The top five lessons I learned from starting a remote business
With 16 years’ experience in advanced business administration, Joanne Reeve was looking for a new career opportunity that would suit her family’s needs. Unable to find a role that matched her qualifications and offered the flexibility she required, she decided to create her own ideal job. As the Owner and Senior Administrator of Think Admin, an agency that provides outsourced remote administration and business support, Joanne explains the key lessons learned from a career in remote business administration.
Remember the ‘why’
Starting your own business can be a huge step away from the standard 9-5 as you know it. You might be juggling two jobs while you’re setting up, working unconventional hours, training yourself in new systems, networking prospective clients and balancing the books, all while putting dinner on the table, making sure the dog has had a walk and the packed lunches and gym bags are ready for the morning.
It can be exhausting, and when we’re tired, we often struggle to stay motivated.
Make sure you remember the reason why you wanted to start your own venture. Write it down, stick it on a post-it at your desk, tell your friends and family. Make it personal.
One of my sons has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and learning difficulties. In September 2019 he will start secondary school which will come with a new routine to adapt and master. I want him to grow up to be a happy, confident and successful adult, and the best way I can help him is to be there when he comes home from school, which is something my previous roles haven’t allowed.
I started Think Admin knowing that it would give me the opportunity and valuable time to provide a stable structure to my family’s day. To be the person they arrive home to, and a listening ear when they need to offload and share their day.
September 2019 was a long-held target of mine to have my business up and running and turning a profit. Reminding myself of my own personal ‘why’ helped to give me the daily motivation to succeed, and drove me to establish the business in April 2018, being prepared well in advance for the new change in our family life.
Always be learning
I will always be an advocate of lifelong learning, and the benefits it has brought to my business have far outweighed any negatives associated with revision and exam stress. It is in my best interests to have the most up to date knowledge and qualifications in my area of expertise, and I encourage others to do the same regardless of their industry or specialty.
Everyone is an expert at something, and your expertise is what will give you an edge over your competitors which is why it is worth investing in.
Demonstrable knowledge of your field of expertise builds trust and loyalty with clients which is integral to running any business, but especially remote businesses, when you are not in daily physical contact with other team members. Your qualifications provide clients with peace of mind, and allow you to do what you do best.
Learning can be a social experience, which is vital when you are self-employed, a sole trader or working remotely. Prior to studying my degree I took a Foundation Degree in Communications in Organisations. My class was filled with busy people from varying backgrounds, career pathways and age demographics, all united by our thirst for learning. We would work for hours together on projects focussing on communication methods within the business environment, sharing our experiences. These regular face to face meetings became a chance to socialise, network and build contacts while broadening my skillset.
Communication is key
Virtual assistance is often misunderstood and is not how I like to describe my business. Prospective clients can often be put off from using virtual services because they think it means relinquishing work to an unknown source and are understandably mistrustful of this.
My business operates remotely and is my preferred term. I enjoy meeting people and have met face to face with all but one of my clients. We have regular meetings in person, often on a weekly basis, and I am in regular contact via phone and email. I am just like any other member of office staff with the exception that my desk is in a different location.
If you want to succeed in any business you need to be a good communicator, but especially when you work remotely. I understand that my clients are putting a lot of trust in me and many have never used a remote business administrator before. Not only is it my job to streamline their administration, it is also my job to make sure that they feel I am a valued member of their team, and that comes with regular communication.
Technology is your friend
If you work remotely providing business to business services, then chances are you are already pretty tech-savvy. However, if you are in the early stages of considering this work transition, and are daunted by the prospect of being your own IT support, my advice is not to worry: technology is your friend and there are lots of products and services available which will make your life easier and more efficient.
To bypass the physical distance between yourself and your clients you should aim to be comfortable and confident with video calling. The three main platforms that I use are Zoom, Meet and Skype. Not only do they give you the face to face element that is important for building client relationships, they allow you to share screens which is useful for collaborative tasks, reading documents, giving presentations and searching the web together. It cuts down a huge amount of back and forth over email and both parties can get on with their working day.
In terms of sharing and storing documents you should familiarise yourself with cloud-based platforms. My current portfolio of clients use Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive and it’s important that I adapt to their methods in order to seamlessly fit in with the team. There are plenty of storage providers out there, most of which are intuitive and user friendly, and you may find some that you already have a subscription with, such as Amazon Drive or iCloud.
If you are used to working in-house for one company rather than part of an external agency you may find project and task management tools useful as you build up your portfolio of accounts. There are plenty of options available, so it’s important to use one that best reflects the way you organise and approach your work, whether that’s using lists, folders, post-its or visual aids etc. I am currently using Asana which allows me to use a combination of lists and visual boards, split into separate areas for each of my clients. It enables me to have an overall view of my weekly workload while quickly seeing what tasks are outstanding for individual client accounts.
Be part of a team
One of the biggest lessons I have learned from starting my own business is the importance of having a solid support system around you. This can take both personal and professional forms.
Have trusted friends and family who you can turn to for support. Not everyone will understand your reasons for going it alone. Some people may make it their business to tell you it’s madness to walk away from a stable, secure job, regular income, holiday allowance and sickness pay. Surround yourself with people who believe in your ‘why’ and who will help and motivate you to achieve it.
Find a mentor. Invest in a business coach if it’s a viable option. Visit your bank and speak with their team of specialists. Make sure you have someone with demonstrable experience who can give you sound business advice when needed.
Learn when you need to outsource work. My business operates by people outsourcing their administration to me, and to maximise my time spent on this, I outsource areas of my business’s content marketing to others. Even if you are the sole employee of your company, you will have a network of people behind the scenes making your business life easier.
