Running Your Business On The Road With Nary A Bump

There are a lot of reasons that a business owner might have to spend their time traveling. The business might have a part of it that’s mobile by nature if it’s delivering services. You might be on the road scouting clients. You might be attending trade shows and conferences. There’s nothing to stop you from still running the business while you’re on the road. However, the business might suffer some travel sickness if you’re not putting the following practices in place.

Don’t forget the essentials

It’s always a good idea to keep a simple container, even a Tupperware box, of office goods. Notebooks, post-it notes, a variety of pens, staplers, printer ink, toner, and so on and so forth. Stay in supply and keep filling up as you go. You don’t want a simple lack of supply to get in the way of your business.

You are a traveling brand

As you’re traveling and doing business, you have to be aware that you are out in the world representing the business. Whether it’s in a trade show or a client meeting, you have to think of yourself as part of the business’s brand. Dress professionally (or at least consistently with the brand image), observe proper etiquette and watch what you say. The wrong tone could reflect badly on the business you’re representing.

Getting there in one piece

If you’re doing business on the road, there’s a good chance you’re going to have the tools to help you do so. Laptops and PCs. Portable printers. Projectors. If your traveling office involves tech, you need to protect them. Keep them safe during transit with custom shipping cases. Then be careful of where you’re connecting them. You don’t know when a new outlet could cause a power surge, so make sure you’re traveling with surge protectors as well.

Stay connected

Nowadays, it’s entirely possible that you can run a business from a smartphone. But regardless of what device you have, it’s all about using the right software to keep in touch with the home base (if you have one). Use Google Hangouts for the meetings and 1-to-1s you would normally have in your office. Consider moving the business’s shared assets to the Cloud so that you can access and keep a close eye on work no matter where you are.

Share the journey

If you miss the sheer marketing and networking potential that being on the road has to offer, then you’re making a mistake, there are no two ways about it. If you’re attending any trade shows or conferences, spend some time building buzz around your attendance. Keep it clear on social media where you’re going and offer business owners and customers alike the opportunity to meet you. Sharing a travel diary of what you’re doing is also a great way to give your customers an angle of the human perspective inside the business.

Knowing your needs before you set off and preparing is the most important part of keeping a business running on the road. Otherwise, your connection to the team can be severed or you can be left without resources and equipment on the road. Make sure you take the time to address what you need and check that it’s provided for.