Should You Start a Remote Business?

It’s been observed that approximately 85% of today’s workforce, which comprises mostly of millennials, wishes to telecommute 100% of the time. About 54% of the workforce wants to have flexible work schedules and alternatives to coming to the office for 8 or 9-hour shifts. With the way things stand, there seems that a case can be made in favor of remote businesses. But the question remains – should business owners make the shift from physical premises to fully remote businesses?

Benefits of going remote

Lower start-up costs
Remote businesses do not need to invest in office premises and technology. This allows companies to make major cost savings.

Little to no overheads
Utilities, stationery, office supplies, and machinery repairs are just a few heads which fall under a business’s overheads expenses. With no physical premises to maintain, the companies’ overheads are either non-existent or are reduced to a negligible level.

Comfortable and easy commuting
With organizations basing their operations farther out of cities these days, it becomes difficult for employees to travel. The traffic situation in many places is terrible, resulting in the employee burning out faster due to sheer travel exhaustion. In fact, long commutes are one of the main reasons for high attrition in organizations. Remote offices eliminate the daily commute, ensuring that your employees remain with you in the long run.

Unique mix of candidates
Remote businesses open up a larger talent pool for organizations. New mothers, retirees, war veterans, and the physically challenged are some types of the workforce which the organization can have access to, as a result of the remote business. Owners of remote businesses will not only benefit from different types of the workforce, they will also create jobs for people who otherwise do not have much space in traditional brick and mortar organizations.

Beneficial to employees
In many ways, remote businesses are extremely employee-friendly. In fact, remote businesses are often praised for the flexibility they offer employees. Work-life balance is one benefit that remote businesses offer which some physical organizations may not.

Ease in recruitment
Considering the wide talent pool they serve and the myriad benefits they offer employees, it is extremely easy to find candidates for remote businesses.

Key challenges
While there are multiple benefits of going remote, we need to bear in mind that there are a few challenges, such as:

• With the employees not working under a single roof, it is challenging to track productivity and to assign responsibilities.
• Companies that deal with important financial, medical or legal information of clients cannot provide data access to employees remotely as there is no way to track how they might use this information.
• Brands that require visibility to flourish, such as consumer goods brands, need to have a physical layout for a few operations. Operational and overheads costs will remain high as a result.

It is important for entrepreneurs to consider all these points before they decide whether to go remote or not.