How To Run A Startup Company From Anywhere In The World

If you’re considering starting a business, it might have crossed your mind to do so remotely. After all, remote companies don’t need office space or equipment, so they save lots of initial money during those low-budget first few months. And they don’t need to rely on local talent since they can hire the most talented people regardless of location. But to launch a remote company successfully, there are some important ideas to consider and actions to take.

Running a remote business takes almost an entirely different management approach, one that requires constant communication and vigilance. Here are some ways on how to run a startup company from anywhere in the world:

1. Communication Is Key

Just as it is in a traditional workplace, communication is the essential tool in the remote workplace, but it must be more frequent and purposeful. Meetings, then, will become the central events of everyone’s day when a business is run from afar. Meetings need meaning for them to be most effective.

The daily huddles are a great way to come together and align goals for the rest of the workday, while weekly status meetings and other project meetings must happen for long-term goals.

2. Reprogram Your Employees

If your employees depend on you to make every decision, they’ll keep taking up all your undivided attention and input while you’re working from afar. As a business owner, before you can even consider working remotely, you’ll need to create a sense of autonomy and ownership in the employees who’ll be responsible for your business while you’re gone.

Start by working from home a few days a week and see how your employees react. Empower them with clear boundaries and black-and-white guidelines on where their authority lies while you’re out of the picture. Tell your employees that they have the right to make an executive decision if it’s under a certain dollar value. Explain the justifications you use for making important decisions. Be clear on when and how they should reach out to you to seek a second opinion.

3. Build And Define Your Remote Company Culture

A remote company’s culture is vital to its success and there is something different about a remote company culture compared to a traditional company culture. Maybe it’s because remote work is so integrated into remote workers’ lives that the blurring of work and personal life boundaries necessitate a different kind of culture. Or perhaps without a physical office, it just takes more of a proactive, ongoing effort to build and maintain a solid culture.

One thing we hear over and over from remote company leaders is that building a remote company culture takes time, lots of it and is an ongoing prospect. You’ll never be “done” creating the culture and you’ll probably focus on it more so than a traditional company might.

Defining your company culture is extremely important. It’s important to help everyone feel engaged, and you can do it in a variety of ways. Like every other aspect of leading a remote team, it requires an intention and sense of mindfulness. The true culture of a company is woven into the fabric of the business model, the structure and organization, and the leadership. The key to any healthy culture is having everyone focused on the same shared goals.

4. Use Technology To Your Advantage

Working remotely is easier than ever thanks to software and applications that mimic the feel of an office without stepping foot in one. Instead of conferencing just by phone, now managers can video chat nearly face-to-face using tools like Skype and Google+ hangouts on a near-daily basis.

It’s also especially important to have some file sharing system in place that allows employees to keep documents in a place where everyone can access them, such as through Google Docs or other Internet-based document suites that allow multiple employees to use them simultaneously.

5. Make The Right Hires

Remote businesses are not the right workplaces for everyone, which is why hiring must be done with great care to ensure employees understand the demands of the workplace and thrive in it.

Focus first and foremost on hiring people that share the same values as the company. Hire people that are self-motivated and are willing to take the initiative. It’s always essential that you hire for culture, especially if you’re hiring remotely. Now they’re not embedded in the physical culture every day, so the culture part has to be clear. Look for employees who proved they can multitask, work without a lot of supervision and solve problems when supervisors are not around.

Conclusion

Just like running a business, creating the opportunity to work remotely isn’t an easy process. But the payoff, once you’re managing your business from a remote destination, makes an effort well worth it. In this post, I shared with you ways on how to run a startup company from anywhere in the world.