Telecommuting and your Business - Can it Work?

Today, I read an interesting article from Eric V. Holtzclaw on inc.com about increased productivity away from the office and why businesses should adopt this practice. In his article, Secret to Increased Productivity: Don't Come to the Office, he writes that "in my conversation with my business owner friends, their biggest objection to telecommuting was reduced productivity. But in the same breath most admitted they spend a lot of time on work outside the office, often accomplishing a great deal. Their barrier was pretty basic: a lack of trust in their employees".

A few weeks ago, Turnstone wrote a blog titled Confessions of a Remote Worker - The First 90 Days.  The head of Marketing for the company wrote about how he, located in Atlanta, was able to telecommute for his company, located in Michigan, at a local co-working space. Though there were some initial fears, he has been able to create a positive, and productive, environment for himself and his company.

Holtzclaw's article helps to calm the nerves of the business owner and provide a way to enable and evaluate workers. His key points were:
1. Use it to your advantage - provide distinction for what a telecommuting day is.
2. Trust, but verify - have clear ground rules about office participation from home
3. Quantify: Has productivity gone up? Sales made, phone calls made, etc.
4. Know when it's not working - it takes adjustment and evaluation but can be successful when done right

Turnstone's article is about how the worker can be productive. Key tips include:
- Determine what types of calls you’ll likely be involved in remotely before evaluating technology tools; will most be with one other person, or large groups?
- Use in-office time for face-to-face meetings; clear your calendar of anything else that can be done just as easily from home later.
- Test a variety of screen sharing tools, and don’t be afraid to consider new ones as they hit the market; with more remote workers in the workplace every day, it’s a competitive field!

Both articles show the highlights of a positive telecommuting experience, though I haven't researched for negatives. Are you allowed to telecommute? Have you had positive or negative experiences? Let us know in the comments section!

Kendal

Networking - The Joys of Schmoozing

The benefits of living in a larger city like Seattle is that there are a ton of events, clubs, societies, organizations, non-profits that you can be a part of to help get your brand (and yourself) out there to potential clients. It's more than just "showing up" to the event, handing out and receiving business cards, and doing basic follow-ups. If done correctly, this could be extremely beneficial for your business and yourself.

Here are some tips to help create a plan for your 2013 networking:

1. Do a full search of clubs, organizations, etc in your community: your local chamber is a great start, but there may be specific clubs that hit key aspects of your business that you weren't aware existed. Also thinking outside the box like going to a Young Entrepreneur Meeting or finding a charity to join. The website, meetup.com, has also been creating clubs that may be worth exploring (depending on your area).

2. Be prepared to spend money: Networking is not particularly cheap. If you're hitting a lunch and learn, an evening networking event and then happen to hit a social event, you could be spending anywhere from $15 - $100 per event. Once you've found the organizations you want to be a part of, look at their events calendar and see which is most beneficial to your networking needs. Also consider becoming a member - there are a lot of benefits that come from joining including space on their website and email blasts, special sponsorship opportunities, and special events.

3. Be prepared to spend time: If not planned out properly, you could be spending a lot of your evenings at networking events. Some last an hour and a half over lunch, others are 4 hour event galas - it's good to know what you're planning for yourself and promising others to be a part of.

4. Don't make rookie mistakes: It would seem a no-brainer, but you walk in and are surrounded by strangers. It's open bar with great appetizers and feels extremely social.Don't forget you're there to meet people for professional reasons! Make sure you have your business cards with you. Have a brief, more casual, elevator pitch to discuss what you do - and don't be afraid to mingle! Also, don't be too tempted by the bar! Knowing that some events are more social (Thirsty Thursday) and some have more corporate tones (Business After Hours) is great before walking through the door.

Above all else, if you find you've gone to an event once or twice and you're not gaining anything from it, move on! Finding the right networking opportunities to help grow your connections is what you're aiming for. Networking can create leads, so make sure to follow-up with people you meet.

Happy Schmoozing!

Privacy in the Office

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great evening and day bringing in 2013! As we look towards what will hopefully be another great year, I encourage you to check out some some cool resolutions to make for yourself. Personally I have a hard time keeping to one for a whole year, but knowing I promised myself to be healthier, be happier, and grow professionally, checking in on some of these will be good.
Health: http://buff.ly/Uzujv2 (from Fitness Magazine)
Life: buff.ly/UzvbQm  (from Inc Magazine)
Work: buff.ly/YQz0Eh  http://buff.ly/UhlWBL  http://buff.ly/Uy1wYE  http://buff.ly/WNjjK5  - from Bank & Office Interiors/BarclayDean, Turnstone, and Inc Magazine

Today's blog is on finding privacy in the office and incorporating an old concept to integrate within the ever changing office floorplan - the telephone booth:

My office space kind of looks like one with a sliding glass door and smaller size. Turnstone just wrote a great blog (with some very cool pictures and ideas) highlighting the benefits of this small, private space. The modular style area would be great for personal phonecalls, deals that are sensitive in nature (for example, your company is merging with another and you're making super secret plans to throw a mixer for it...),group meeting space for 2-3 employees, and even phone/skype meetings. Working in an open space plan provides few options for these types of situations and instead of using the 1 conference room, creating a private area could be worth it.

Check out Turnstone's blog for some cool ideas for your office - I personally like the pods.

Kendal