“Work at home if you can” is now a phrase we’re very familiar with, but back in 2019 working from home was clearly not as commonplace.

Pre-Pandemic, working from home turned MDs cold and was seen to give employees the excuse to do the dishes and sit around in their underpants all day … but that’s all changed.

Working from home – now rebranded to working safely, remotely – is the big change to business that looks set to stay long after the threat of Covid-19 has faded. Despite Lord Sugar getting upset at the lack of city life and the working lunch in the Big Smoke, working remotely is a viable plan for many people.
Employers and employees alike are benefiting from a significant saving in cost and a better, more flexible work/life balance.

Getting ready for the new normal? You should be …

Let’s Get Non-physical
As a limited company you are legally obliged to display official business details on your website including things like registered address, VAT number etc.
In the good old days, a company was trusted more if they had an office you could visit. But why not have a virtual office instead?
If you don’t have many visitors, you could run a virtual office address, have meetings locally in coffee shops, co-working spaces, or visit your clients at their premises.

The daily or hourly renting of office space may well become the norm for business as we stagger out of 2020 bruised, battered, and tired – but with new views and experiences on the way we could all work differently.

The Virtual Line
Having a dog and bone is still the lifeline of any business, but just because you’re giving up the office, doesn’t mean you need to give up the landline. And there’s no need for an actual fixed line – you can go virtual!
A virtual landline forwarded to your mobile phone or call centre is the 2020 answer to the remote, virtual office. We’ve moved on leaps and bounds this year in terms of virtual, remote business but there’s still something reassuring about a landline number.

Using your mobile number? Maybe it’s time to change that and get a virtual line. You can still operate it on your mobile and you’ll even get call tracking and recording if you wish, but a virtual line looks more professional and gives a better impression on your website, too. Also, means you don’t have to worry about giving everyone your mobile number.

Bricks and Mortar to Clicks and Bought More
The high street was already in trouble, and for many businesses, Coronavirus was the nail in the coffin. Why wait for the eviction letters to come in? Go earlier and close down your physical store and move everything online.

eCommerce is the new black.

When the internet first began, buying food online seemed like an alien concept; now it’s the norm. Before 2020 much of this online life was avoided and pushed away. Now it’s all we have, in many cases.
eCommerce is now more popular than ever – so get online and make it easy for people all over the globe to buy from you!

That Meeting Could’ve Been an Email
Remember those pointless trips to meetings pre-Covid? Often we’d think afterwards, “Yeah, that could’ve been an email”. Now though, thanks to lockdowns and social distancing, we’re all using Zoom or Microsoft Teams so get more meetings and work done in a day.
No commute, no awkward small talk, no pointless chit-chat. Online meetings (done well) are the best way to get you, your team, and your clients ‘in the room’.

Meetings about meetings about meetings? Nah – Zoom it!

Just don’t make us do another Thursday evening quiz, please. We’re so over those now.

Teaming Building – Get Your Head in the Clouds
One area that really needs some focus though are your team. Keeping up morale – especially now – is really important to your continued success and growth. It would be easy for people to work separately all day and lose the sense of teamwork you once had.
Got a team to manage? Look at using apps like Slack, MS Teams, and run your CRM online. Using cloud-based tools (many of them are free to a point) will revolutionise your remote office.

Some of these are actually better and will help your team be more productive than when they were in the real-life office.

Bringing people in, adding attachments, screenshares, and more bring a better way of working that the traditional office simply can’t compete with.
Get good at online team building now and prepare for the resurgence in business in 2021!

Online business: The Future is Yesterday
The time to avoid the inevitable has passed.
Online payments, virtual meetings, remote working, cloud accounting, cashless transactions – it’s all here. And it’s not going away.
Embrace the change, prepare for the future, and get ready to build your business more digitally than you ever imagined.

It’s time to stop fighting the digital world and start embracing it.

Need help getting your website ready for this digital normal? Hit us up right here.

 
FURTHER READING