The rise of the travelling entrepreneur
By Anna Leach, Guardian Professional,
Alan Seabright leaves his business – a walking tour company – for months at a time. Hazel Theocharous moved countries keeping her virtual assistant business intact. Lily Starling runs her massage spa via an online scheduler which allows her to travel.
More SME owners are finding it's possible to fulfill their dreams of travelling the world while running their business. And it's not just graphic designers, copywriters and computer programmers – whose work can all be sent over the internet – even traditional bricks and mortar businesses, and those with a physical product, can find a way to make their business run without having to be in the same place.
Marianne Cantwell has made a living by inspiring people to break free from career constraints. She wrote a book, Free Range Humans, about how it is possible to earn a living away from the nine-to-five grind. "If you're selling products that are handmade or furniture, there's a lot more logistics to being location independent," she says. "Break down what needs to be done. Is it that someone needs to package your product and put it in the mail? If so, are your margins big enough to support that? There's always someone around who would like a bit of part-time work. I think there's more potential than people realise for being able to move around and run the core of your business while travelling."
Natalie Sissons is evangelical about travelling whilst being a business owner. Her company the Suitcase Entrepreneur advises businesses on how they can become location independent, like she is. She says that hiring staff is key if the nature of your business keeps you physically tied down. "I know people who have literally hired themselves out of a job by bringing in more people and becoming the strategic person who isn't in the office day-to-day," she says. "You need to increase your revenues, but it's actually a lot more cost effective than you think. Often when you hire people you increase your profits because it allows you to focus on your business rather than being in it."
More and more SMEs are proving that it's possible to travel the world and run a successful business
Alan Seabright leaves his business – a walking tour company – for months at a time. Hazel Theocharous moved countries keeping her virtual assistant business intact. Lily Starling runs her massage spa via an online scheduler which allows her to travel.
More SME owners are finding it's possible to fulfill their dreams of travelling the world while running their business. And it's not just graphic designers, copywriters and computer programmers – whose work can all be sent over the internet – even traditional bricks and mortar businesses, and those with a physical product, can find a way to make their business run without having to be in the same place.
Marianne Cantwell has made a living by inspiring people to break free from career constraints. She wrote a book, Free Range Humans, about how it is possible to earn a living away from the nine-to-five grind. "If you're selling products that are handmade or furniture, there's a lot more logistics to being location independent," she says. "Break down what needs to be done. Is it that someone needs to package your product and put it in the mail? If so, are your margins big enough to support that? There's always someone around who would like a bit of part-time work. I think there's more potential than people realise for being able to move around and run the core of your business while travelling."
Hiring the right people
Location independent businesses stress that having a team you can rely on is essential. Seabright says his staff are the integral factor that holds it all together. "My 'virtual office' staff and tour guides are all fantastic people that I know well. Running a business while travelling without this would be more of a challenge." Starling says that hiring and training are essential steps in enabling her to travel away from her spa. "When I hire and train my staff, I let them know that I trust them to offer a solution to the clients if anything comes up," she says. "I do not want to receive a call in another timezone about an upset client. I make sure to hire people who don't need handholding and explicitly tell them that they will never get in trouble for doing their best to make the situation right if I am not available."Natalie Sissons is evangelical about travelling whilst being a business owner. Her company the Suitcase Entrepreneur advises businesses on how they can become location independent, like she is. She says that hiring staff is key if the nature of your business keeps you physically tied down. "I know people who have literally hired themselves out of a job by bringing in more people and becoming the strategic person who isn't in the office day-to-day," she says. "You need to increase your revenues, but it's actually a lot more cost effective than you think. Often when you hire people you increase your profits because it allows you to focus on your business rather than being in it."
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