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Some businesses are capable of adopting completely remote workflows. They don’t require an office at all and they’re agile enough to hire employees from any corner of the world and still make effective use of their time. However, that’s not to say that remote businesses don’t have any problems. In fact, they do have a lot of issues which present unique challenges that typical businesses wouldn’t face. So to give you a hand, we’ve put together some tips to help you overcome the most common pitfalls of a fully remote business.
Others might not take you seriously
One of the issues with working as a freelancer is that people might not take you seriously. Remote businesses have a similar issue because you don’t have professional credentials like a business address or phone number. While more and more people are getting accustomed to the quirks of a fully remote business, not everyone will take you seriously until you’re able to showcase your work and talents.
Surprisingly difficult to stay focused
Working at home means being distracted. Whether it’s your kids, the neighbours or the phone, things are going to drag your attention away from your work. It’s important to establish some kind of workspace at home so that you’re not constantly losing your focus.
Meetings can be difficult to set up
Some fully remote businesses find it difficult to establish meetings because they don’t have an office. It can be embarrassing to tell your client that you want to meet in a coffee shop or a bar instead of a professional working environment. Not every client appreciates a casual approach to business. To remedy this, you may want to consider renting out a co-working space to use as a meeting spot. This is an effective option because it allows you to pick a co-working space close to your client, making it more convenient for them.
Lack of real connection to your colleagues
Working remotely means you never really see your colleagues. This can be a little strange for some people since you won’t have any real connection to them. When you collaborate on projects, it can cause issues because you don’t know the strengths, weaknesses and personality traits of each team member. This results in some conflict and could mean a less productive team.
No sense of community or culture
Lastly, there’s a lack of company culture when it comes to remote businesses. When you work with people from many different time zones and don’t communicate much when working, it means that there’s no sense of company culture. There’s no bond that keeps the team together and this makes it hard for your staff to work together on larger projects. It also means there’s no real team loyalty because you can just hire someone as a replacement for an existing member of staff. Establishing a sense of community and company culture is crucial for small companies, but this is difficult to achieve if you operate a remote business.
