It’s the dream of just about any entrepreneur: to be able to travel freely in the world, working that ever-elusive 4-Hour Workweek, running a mobile business. But how can you go mobile? Is it possible for you to live the dream? Today I’ll show you what you need to know about working anywhere in the world—how to truly go mobile with your business.
What Does Running a Mobile Business Mean?
Running a mobile business means you pick up and work from anywhere. Sounds great, but it’s not as spontaneous as it seems. You’ll want to plan well to go mobile with your business, so that you can stay engaged and involved with your team and not fall into the cursed trap of the “absentee business owner.”
What Your Business Model Needs for You To Go Mobile
Your business needs to be flexible enough for you to go mobile without everything falling apart.
The Easiest:
Consultants and coaches will find it easiest to start running a mobile business, as our businesses are already designed to be mobile. I do virtually everything on the phone and via email, which means I can pick up and go any time I want. In fact, whenever I’m heading for Uruguay to spend time with my in-laws, for example, I still work with my clients at least one or two days for each week I’m down there. That way my clients experience no interruption in their progress and I can still pay the bills.
The Less Easy:
What if you have a product that get shipped? You’ll want to find a warehouse to handle that for you, if you don’t have one of your own. But no worries! It’s not hard to find warehouses that offer “pick and pack” for small businesses at reasonable rates (hello, Amazon does it!). In fact, you can have your orders sent directly to them to fulfill.
What if you have a service that requires you to be there, in person? In that case, you’ll find it harder to go mobile, I’m afraid, but you can add a “traveling” element to your service offering. If you’re used to thinking locally, this shift will require a little bit of tweaking in terms of how you think about your business. There are many ways to re-think your business so you can go about running a mobile business!
This guy has WAY too many redundant devices! You don’t need all of these! Also, why does he have four arms? Scary!
The Strategies You Need to Go Mobile
Train your team
You’ll need to train your team to get comfortable with you not being present full-time. It’s often easiest if you have a virtual team, because they’re already used to working with you virtually. For example, I work in Indianapolis, IN, but I only have a few team members who are local, and they work out of their own offices. The rest of my team is located all over the place – Pennsylvania, Georgia, California, Vermont, Florida, Illinois, and more.
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Awesome tips!
Thanks Susan