In the last year or so, I’ve begun traveling more than ever. Sometimes it’s for business, other times it’s a planned trip and sometimes it’s an unexpected trip that popped up on my radar. Truth be told, I’m currently a bit of a vagabond as I explore new places through frequent travel.
Whatever the reason may be for my travel, I needed to figure out a way to prepare by business for frequent travel. Back when I’d first quit my job, I traveled to about eight different cities within the first 12 months and quickly realized I did not have the right foundation to just take off like that.
I remember being on the road for two weeks visiting Philadelphia and New York City and only having earned $500 in revenue that month. Ouch.
Fast forward a few years and I’ve learned a thing or two about how to set up my business in a way where I can frequently travel and still keep things running.
Tip #1: Make sure most if not all of your business runs online.
Do you want to know why I can partake in frequent travel? It’s because I only need a WiFi connection in order to work.
None of my clients are local, my entire team telecommutes and I don’t actually need to be physically present to deliver my service. I designed it this way on purpose precisely so that I could get up and leave whenever I felt like it without having to worry about dropping the ball.
If your business isn’t entirely online yet, here are some places where you can start.
- Accounting. Use something like Due to run all of your accounting needs online.
- Project management. There are plenty of project management tools out there to help you with managing a virtual team.
- Hire people who can telecommute. This makes everything easier if you’d like to travel.
- Start taking meetings via phone or Skype. Depending on the type of business you have and who your clientele is, stop taking in person meetings.
Now, I understand that not everyone can move their business completely online. If this is your case, then do as much as you can. The next tip will also be really beneficial for you.
Tip #2: Start outsourcing.
If you’re trying to do everything by yourself I’m willing to be you don’t really partake in frequent travel. If you do happen to travel frequently then you probably aren’t enjoying it because you have too much on your to-do list.
This is where outsourcing comes into play. Start hiring people to get stuff of your never ending to do list. This gives you time to drum up more business so you can earn more money. It also frees up your time so you can travel more.
For example, I knew I could relax a little on a recent trip to Nashville because my virtual manager would make sure everything is under control. She can also act as my gate keeper in case anyone wants to meet with me while I’m traveling.
Tip #3: Automate as much as you can.
There is no shortage of online tools available to help you automate parts of your business. From sales funnels to social media posts, there are a plethora of ways to use online tools to scale and free up your time.
For example, we can deliver products automatically thanks to our email marketing and e-commerce system. We also have emails and ads running so we move people through an automatic sales funnel. Once we figure out a formula that works, it’ll be running on autopilot.
The same goes for social media. Most of my social media is automated so that neither I nor my team members need to spend too much time on it. Granted, there are some parts I can’t automate so I’ve hired contractors to help with those parts.
Again, this is to free up your time so you can focus on what matters and enjoy frequent travel.
Tip #4: Start focusing on passive streams of income.
In order to enjoy frequent travel, I knew I’d have to start thinking about ways to incorporate more passive streams of income into my business.
It started with affiliate sales on my own blog which has seen some major improvement. Now we’re moving on to a membership site for a recurring subscription model. In addition, I’m working on a sales funnel for the sale of digital products.
I want to be clear about something. This takes time, but with the proper attitude, intention and help you can get it going.
Tip #5: Get ready to work strange hours sometimes.
I’m no stranger to landing a big deal the day before traveling and meeting a deadline from an airport. It’s actually one of the reasons I have a credit card that allows me lounge access at different airports.
With that being said, if you want to enjoy frequent travel – particularly frequent cheap travel – get ready to work some weird hours. The reason for this is because you need to be pretty flexible with your dates in order to travel for cheap. That means you may be flying out at 5am on Wednesday and not returning until 10 days later.
Depending on where you’re going, you may also be working from some strange places. I find it helpful to travel to places where I have entrepreneur friends who get it. That means we’re typically coworking in the mornings and then exploring in the afternoons.
Additionally, it’s likely you’ll need to get work done ahead of travel so get ready to put in some long hours at least a week or two before your trip. The good news is you make up for it it by having more time off on your trip so it all balances in the end.
Final Thoughts
Being able to enjoy frequent travel was one of the reasons I decided I wanted to run my own business from my laptop. I’m happy to report that I’m finally at a stage where I’m taking advantage of the lifestyle I’ve created for myself, and a lot of it is thanks to having implemented these strategies.
