Trying to work as an expat in a country where you’re not a citizen can be tough. Work visas are hard to obtain, but there are ways to make a living without going through the arduous process of trying to secure a work permit for fields which are already competitive, even for citizens. Therefore, starting your business based on the Internet, rather than a physical office, is to your advantage. That’s where video conferencing comes in, and it can benefit your business in far more ways than you might imagine. It’s one of the soundest investments for expats who are willing to think outside the box.
1. Business Trip Budgets
If you’re working on an IT startup, for example, international business communication is something you’ll need in order to secure clients and contacts, and follow up on leads. However, instead of paying the flight fare, which can be exorbitant, you may be able to cut some travel costs.
The Balance has excellent tips for entrepreneurs on the go, since physical travel is sometimes necessary. However, you can cut these expenses substantially by investing in video conferencing. You have much more freedom to invite prospective clients to an online meeting, and within seconds you can be face-to-face with the other person. Plus, it’s more convenient for both of you, since nobody has to waste time waiting around at the airport or being stuck in traffic on the way to the meet-up venue.
2. Team Training
Whether your startup is comprised of only you or you and a staff, competent people are one of a company’s most important assets, if not the most important. Training is always necessary. Sending anyone away on a trip, including yourself, can hole in your IT company’s overall budget. However, this is sometimes seen as a necessary evil, as there really is no better way for employees to learn than with hands-on training from the most experienced employees of the bunch. However, another way to conduct hands-on training is by using online learning methods. All you need is a reliable business video conferencing system for IT like that provided by the BlueJeans Network. If you’re starting a business online, most likely, team members will be located across the globe, and your best staff can train themselves while on the go. This means they can all get right back to whatever important tasks they were doing before the training began, maximizing everybody’s time.
3. Human Resources for International Entrepreneurs
As your business grows, you’ll need to interview potential new employees, and this is where online video apps come in handy. Now you not only can save time with interviews, but your candidate pool is also extended to anywhere in the world, which is ideal if you don’t have a work permit to be employed in a certain country. By simply turning on the video conferencing system, all the applicant has to do is join the interview from the comforts of his or her own home. This can give you a better gauge of how responsible the candidate is. After all, if they’re still late to an online meeting, then odds are that he or she is not a candidate that you can rely on for more important tasks.
4. Paper and Courier Services
Ten years ago, you had to print out everything you needed for meetings or projects. You’d then have to have a courier come over and pick up the documents that you wanted to send. That’s not counting the amount of time it could take for your document to reach your recipient. For especially urgent projects, it could get very costly, since express services are often very expensive for international trips. However, with the use of an all-around video conferencing app, all you would have to do is send the file over electronically. This is ideal if you’re doing business from Australia, but your client is in India.
Better yet, you could bring up your materials on-screen while talking to the other person, ensuring that you are literally both on the same page as you discuss important issues. Plus, you can save on what you would otherwise spend on paper and other office supplies. The average worker ends up using at least ten thousand sheets of paper each year, according to The Paperless Project.
These are just a few of the many ways that this type of system could help your startup business save on a ton of resources. Living as an expat is tough. While there are some jobs that are available to residents without a work visa, not many of them pay well. Running your own business from your computer with video conferencing as your office is the best way to ensure a stable income.
I hope you enjoyed reading 4 Ways that Entrepreneurs Can Work from Home and Internationally. Here are a few more articles on the subject!
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How to Make it Easier for Australians to Work from Home
Top 16 Reasons to Move To Panama
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