How to Successfully Combine Work and Travel

Saturday, July 3, 2021

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-laptops-4169659Making your dreams of traveling the world come true is a fantastic feeling. Being able to combine working with traveling can make it even better. The ability to work from anywhere makes it possible for you to turn your travel plans into a long-term adventure with no need to hurry home. Financing your travels without returning home to save money allows you to make your trip so much more enjoyable. Running a business is a great way to work and earn while having the freedom to control your workload. Knowing you have a steady income stream enables you to relax and forget about the stress of running out of money while you are away. But to successfully combine working with traveling the world, you need to be prepared. Here are some of the practicalities to sort out to make working and traveling possible:

Get Equipped

When running a business while traveling the globe, your office is likely to consist of just your phone and laptop. When you are entirely dependent on your devices to run your business, they must be up to the challenge. Choosing high-quality equipment capable of keeping up with your work rate is essential as you may not be able to replace them while you are on the road. Finding ways to mitigate any disasters that could be caused if your laptop breaks or was lost or stolen is also vital. Making sure you have the correct insurance to cover the cost of a new one will provide some peace of mind. It is also a wise idea to backup your files so that you can still access everything you need in a worst-case scenario. 

Make Sure You Stay Connected

As you travel your way across the globe, you will likely find some areas that offer excellent internet connections and other places where it is almost impossible to get connected. When your business is entirely internet-based, a lack of connection is a significant issue, so it pays to have a backup plan. Ensuring that you have enough data available to tether your phone to your laptop if needed is one way to overcome this potentially frustrating issue. You might also want to buy a mobile WiFi router or dongle to keep you connected wherever you are. To save yourself using up all of your own data, you may want to use public WiFi while you are out and about. It is crucial to beware of the potential for your connection to be hacked when using public WiFi. To stop yourself from becoming a victim of cybercrime, it is helpful to use a VPN when connecting to shared WiFi to help keep your connection secure.

Keep Up With Paperwork

While you are running a business away from home, it will be impossible for you to keep up with your mail. Missing your mail is not only really inconvenient but could also cause you issues if you do not receive important paperwork. A helpful way to avoid this problem is to use a virtual office street address. A virtual address provides you with a physical address where your mail is received; you will then receive your post as PDFs and images, enabling you to keep track of every piece of mail you receive in your absence. If you are searching for a solution that allows you to receive your mail wherever you are in the world, then a virtual address could be just what you are looking for. 

Plan Your Work Hours Carefully

Planning your work hours can feel like a timing nightmare when you are away from your home country. If you need to communicate with suppliers and clients on the other side of the world, you may find yourself working at some odd times, which may put your sleep patterns into a confused state. Being aware of the time differences is essential if you are doing business across the world. Your clients are likely to be unhappy if you accidentally call them in the middle of the night just because it is business hours where you are. Keeping up with the time differences is essential to ensure your business remains professional and is key to making working while traveling a success. If you plan to travel from country to country during your trip, you will need to familiarize yourself with the time differences in each region. This will ensure you do not miss deadlines and continue to impress your clients while exploring the world at the same time.