Image Address: https://images.pexels.com/photos/871060/pexels-photo-871060.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=1&w=500

The freedom to travel the world while running a business sounds like “living the dream” to most people. You can work from anywhere in the world, operate on your own schedule, and overall, run your business the way you want without someone barking orders at you… All of that sounds desirable, but did you know that the freedom that comes with being a traveling business owner is the very thing that can bring your entrepreneurial career to a complete halt?

Just think about it… Imagine you’re in Santorini, Greece and some locals invited you to the beach… You want to go but you have several emails to send out, a few conference calls to make, and a few SEO responsibilities. So what do you do? Go hang with the locals or run your business?

Most people would, hands down, go hang with the locals on the beach, but the question to ask yourself would be if hanging on the beach would negatively impact your business or not. 

This difficult decision-making process is one of the challenges associated with the digital nomad lifestyle. This lifestyle is one that’s grown in popularity over the years and is picking up traction more and more. Unfortunately, this growing interest in the lifestyle is stemming from major misconceptions.

To run a successful online store while traveling, you’re not going to be sitting on a beach with your laptop, sipping a margarita. 9 times out of 10, you’re going to be sitting somewhere quiet and free from distractions, like a coworking space, library, or cafe.

That’s not necessarily saying that you’re going to be working constantly or not going to be able to enjoy the destination you’re visiting… As a traveling online business owner, what would be the point of traveling if you’re not going to enjoy your destination? For example, you can’t go to Greece just to run your business without visiting the Parthenon or the Temple of Olympian Zeus!

The key to success in running your online store while traveling is finding a balance between work and play. It’s just like trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance with any other job, but the challenges are slightly different. 

Things like time zone changes and jumping from one location to the next is a “workplace hazard” that not too many people would mind having. But because of that, you’re going to rely heavily on planning ahead, creating a routine, and time management.

The great news is that although finding that balance isn’t easy, it isn’t impossible. There is indeed a way to find a balance between work and play, and it’s called discipline. But when you take the time out to get yourself into a routine and schedule, balancing work and enjoying your travels will be a breeze. 

Take a look at some effective ways to manage your online business while traveling the world.

How to Manage Your Business On the Go

Image Address: https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960×0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fcelinnedacosta%2Ffiles%2F2018%2F05%2FDSC00628_edit4-copy.jpg

Know When You’re Most Productive

Having a clear understanding of when you work best and are the most productive is going to be a pivotal part of your business’ success. Some people are “morning people” while others are “night owls.” By understanding yourself, it’s going to set you up to maximize your productivity during the time when you can dedicate all your attention to your work.

Create a Schedule For Yourself

Creating a schedule for yourself might be difficult to do simply because you’re always on the go but creating one, even if you can’t stick to it all the time, is going to bring a little stability to your non-stop lifestyle. It will help you better organize your workload and separate it into specific days so that you can have time to yourself to actually enjoy your destination.

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

Delegating some of your entrepreneurial responsibilities is one of the best things you can not only do for your business but also for your sanity. Did you know that having trouble delegating is one of the top reasons entrepreneurs suffer from burnout?

In the beginning, you probably wore all the hats in your business, but as your business grows, you’re going to have to lighten your load and hand certain responsibilities over to other people. This isn’t you completely handing your business over to someone else but by delegating some of our responsibilities to someone else, it’s been proven to free up time without sacrificing results.

For example, hiring someone with expertise in e-commerce marketing is a good first step. If you are using Shopify, they have a marketplace to make finding freelancers and agencies with Shopify experience easier. If you are using another platform, general freelancer sites like Upwork are a good place to start your search. 

Work Fast and Travel Slow

Working fast and traveling slow is basically telling you to get your work done so that you can really experience your destination. Maybe you take two days to complete the workload of four days… By sacrificing those two days, it allows you to spend four days exploring the best things to see and do in Cambodia or island hopping in Greece.

This isn’t something you have to do all the time but when you’re in a destination that you really like, buckling down and working fast is really going to make you appreciate the experiences you have in traveling slow.

Understand the Importance of Saying “No”

Understanding the importance of saying no is going to save you a lot of headache. As a traveling online entrepreneur, you’re going to quickly find out that saying no come in two areas:

• Say no to things that you feel won’t positively or effectively benefit your business
• Say no to people you meet during your travels

Conference calls, guest posts, or anything that you know isn’t going to contribute to the greater good of your business, you have to say no to it, because what’s the point? As far as people you meet during your travels, it’s perfectly fine to mix and mingle with them but you also have to consider the fact that they’re more than likely on vacation and have all the time in the world to have fun.

With you, you’re traveling and running a business… you’re not going to have as much free time as them, so you sometimes have to resist the urge to hang out. Missing one day or night of fun won’t ruin your travel experience.