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Five Ways to Manage Your Small Business from the Beach
The small business owner never rests, especially in those early days of building a business. But even the overworked business owner needs an occasional rest in order to recharge and prevent burnout. How is it possible to relax, though, when you’re always worried about how things are going back home?
Thanks to modern technology, it’s possible to relax on the beach while keeping an eye on the office. SurePayroll has compiled a list of five tips to help you manage your small business while still enjoying a relaxing vacation.
- Schedule check-in times. Before you leave, clarify a time each day when you will check in with employees. Whether by phone or video chat, this preset time will allow you to unplug while still being on top of things. Additionally, your workers will feel secure that if they have any questions, they can ask you during your daily call. Try to hold to this time, also using it to check e-mail and tend to other work matters. If you compulsively check e-mail all day, you’ll never have time with your family. If once a day isn’t enough, consider setting benchmarks throughout the day for your e-mail correspondence and close the laptop the rest of the time.
- Download documents and apps before you leave. Some great file reading/editing apps to use on the go include Documents to Go, Files: Document Reader, and Soonr. These apps are designed to let you read, share, and edit PowerPoint, Word, and Excel documents no matter where you are. So when your employee sends you a report that needs your approval, you can handle it from the comfort of your hotel room or poolside lounge chair.
- Set up document sharing. Services like Dropbox will allow you to view and update files from anywhere. While e-mailing documents back and forth as attachments can serve the same purpose, with Cloud-based file-sharing, your workers can be set up to have documents automatically sync to the provider’s server as they are updated. This allows you to check on the progress of all of your ongoing projects at any time.
- Online bill pay. To take some of the stress out of your vacation, make sure all of your bills are set to auto-pay while you’re gone. If you choose to do things manually, be sure you have the passwords to all of your business’s bank accounts so you can log in remotely and manage your money.
- Automate your payroll. SurePayroll has an app that automates your payroll. Available for the iPhone and Android operating systems, this app lets you manage your direct deposits from anywhere.
While running a small business can be time-consuming and challenging, using these apps, business owners can take a few days off every now and then to relax. Just be sure to schedule things so that you’re online as little as possible, allowing you more time with your friends and family.
Ramon Ray, Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com
http://www.twitter.com/ramonray | http://www.facebook.com/smallbiztechnology
[email protected]
Small Business Technology Tour (Fall 2011)
http://www.smallbiztechtour.com
* Mountain View * Salt Lake City * Boston * Chicago * Atlanta
2012-08-31 12:42:38
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