Three Tips for Running Your Business Away From Your Business
As freelancers there are often times we work away from our desks. This could be due to taking much needed vacations or working from a coffee shop to gain a little human interaction. How can you keep your business going in a professional setting when you’re not working from your typical office space?
Treat Phone Calls With Care
If you’re accepting client phone calls away from your office, make sure you’re in a quiet space. As I type this I’m in a coffee shop, sitting amongst noisy coffee grinders and loud conversations. I don’t mind noise while I’m working, but if a client calls, I need to remain professional. I step outside to take the call. This ensures a conversation that isn’t interrupted and allows me to give the client the same attention as I would from my office. Can you imagine trying to conduct a professional conversation where both parties are continuously repeating themselves? It would be pretty unproductive.
Leave Away Messages
If you are traveling for a period of time or will be out of the office for a few hours, think about leaving an away message on your answering machine and/or an email auto-responder. If your client tries to contact you, they’re probably expecting a relatively quick response. To make sure they know you’re away and may not return their inquiry as quickly as normal, simply say so. It’s helpful to note the dates you’ll be gone and when you’ll be returning to the office. Also, if you decide to take calls from a cell phone or at another number, this would be the time to tell the client.
Give Clients the Heads Up
I’ve been fortunate enough to live in Switzerland for six weeks while still running my business back home. How was this done? I gave my clients plenty of notice. Two months out I sent emails to each client individually, telling them of my plans to leave. I explained what my temporary work schedule be, when I would return, and when I would need all new project requests turned in by. I also explained what to do and who to turn to in the event of an emergency. At the end of every email and every phone conversation for the last two weeks prior to my trip, I reminded clients of my upcoming trip.
While away, I was working here and there, but made sure my clients knew of my expected project and message turn-around times. The trip went very smoothly and my clients were wonderful. Upon my return home to The States, I sent out another email regarding my return and a thank you note for their cooperation.
Being a freelancer doesn’t mean sacrificing vacations or working from different locations. It just means being a little more organized and planning ahead in order to accommodate client needs effectively and professionally.
Great post. I’m not freelancing just yet but am working on getting there! Hearing you talk about being able to travel and still work, and work at coffee shops makes it hard for me to wait any longer! Thanks for the tips!
Great tips. Was there ever any issue with your clients and the time zone difference when you worked in Switzerland?
Great Said Angela,
It is true that the freelancers have to try hard for the work but it doesn’t mean to work all the time and sacrificing the entertainment, fun, traveling..
As much the work is important for the freelancers that much a brake from the work is also important to keep your efficiency alive & to produce quality work.
I think it’s great that you can work anywhere. A couple of years ago I went to Australia for 9 months while still keeping my clients back in the UK. At first my clients weren’t sure about, but once I was back in the UK they were all very happy with how it went and would have no problem if I want to do it again. Some liked the fact that they could send me a job at 5pm and have in there inbox first thing in the morning. Due to the 11 hour time difference.
Very smart stuff. I’m still working toward being able to do this, since I’m pretty attached to my Mac Pro and am still not convinced I can be as productive on my Macbook Pro.
My end goal is to be able to travel all the time, however, so I’m slowly moving more of my resources toward portable items (outlet extenders, cords and cases, etc) and putting more software exclusively on my laptop so that I start using it more and more.
I think it’s the dream of every freelancer to be able to travel whenever they like and to have that simple freedom. Even more ideal would be go travel for your freelance work, constantly being on the move and meeting with clients in exotic places. This is part of what attracts people to freelancing.
This type of travel is i think different from the vacation type travel you are discussing but these tips can still apply here.
I would add …
1. Speed up production before you go and try to clear your plate to some degree of the smaller tasks and the projects that are already near to their end.
2. Refer a fellow freelancer for emergency updates and introduce them as a trusted friend that can be relied on during your absence.
I like those extra suggestions, @Bryan Conner. Particularly referring a trusted freelancing friend for emergency type work!
I enjoyed this post,
I’m heading away for a week which will be the first time since I started freelancing. I’m looking forward to working whilst somewhere else as eventually I want to be more mobile with my work.
will bear in mind these hints and tips when I’m away.
Good Post. I travel quite a bit, mostly for pleasure, but I usually work while I’m away. When I’m not traveling I rotate from home and business offices. I enjoy having this freedom to be creative, my freedom tool box includes Vonage, iPhone, and MacBook Pro.
I’m writing a book about running businesses remotely and I’m looking for your funniest antidotal story on the subject. If it’s what I’m looking for you and your business will be featured in the book and the associated marketing.
Scott Wills
Author- Run Your Business Better by Running Away
scottwills@me.com
Since I do a lot of traveling, and frequently work remotely. I have a couple additional suggestions:
Web based tools for as much as you can. (Meebo, Photoshop Express, etc.)
A great VPN client to connect to your home network (Hamichi – https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp?lang=en is what I use) or LogMeIn to get to a single workstation.
I keep all of my email and project documentation on my travel laptop. So I’m always available on IM or email.
Phone headset for talking with clients while driving or at a busy location.
List of wi-fi hotspots for the area which I’m traveling.
I would also recommend using the google’s phone management system called grand central (www.grandcentral.com)
It allows u to transfer you calls where ever you want and even have your calls ring on various numbers simultaneously.
My bags are packed, thanks for the info – im off, see ya!