The year was 2007, I remember hearing online chatter about a “solopreneur” who had built an online empire from a tiny apartment using Zoom. He was throwing a no-pitch seminar. For $2500 we get an inside look at what working from home and how to create and manage a virtual team to run a multi-million dollar business looked like.
That was my first introduction to running a virtual company. This was 13 years before coronavirus. When I returned from the event, I immediately said we're going virtual. We never have to leave the house. Everyone can Skype each other if we need to. We can go face to face using free tools like Zoom, Skype, Messenger and even Snap.
Honestly, the office environment had turned stale and routinized. We caught employees surfing the internet most of their afternoons. One employee spent the mornings watching porn and two employees milked the clock for every simple task. It was time for a change of pace. It took a few months for everyone to get on board, but it actually created higher productivity than working from an office setting.
Here are three reasons why we should be going to a “remote setup” for your business if you can:
Virtual Meetings Improve Communication & Productivity
When you're planning and brainstorming, when it's typed out and written, it's easier for everyone to create a visual of exactly what you're trying to convey. That's the first thing I noticed when we started the Skype group meetings. We were able to answer questions and get on the same page quickly.
This led to shorter meeting times & higher productivity rates.
If you can't work virtual, consider moving your meetings to a “written” format using Skype or Facebook Groups.
Working from Home Leads to Happier Employees
We've all heard that happiness is an inside job. But, what I realize you need time to work on that “inside job”. My employees were not getting enough sleep because they had to wake up an hour earlier to sit in traffic to get to the work at 8 or 9 am.
Then, they leave at 5 pm, sit in traffic for another hour and get home after 6 pm. They are exhausted from the day and still have to make dinner for their families just to do it all again the next day.
Now – working remotely – they can sleep in. Then, we schedule our productivity meetings on a Monday at 11 am & we go over the gameplan for the week.
Here's the thing about work: If it's done in 10 minutes, then you have the rest of the week for self-care, exercise, hobbies and relaxation.
I've noticed happier tones & more smiles on team meetings than I ever did at the office.
Pro Tip: If you can't move to a remote setting, consider adding massage chairs & relaxation stations to give employees a chance to rejuvenate. Consider four day workweeks or half-day Fridays.
Virtual Setup Can Improve Climate Change
As we're noticing with the mandatory stay at home provisions due to the coronavirus, we're seeing the Earth heal itself. Less carbon in the air and within a month of most of the world being on “lockdown”, as a result, the layer that protects us (the ozone layer) is starting to fully recover.
But think about rush hour traffic twice a day and how that contributes to the amount of CO2 in the air. We'd reduce that CO2 in the air, helping the Ozone heal itself. That would free up a ton of office space that could be transformed into livable spaces. We could even use some of that space to help homeless, military, and house battered women.
What say you? Do you think we need to move towards a virtual setup? Do you think your company needs to move towards a virtual setup? If you work from home, are you seeing some of the same benefits? What are the drawbacks that you have noticed? Let's discuss…
Related: Work from Home Blog Series: Extra Ways You Can Make Money from Home
