a Remote Business Around the World

You see people sharing pictures on the beaches of Bali, climbing Machu Picchu, gallivanting across the Swiss Alps, or managing their remote business from their smartphones and you can’t stop thinking about how they do it?

How are these people able to do all these super cool things and still be able to work for a living? Today’s world presents one of the best if not the best time in history to build a life and business doing what we love, from basically anywhere in the world.

By just seeing what someone posts on social media, doesn’t show the underlying struggles and sacrifices they had to make to obtain the life and business they have. Believe me, overnight success does not exist. The best way to say it is that to most outsiders, overnight success looks real but if you talk to the real entrepreneurs or digital nomads out there they will usually tell you that it’s been 10 or 15 years in the making.

One of the biggest opportunities that are available to everyone today is the power to build a remote business from wherever they are in the world. If you live in say Chile or Spain and always wanted to start a business in the US you can do this through Stripe Atlas.

It doesn’t mean you have to move to the US, it just means that is where your business is incorporated from and where you will be governed by their laws and taxed. You could still live on the beaches of Bali if you preferred and be able to own a US-based business.

To many people, this is something so foreign and unrealistic because they grew up in a 9-5 world where you had to work 40+ hours/week and made sure you had good company benefits for your family and a pension to retire from. This doesn’t have to be you, I assure it.

The ability to build a remote business and have a skilled team in different locations around the world has so many advantages and of course disadvantages. When you are on the beaches of Bali and your assistant is in Korea, no you aren’t able to walk next door and ask them a question, which for some in business is a big problem.

But for others, this is actually a blessing in disguise because you are not distracted by the small little nuisances that working in an office present. Meetings all the time, water cooler chatter, working between 9 am – 5 pm, getting distracted by co-workers, and probably the biggest one of all is being run on someone else’s schedule.

As you can probably tell from the content of this article and the title is that I’m all about building a remote team. Heck, it’s what we’ve done with Influencive and something that has been an advantage for us. To give you some more context on this I want to give you a few main insights into how to build a kickass remote business and team.

Finding and Using the Proper Tools

You may have heard the analogy “Software is eating the world” and well it’s partially true. There is new software coming out daily that are making our lives and processes more affordable but also less bothersome, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency in business and everyday life.

Some can see it as a blessing while others see it as a curse. I definitely see it as a blessing though because when you are building a remote team around the world everyone is in different places and as mentioned before you can’t just walk next door and ask them a question.

Through app’s like Cisco Webex and Cisco Spark, we are able to have face-to-face meetings through our phones or message each other directly within our Cisco Spark room. This alleviates us having to be in the same city or office and is a real big advantage for us.

Hire Others That Are Specialized

The real advantage that building a remote business and team has is the ability to hire people who are the best at what they do. If you are a local gym owner in your hometown, there is no reason why your manager of social media or digital content needs to be located in your city.

You should be going for someone that is the best at what they do. They have shown their results before and you want them on your team. The best part is that you can hire them and bring them into your team by allowing them to stay where they are or with the option of relocating if that’s what they want. But where they are located is not important in the selection process.

The main point I want to make is that you don’t need to hire someone average in your city to later regret that decision and fire them because they aren’t good enough for what you wanted. Go after the best, through the internet and technology you can make it work and access a global talent pool. But always remember the saying when it comes to hiring, “Hire slow and fire fast.”

Keep Your Remote Business Organized

The one main disadvantage of building a remote team and business that I mentioned before is the fact that the team is not all located in the same office or location. When this happens not everyone is on the same schedule or working at the same times, which makes coordinating and communicating tough. But I do have a solution for you.

Through apps like Cisco Webex and Cisco Spark, we communicate at any time of the day if a team member has a question. Our Spark room is on our phones so when we are out and about, I can message and send a document to say our graphic designer if I want them to check something out and get their opinion on, or vice versa.

Then on top of this, the suggestion I have for you and your remote team is to pick a time during the week or even every day and set aside 10-20 minutes. This time could be known as a “check-in” and basically, it’s an informal way to keep the team in the loop on what you are up to. Think of it as the complete opposite of micromanaging your team in the same office, a common practice used by management in many businesses.

Managing Your Remote Business

By using tools like Cisco Webex and Cisco Spark, implementing check-in times, asking questions right away through your private chat room, and sharing documents with each other no matter where you are at the moment will allow your team to stay productive and efficient.

The days of an entire team working in the same stuffy office are coming to an end and thanks to tools like Cisco Webex and Cisco Spark it’s opening up more exciting places to work from effectively every day.