Are you traveling or running your business from another country? If so, you know how quickly things can go from professional to “mom and pop” operation. Between missed mail, unanswered phone calls, and not having a solid business address, it’s easy to lose clients and deals while abroad. The good news is that no matter where in the world you travel to run your business, there are services you can set up to make sure you stay looking professional at all times. Especially since 18.1 million Americans now identify as digital nomads, making location-independent business tools more important than ever.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why Mail Forwarding is Important When Working Remotely
- Setting up Mail and Package Forwarding Service
- Using a Virtual Phone System
- Staying on Top of Legal and Financial Documents
- Keeping Your Online Presence Strong
Why Mail Forwarding is Important When Working Remotely
Let’s look at this from a client’s point of view…
You own a business and you need to hire someone to take care of a particular project. You do a web search to see who offers the services you need.
The first business you come across shows a P.O. Box as their address. They have no phone number and no websites… just a social media profile with stock images of people smiling.
Would you hire that business?
Most likely not.
Running a successful business while overseas starts with keeping up appearances while you are gone. That means making sure clients know who you are, where to find you and that you are operating like normal.
Having a strong business presence while working remotely or overseas directly increases your revenue. It builds trust with clients and allows for your business to grow long term. Especially since global business travel spending is expected to reach $1.57 trillion by 2025.
Not only do clients want to feel like they are working with a real business, but so do partners and government agencies. Nobody wants to work with a virtual card shop.
Before you leave, set up the right tools and services to make sure your business is perceived as professional at all times.
Setting up Mail and Package Forwarding Service
This is step number one and the most important item to take care of.
Why? When you own a business, mail will still arrive whether you are in the country or not. Contracts, tax information, client letters… they all need to be dealt with or you will fall behind.
The easiest solution to this problem is to set yourself up with a virtual address in Delaware. It can handle all of your mail and package forwarding for you.
Why Delaware? Delaware is one of the most popular states for business owners to set up mailing addresses. Not only do they have favorable business tax laws, but they also allow you to remain anonymous as a business owner.
Delivering credibility to your business in the eyes of your clients.
Mail and package forwarding services provide your business with a real street address where all mail is received. Then, depending on your plan, will forward your mail to you no matter where in the world you are.
Some services even scan your mail so you can view everything online through your smartphone or computer.
Look for these features when shopping for mail and package forwarding services:
- A Real Street Address (P.O. Boxes are not accepted)
- Mail Scanning and Online Access
- Package Receiving & Forwarding Options
- Text or Email Alerts when mail is received
This ensures that if anything important arrives for your business, you will know about it… even if you are on the other side of the world!
Using a Virtual Phone System
Here’s another thing clients do not care about…
Where your phone call is being answered from. All they care about is getting a timely answer.
Having a virtual phone system takes the stress out of answering business calls while overseas.
A virtual business phone number will allow any call your business receives to be routed to your smartphone or computer. No matter where in the world you may be.
The client sees a local phone number that they call. Then you get that call on your smartphone while sitting at a cafe in Lisbon or drinking a coffee in Tokyo.
Features you’ll want from your virtual business phone system:
- A Dedicated Business Phone Number
- Professional Voicemail Greeting
- Call Forwarding to Mobile Devices
- Voicemail-to-Email Transcription
- Auto attendant to route calls
Once you set this up along with a professional email address (no more @gmail.com addresses) and a solid messaging system… you will look like a business with an entire office full of staff.
Simple right?
Staying on Top of Legal and Financial Documents
This area can really make or break a business owner who works remotely or overseas.
Things like tax filings, contracts, compliance documents. They all have deadlines that must be met.
If you are traveling, make sure to:
- Store all documents electronically through cloud storage. Google Drive and Dropbox are great options.
- Use e-signature services like DocuSign. That way, contracts can be signed remotely without printing, scanning or delaying important documents.
- Have a backup person you trust (Accountant/Legal) to help with last minute filings if need be.
Make sure every document is stored electronically. Paper is the enemy of the remote business owner.
Keeping Your Online Presence Strong
This may be one thing most people forget about…
Your online presence does more than just help you gain new customers. When you are running a business overseas, it helps your current customers know that your business is up and running.
Make sure you take care of these items:
- Have a professional looking website with proper contact information displayed. Always include a mailing address.
- Set up social media profiles. Show activity by posting regularly.
- Google Business listings should be set up and accurate.
- Respond to emails/messages in a timely manner.
When you take care of these items, no one will question where your business is physically located. They only see that your business is operating as normal.
Pulling mail forwarding, communication and online presence together gives your business the appearance of having multiple staff members running your day to day operations…when in reality it can just be you with a laptop and a carry on.
Wrap Up
Running a professional business while traveling or working remotely is fairly straight forward. But, you need the right tools and services in place prior to leaving the country.
Let’s review:
- Use Mail and Package Forwarding service with a real street address
- Use a Virtual Phone System to professionally answer calls.
- Make sure all documents are accessible through online cloud storage.
- Maintain a professional Online Presence.
Remember…
The businesses who invest in these tools and services will have the freedom to work from anywhere in the world… without sacrificing their professionalism.
If you run a business and travel or work remotely, these are not just “nice to have” tools. They are must haves if you want to compete with the big boys.
