By Henry Brown

Making a small business profitable means spreading your company as far and wide as possible, and with the Internet, it is much easier to make a brand “global” than it was before. But with the possibilities of expansive communication, does it become a help or a hindrance? The scope is much larger than before, but does this mean you are spreading yourself a little too thinly?

The task of managing a company is enough for most people, but if you are managing staff and dealing with clients across the world, you have to factor in time zones. It can be a major undertaking to keep track of every single staff member, especially when they are scattered all over the world, which is why it is best to have a strong second tier management team, with each member taking on a time zone.

This is something that comes with time as the business expands, but prior to that, relying on email is a difficult but inevitable conclusion. Technology has become more mobile, and you can definitely use this to your advantage. Much like the forex trading apps will keep you in the loop on live changes in the market, you can keep track of your business on the go with much more ease than 10 years ago, which means you can have a more hands-on approach to looking after your employees.

As the 24-7 culture is making it more essential that we keep ahead of the curve, being up to date by the second is much more imperative now. With fluctuating markets, using a trading app is one of the many ways to be up to speed. And as small businesses are now operated from remote locations, it is even easier to have everything at your disposal. Processing payments can be done with the press of a button, making the whole procedure quick and painless.

Remote working is the choice for so many people now that the tech needs to be in place to make them as part of the process as if they were in the office. Collaboration is fast becoming a thing that people can do remotely, and there are apps like Evernote that makes it much easier for people to work in real time on ideas.

Developing your business is much more achievable via a remote setting than ever before, and for the small business owner working from their home to manage a team based all over the world, it means a positive increase in scope. With increased communication tools, you have the option to video call or have a teleconference. It is your choice if you want to go down this route, the difficulties in holding many meetings in different time zones can be a challenge, especially if you have to hold the same meeting a few hours later.

The task of operating a company that is worldwide used to be something that was for the large multinational corporations, but it is much more accessible on a smaller level. It can be challenging, but definitely attainable.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.