Imagine sitting on the beach, under the palm tree, and sipping your favorite cocktail. How many times a year can you do that? If you are used to the two-week per year vacation, you aren’t taking advantage of managing your business from abroad.
In the era of technologies and remote collaboration, it’s possible to take care of many aspects of your business while traveling. You don’t need to be physically present to keep the company functioning anymore. All you have to do is learn how to manage it remotely.
In this article, we’ll share a few tips on maintaining your company while you are traveling or living in another country.
1. Get Clear on the Time Zones
One of the biggest challenges remote business owners face is the time difference. When you are traveling, you could be awake while it’s nighttime where your business is located and vice versa. Thankfully, no matter where you are, you can always find a couple of hours that both work for you and your business.
You have to be ready to work in the evening and early morning while putting in some working hours at night. However, this allows you to rest and enjoy your life for the rest of the day. So such a schedule change is usually worth the effort.
Just make sure you set up regular working hours so your remote employees know when to reach you if necessary.
2. Invest in Communication Technologies
When you are working from abroad, you need to enhance your communication methods. Don’t hesitate to make a solid investment in collaboration software. You should be able to monitor all tasks done without your presence in the real-life mode.
Schedule regular conference calls with your teams and hold meetings. Even if there isn’t too much to discuss, you have to show your presence. The most common problem remote business owners face is the lack of productivity because employees lose their focus without the boss present.
You have to demonstrate your readiness to react to any problem or question timely.
3. Choose a Leading Manager
While you are traveling, on vacation or managing your business from another country, you must have a trusted representative to help you on the spot. Whether your absence is temporary or permanent, this person should be your right hand at all times.
You should be able to contact the representative 24/7 and give that person the opportunity to call you at all times as well. This way you can be sure that if something goes awry, you’ll be notified.
Delegating your responsibilities smartly is vital to managing a company abroad. According to an experienced Florida business broker Cress Diglio, delegation to experts is the key to success. Be it selling your company or making strategic partnerships, without hiring the “right hand”, it’s almost impossible to run a company from abroad.
4. Study the Cultural Differences
If your company is located in another country and your staff is local, you need to be careful about cultural differences. The most common example of something you may have an issue with is a siesta in some southern countries. People may be used to taking long lunch breaks in the middle of the day.
Take the time to learn such things before requesting something from your employees. Ideally, you should have a local representative, who is ready to explain such things to you so you don’t make a mistake.
Always study such things as local and religious holidays of the country your business is located in. You also have to share your own holiday schedule with your employees.
5. Go the Extra Mile in Maintaining Relationships
Building strong relationships with employees and customers is tough when you are sitting in the office. When you are away, it’s twice as hard. So remote employers must go the extra mile to communicate. If you would hold a meeting once a month while in the office, do it at least once a week from abroad.
Emails and chats are great for project maintenance. However, in order to build a strong relationship, you need to see the person or at least to hear a voice. Try to opt for frequent video conferences to maintain a strong presence in your company’s office.
Consider personal communication with your clients as well. Try to show your awareness of the company’s relationships and the clients’ needs.
6. Get Familiar with Local Laws
When you are running a business from abroad, you need to have a clear understanding of the local laws. Your agreements with local clients should be structured according to the country’s legal system. Familiarizing yourself with such information can be time-consuming. So it’s important to have a legal representative, who can explain all the important nuances.
You also need to learn what the laws of your country say about doing business abroad. Do you have any special responsibilities or maybe need to pay taxes? Make sure you know all the details before making your first profits. You don’t want to get in trouble in any of the countries, or worse, both.
7. Travel Often
No matter how well things seem to be going with your business, you have to visit your company often. Remote collaboration works great for routine operations. However, if something out of the ordinary happens, you need to arrive on the spot quickly.
To make travel easier, you need to study all the possible options. Can you reach the destination by train, plane or car? Are there regular flights? What dates and times are they on? Consider participating in rewards programs to save money on tickets.
Try to visit your company at least once a month to maintain an excellent relationship with your employees and clients.
Final Thoughts
Managing your company from abroad has numerous benefits. It frees up your time and allows you to save on many different things. However, it involves rethinking your strategies, learning new laws, and taking full advantage of remote collaboration.
