Not Big On The Remote Business Idea? Give It a Second Thought

Running a Business Remotely – Embracing What Cannot be Conquered

When the pandemic hit two years ago, companies, stores and the whole business world were in shock. With lockdowns having been implemented in an instant, companies found themselves in deep waters, having had little to no time to switch to a new way of operating. This was not the dawn of remote work and remote companies, but it certainly was its moment of becoming mainstream.

Related: Survival of the Fittest: How Agile Organizations Thrived Through the Pandemic

Fast forward to the present, when employees are reluctant to go back to office work environments, demanding partial home office or fully remote options. Employers, on the other hand, are less than enthusiastic about it, some even threatening employees with layoffs, if they don’t show up in the office. Why? Because they think efficiency will inevitably plummet if their team members work from home.

However, statistics state the contrary. According to a Stanford study conducted with 16,000 employees over a 9-month period, productivity improved by 13% by the end of the research period. Therefore, you might actually benefit from running a remote business.

Here we give you a couple of reasons why embracing this concept rather than fighting it tooth-and-nail might turn out to be better for your business.

1. The talent pool

When thinking of a brick-and –mortar kind of business, your options are quite limited in terms of workforce. Basically, you need to find employees with adequate qualifications, willingness to work for you (instead of other employers), and within a radius of a couple of miles. Not impossible, but certainly not easy. 

A business that fully embraces remote workers, however, has it way easier, as they have a talent pool the size of a planet. The remote employee has what it takes, speaks your language, is capable of doing the job, but happens to live on the other side of the world? Not a problem for a remote business.

2. Saving costs

Another advantage of a fully remote business is that offices become completely useless for them. No utility costs, no rent, no renovation costs… The money otherwise spent on these could go to either product development, or alternatively it could be used to raise wages, as wages are crucial in getting and keeping talent. An ideal scenario for small businesses looking to save money or those looking to reduce startup costs.

3. The environment

With no physical office spaces there’s no need to commute on a daily basis either. This decreases the carbon footprint of your company, which in the long run is much more than a simple marketing gimmick for you to boast in the present. Also, with gas prices skyrocketing, this leaves a lot of money in your employees’ pockets. Make no mistake, employees do appreciate forward-thinking employers, and a remote business model currently seems to be the path forward.

4. Being futureproof

The pandemic hit a few businesses so hard they did not manage to recover. A lot of them went bankrupt. What if these businesses had been more open to remote work in the years prior? Nothing is certain, however, their chances of staying afloat would have been much higher if switching to remote work hadn’t come as a nasty surprise. You might dismiss this as a black swan event, but think again. Is it that unlikely for an event like this to happen again?

Final Thoughts on Running a Remote Business

A remote business is not some fringe phenomenon anymore. The question is, whether your company is ready to jump on the bandwagon and embrace the new norms, or keep walking the beaten path. No one can predict the future, however, one thing is certain. Remote work is on the rise, and employees – many talents among them – are choosing those that embrace it instead of fighting it.