Technology has evolved so far that the dream of a continually nomadic business can often seem tantalisingly close to reality. In fact, some might argue that the reality is already here. Can you really say goodbye to the 9-to-5 grind and say hello to a life of constant globetrotting?
While the image of spending hours sipping coconut juice on a Hawaiian beach while typing away at your work on a laptop might initially seem too idyllic to possibly be practical, a closer look at the facts reveals that, actually, it could happen. Furthermore, heeding the following advice could help you to make it possible.
Take account of your clients’ time zones
Let’s assume that you’re currently based in the US and catering to that market, but would like to do the latter while journeying around the world. In that case, remember to keep working to typical US hours; so, night hours when in Asia and afternoons when in Europe, as Travel + Leisure explains.
However, it’s possible to travel worldwide while keeping a truly international client base, too – provided that, for specific clients, you schedule calls and check-ins for suitable hours during those clients’ time zones. That might mean occasionally staying awake past midnight or waking very early.
Keep a backup internet connection at close hand
“Isn’t Wi-Fi available pretty much everywhere these days?” Yes, but whether it will always work is another question. Unfortunately, the kind of public Wi-Fi that can be offered for free at the likes of hotels and restaurants can be prone to unexpected breakdowns.
Just imagine the potential consequences if you urgently need to make a business call over Skype when your sole Wi-Fi connection has inexplicably stopped working. For that reason, consider investing in a work-friendly laptop or tablet which allows for mobile broadband connectivity.
Schedule journeys for nights and weekends
One of the drawbacks of being a working nomad is potentially having to work during hours quite different from what would typically be deemed work hours wherever you happen to be.
Hence, you should be careful when exactly you fit in various tasks unrelated to work. Naturally, you could be eager to sightsee, but try doing that during mornings or nights, as one Inc. writer has done in reaction to the given time zone. Those could be good times to book plane travel, too.
Prepare the right technology before you head off
We’ve already mentioned a little about work-friendly technology to pack into your travel bag, but you might have underestimated the true variety of that technology in which you could invest.
You might have signed up to a cloud storage solution, like Microsoft’s OneDrive, without even realising it – but things can get trickier when you are running a business with staff based in various locations elsewhere.
For that reason, you might want a comprehensive collaboration software suite like AddIn365‘s AddIn Work Hub. This would let staff use Office 365 software to work together wherever they happen to be with whatever device.
