Remeber the original 1970’s Charlie’s Angels TV program with Ferrah Fawcett? John Forsythe was the boss you heard, but never saw. He would speak through a telephone speaker box to his three female crime fighters. Now that is the ultimate in remote business operations. I don’t think I could ever text any of my bookkeepers or accountants to drop-kick some thug.
Elizabeth Sile talks about running a business remotely in her article, How to Run a Business Remotely. We rare pretty good at running remotely because I chose over ten years ago when very few companies were operating in such a way.
Our style not only accomondates the employees who mostly work remotely (their home or client’s office), but also our clients because of our ability to work paperless. This is not to say that nobody can go into the office. There are some things that must be operated from the office.
However, taking Ms. Sile’s suggestions. These are her points:
Make the right hires: This is the most important of all the points. As Jim Collins says, “You must have the right persons on the bus.” Small business must hire the right people to the right job. If you are bogged down by family hires, you have to make tough decisions.
Use technology to your advantage: This point has been our biggest advantage because we developed systems of virtual filing cabinets and attached scanned documents that speed up our services. Small business must weigh each investment about its logical benefit and payback.
Communication is key: This is obvious, but should not be the small business’s first concern. There are so many ways people communicate remotely. Implementing a system will not be a big task. What is more important is the frequency and style of communication. Text messages could be misinterpreted so choose wisely.
My addition: Think scalable: I am always thinking about our systems and how they will work when we land those next couple of clients. As a small business that has a high profile on the internet, we get prospects every week. Many times these prospects require a short timeframe. I always hire people before my bookkeepers and accountants are over worked. Small business must always have a eye on the horizon to grow.
All of this entails a strategy. Set out the strategy of where you are going and use the tactics laid out above to be a striving small business in the 21st Century.