If you run a business, you can sometimes feel trapped in a single location. You'd like to travel the world, but commitments at home keep you pinned down.
Or so you think.
It turns out that the modern world has been surprisingly friendly to the business exec who'd like to go to far-flung destinations while managing his or her business. Not only do we now have cheap flights (thanks EasyJet) but also a range of cloud-based computing tools that allow you to manage practically any aspect of your company from anywhere.
The cloud is a game-changing technology. Ten years ago, computing was very local. If you wanted to use a particular program (say a word processor like Word), you had to sit down at a desktop terminal with that software loaded onto the hard drive. If the only computer you had with access to Microsoft Word was in your office and you needed to create a document that day, you had no choice but to travel into work to get the job done. Not good.
But with the cloud, that's no longer the case. The cloud stores all of the applications you use on an external server somewhere else. You then connect to the data on those servers through your devices, accessing them from wherever you have an internet connection.
When it comes to word processing, most firms use Microsoft 365 or Google Drive - suites of applications which simulate the Office of old (with a bunch of new, quality-of-life features). But the cloud, like any new technology, opens up a range of additional applications that just weren't feasible before.
Virtual Receptionists
One of the best examples of this is virtual receptionists. A virtual receptionist is a person who takes over administrative roles in your company, but does so through the cloud, rather than being a physical person located at your offices and on your payroll.
Virtual receptionist services delivered in a similar way to other cloud services. You sign up to a monthly subscription, like you might a cloud-enabled software product, and then get receptionist services, like phone answering services, from a remote location.
The beauty of virtual receptionists is that they allow an exec or company manager to travel freely. The virtual receptionist takes care of everything from home, meaning that the boss doesn't need to be physically present in any given particular location. Virtual receptionists can manage schedules, organize meetings, and filter emails and other communications to you in real-time.
Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants take the concept of a virtual receptionist to the next level. A virtual assistant operates through the cloud but plays a more detailed role in your business needs.
Take bookkeeping, for instance. Usually, you'd siphon this task off to an accountant. But accountants are expensive, and you may not need to pay them to do everything. A virtual assistant can take care of things like ensuring that outstanding invoices get paid or that you pay your unpaid bills to suppliers.
Unlike virtual receptionists, virtual assistants can do more complex tasks, like research. Instead of doing the work yourself, you could go traveling while safe in the knowledge that your virtual assistant is collecting the information you need on a particular topic. Researchers can investigate practically anything, from competitor product analysis to vetting employees. As the boss, it's good practice to be clear about what you expect from the outset. But you can achieve outsized results.
Is there anything else that virtual assistants can do to free up your time for international travel? Top of the list is data entry and database management. Not only is data entry time-consuming and dull, but it's also a full-time job to keep it up to date. As a business owner, you have higher value things that you could be doing, so it makes sense to pass over tasks like these to an assistant.
Virtual Offices
Virtual offices aren't quite the same as the other cloud services that we've covered. Sure, they've got "virtual" in their name, but they're not services rendered with the help of the cloud, but rather a flexible office space you can use as and when you need it.
Let's say, for instance, that you want to travel overseas regularly and that you'll only be in your office for three months a year. It doesn't make sense to continuously rent out a space that's lying idle 75 percent of the time. It's a waste of money.
Virtual offices, however, provide you with the benefits of an office space without forcing you to shell out big bucks. When you're home, you're free to use the space as you please (so long as you're happy sharing with others), and pay less overall.
Cloud-Based Business Tools
The range of cloud-based business tools available for conducting your business affairs while you travel is genuinely remarkable. There are tools for practically everything from chatting with staff to managing project schedules.
Salesforce, for instance, provides cloud-based customer relationship management tools that allow company bosses to manage their client contacts from any location, view their position in the sales funnel, see their contact information, and view the products that they've bought in the past.
Accounting software developers are also moving their offerings to the cloud. Quickbooks, for instance, now provides a cloud-based service which allows anybody in your firm with access to view your accounting information. You don't need to be in the office anymore to file a tax return: you can do it from overseas.
What about conferencing and meetings? Businesses no longer need to rely on consumer-focused products, like Skype. You can now host web conferencing over the cloud using apps like Cisco WebEx, which allow multiple people to meet in a single, virtual conference room.
Suffice to say that the cloud is increasing freedom for owners of small and large businesses alike. The cloud finally makes it possible to not only work remotely but manage a business from a distance too. Could the days of having to travel to an office daily be coming to an end?
