Options for Remote Workers to Expand their Online Enterprise

Until as recently as the mid-’90s, working from a distance – rather than in a traditional, bricks-and-mortar office – just wasn’t practical. However, as cloud-based technology and broadband connectivity have soared in provenance since then, so has the practice of remote working itself.

Guides to Expand their Online Enterprise for Remote Workers

According to research highlighted by Find the Fire and Make It Matter writer Scott Mautz in an Inc. article, 63% of companies now have remote workers. However, whether you are a freelancer or simply outside your firm’s office a few days a week, how can you make it all work well for you?

Equip Yourself with the Right Communication Tools

Working remotely carries various, albeit easy-to-overlook, implications that just don’t apply with conventional, office-bound work. You could, for example, underestimate how much you lose from not chatting to your corporate contacts face-to-face communication.

In a Forbes piece, FlexJobs senior career specialist Brie Reynolds emphasizes making up some lost ground here though using the right tools, like instant messaging and videoconferencing.

Overcome the “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” Feel

Once you’ve assembled a kit of promising-looking communication tools, you should still experiment with each one to see which of them would help you to foster the strongest connections with people in the office. Your objective here should be to “make communication conscious”.

Corporate consulting group Workswell uses the tactic of incorporating playful elements into video meetings, helping staff across the divide to share in a fun vibe, as explained in a LinkedIn article.

Arrange Meet-Ups with the Office-Based Workers

There are various well-documented benefits of working remotely – think reducing costs and increasing both morale and productivity. Still, as humans, we are naturally inclined to want to spend time with others – and simply resorting to video meetings can’t always take up the slack.

Hence, perhaps you could arrange to meet other workers at their office from time to time – or even rent your own serviced office space from BE Offices before inviting co-workers to meet you there.

Manage your Work Schedule Effectively

Whereas entering a physical office can, mentally, put you immediately into “work mode”, there can be distractions aplenty if you simply work at home. For this reason, learning how to manage and prioritize your time can be crucial.

You should also set certain unwritten rules of working to one side. For example, don’t worry that starting your work relatively late in the day signals a lack of commitment, or believe that only in-office workers warrant recognition.

Learn how to Measure your Own Productivity

We’ve already started touching upon this issue, but it can be tricky for you to be confident that you’re doing a good job if, say, you’re not always starting work at a specific time or working in the office a particular number of hours a week.

Conclusion

You need to learn to record your productivity in a manner sensitive to how you work. Ultimately, look at results, like how many tasks you complete for a given time, rather than how exactly you go about the work.