By Bond Collective Staff
Businesses large and small from industries and niches of all types can benefit from setting up a remote office. And, contrary to popular misconception, your business doesn’t have to be on the Fortune 500 list, nor have vast amounts of expendable capital, to make it work.
In this article, we give you step-by-step guidelines for setting up a remote office across town or across the country, like the coworking space in Los Angeles.
If that’s not enough, at the end, we’ll reveal one of the most important steps you can take to save money while at the same time giving your remote team the space, infrastructure, equipment, and professional image they need to succeed.
What Is A Remote Office?
A remote office (also known as a division office, branch office, or satellite office) is a part of your business that is physically separate from the main office.
Most remote offices are in completely different locations (cities or countries), but some can be as close as across the street or even in the same building. It all depends on what your business needs to succeed.
Many remote offices start out as temporary office space in the minds of those making the decisions, but if they choose the right space the first time through, the provisional nature quickly becomes permanent.
Some remote offices even start out as virtual office spaces with nothing more than a mailing address to establish their presence.
Regardless of how it starts, companies large and small are setting up remote offices in different areas, different cities, different regions, or different countries to reap the rewards these new markets have to offer.
How To Set Up A Remote Office For Success
1) Plan First
Most smart moves in business start with a solid plan. Setting up a remote office is no different.
Before you do anything else, sit down and examine your business strategy to see if establishing a remote office is in line with both your short-term and long-term goals.
Then, ask yourself, “Why does it feel as though our business needs or could benefit from a remote office?” After answering that question, examine the other side of the coin by asking the question, “Can our business do without a remote office and still succeed?”
The way you answer those two questions will reveal what comes next in the planning phase of this process.
2) Brainstorm The Best Work Environment
Before you engage in setting up a remote office, brainstorm what the ideal work environment would be.
Is the best work environment for your team cubicles and enclosed offices? Or is it an open floor plan with flexible workspace?
Start by brainstorming on your own or with a few other managers. Then, pull your entire team into a meeting — face-to-face or virtual — and give them the opportunity to weigh in on what they think the perfect work environment would be.
You may not be able to satisfy everything your team wants, but, at the very least, you’ll be able to give them what they need to be successful.
Brainstorming about the ideal work environment will give you certain criteria that, in the long run, will then help with the much more difficult task of settling on a remote office space in a different city, coast, or country.
3) Don’t Neglect Design
Design and decor may not seem important during the planning stages of the process, but they can be just as influential as the decision between cubicles and an open floor plan.
The way your remote office looks and feels goes a long way toward inspiring your team to give their all for your business. It also plays a role in how your customers and clients perceive your business.
Design takes many forms, but those most applicable to the remote office environment include such things as:
Mobile furniture
A variety of seating and standing options
Multipurpose workstations
Color
Material
Texture
Those variables — and many more — can mean the difference between a productive and an unproductive remote office.
Don’t leave those factors to chance. The professionals at Bond Collective design all of their coworking spaces with your professional image in mind. That means your remote-office team won’t be distracted by their surroundings and lose focus.
4) Make Accessibility A Priority
Accessibility is another key factor to consider when setting up your remote office.
In some locations, the only way to get to the office is by car. In other locations, your employees may have access to public transportation as well.
It all depends on where your remote office is located and how accessible it is to the people who work there.
And this doesn’t just apply to your team. You also have to consider how easy or difficult it will be for your customers and clients to find and reach your office.
During the planning and scouting phase, identify locations with plenty of accessibility options.
5) Invest In The Right Tools
Productivity is no longer solely about the human element. Your team now, more than ever, needs the right tools to get things done and move your business forward.
It goes without saying that your remote office must have internet (as well as even more basic infrastructure such as electricity and water), but your team will also need computers, printers, copiers, whiteboards, and other smart tech to facilitate their workflow.
Without the right tools, your team will struggle to keep up — and keep in contact — with your original location.
That’s bad for productivity, bad for morale, and bad for your bottom line.
6) Give Your Team The Amenities They Need
When it comes to a successful remote office, your team needs more than just good design, accessibility, and the right tools for the job.
While the right desk and plenty of room to spread out and collaborate are essential for your team’s success, amenities affect their performance as well.
Some turnkey remote offices only provide one or two amenities, while others go above and beyond the industry standard in order to give your team exactly what it needs to do their best work all the time.
Top-tier setups (like those in Bond Collective’s coworking spaces) even offer free refreshments to keep your team energized when the going gets tough.
Remote Office Space At Bond Collective
As we discussed in the How To Set Up A Remote Office section, the bulk of the process has to do with location, infrastructure, image, equipment, and workspace.
Why? Because those are the most fundamental aspects of any office environment.
You could waste a great deal of time and money trying to set up those variables for yourself, or you could take the most important step — that mentioned at the beginning of this article — and base your team in a remote office space where everything is done for you.
What is this Shangri-La of which we speak? It’s Bond Collective.
At Bond Collective, you can choose from a variety of remote office options, such as:
Open-plan coworking spaces
Conference rooms for 5-20+ guests
And when you partner with Bond Collective, you don’t just get a beautiful space that fits all your needs. Each and every remote office option also comes with exclusive amenities you can’t find anywhere else.
Whether you rent by the hour, the month, or the year, you’ll get:
24-hour access
Custom build-outs
Comfortable furnishings
Access to small and large conference rooms
Networking events
Mail service
Networking events
Curated events
Daily on-site cleaning
Bike storage
Rooftop lounge area
Pet-friendly spaces
Photo & sound studio (at Gowanus, NY location)
Complimentary fresh fruit
Complimentary beer, coffee, and tea
Private meeting and phone booths
Office showers
Guest reception and greeting
Whether it’s across the state or across the country, whether it’s for a single individual or a team of several hundred, Bond Collective can get you set up in a matter of days instead of the months it would take to arrange a conventional lease — and at a fraction of the cost.
So, if you’re looking for spacious, well-appointed remote office space that gives you the professional look you need, take advantage of any one of our many Bond Collective locations in the United States, including Los Angeles, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Illinois, Tennessee, and Texas.
To get started or to learn more about the advantages of coworking spaces for digital nomads, remote workers, and businesses of all types and sizes, visit BondCollective.com today or call to find out more about everything we have to offer.