- Can you grow a business while traveling and working remotely?
- How to handle your LLC while you’re away
- The easiest solution to maintaining an LLC while traveling
Q: How can I grow my business and maintain my LLC while traveling for an extended period?
A: Maintaining an LLC while traveling can be tricky for small business owners. LLCs must be registered in a single, stable location if they are to remain legal. This article explains the best way to set your LLC up for success while you’re away.
Remote work is here to stay.
For years, workers have been slowly pushing their employers to accept more flexible work arrangements. Most people prefer the option to work from home rather than being forced to make long commutes to the office.
When the pandemic hit, this process accelerated. Social distancing forced us to transition to remote work in almost every industry.
You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Now that remote work has proven viability, traveling offices, digital nomads, and home workplaces are more prevalent than ever.
In fact, according to Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Americans say they are working from home most of the time. Although the pandemic initially forced these people into remote work, they are now maintaining these arrangements by choice.
Small business owners are no exception.
- The Modern Small Business
- Why Work From the Road?
- Can You Grow a Business From a Traveling Office?
- The Logistical Challenges of Traveling with an LLC
- Handle Your LLC While You’re Away
- The Best Way to Handle Your LLC From Anywhere
The Modern Small Business
During the pandemic, entrepreneurship exploded. Small business statistics show a rapid increase in business formation during lockdowns.
These small businesses came into being for a few reasons.
For starters, the lockdowns left many people unemployed. In this situation, entrepreneurs turned their attention toward the business formation, replacing their lost income by starting their own ventures.
Additionally, the pandemic forced professionals of all industries to work from home, making it clear that a typical office setup was completely unnecessary.
Once they realized they could work from anywhere, many people also understood that their continued employment at a typical office job was also unnecessary. They began offering their services directly and independently, eventually starting their own businesses.
Finally, the shift to remote work lowered the barrier to entry for many markets. Once, entrepreneurs needed expensive storefronts or office rentals to start successful businesses. Still, now all they need is a laptop and the ability to deliver products or services over the internet.
The increased accessibility of small business formation not only helps entrepreneurs chase their dreams, but it has the potential to improve equality of opportunity between rural and urban Americans.
All of this has radically changed the modern workplace. Small businesses can now operate from anywhere – be it a mobile office setup or a comfortable couch.
Why Work from the road?
But remote work also gives entrepreneurs another option – one that allows them to travel the world.
One of the many reasons entrepreneurs choose to start their own businesses is the increased freedom it provides.
Many people want to travel. Seeing the world can be a profoundly enriching and enlightening experience.
Unfortunately, traditional employment makes traveling difficult for many. Being tethered to a fixed location means you have to use vacation time if you want to explore.
Entrepreneurs who set up mobile offices don’t have to worry about this, and can operate from anywhere as long as they have the right supplies and a solid business plan in place.
This has allowed small business owners to find personal fulfillment in their lives without having to sacrifice their career goals.
The constant change of scenery also helps some small business owners recharge. Traveling can be a great way to balance work and relaxation, helping you avoid burnout and stay focused.
Traveling can even help small businesses grow.
Can You Grow a Business from a Traveling Office?
Small business owners who set up traveling offices may enjoy several notable advantages.
For starters, they can protect their business from unforeseen external circumstances, guaranteeing that their operations will continue in spite of lockdowns, mandates, and other issues that may affect the immediate, local, and physical area surrounding a typical brick-and-mortar business.
The pandemic highlighted the fragility of normal operations. In the span of a few weeks, many people’s lives changed radically.
By setting up digital, remote businesses, traveling business owners can avoid these sudden, unforeseen roadblocks.
Another benefit of traveling is constant exposure to new markets. Business owners who take extended trips expose themselves to new cultures and niches.
This exposure can spark new ideas for expansion, helping the business grow by capitalizing on underserved markets.
Finally, small business owners also tend to meet more people while traveling, leading to an expanding network of contacts that can grow your business directly by creating new opportunities you wouldn’t find in your hometown.
But that doesn’t mean mobile LLC management is always accessible.
As you travel with your business, you will inevitably make a few mistakes along the way, and this will give you the necessary traveling office experience for success.
But if you become aware of some of these common mistakes beforehand, you can avoid all kinds of headaches as you travel the world.
The Logistical Challenges of Traveling with an LLC
LLC registration is a critical component of running a small business.
While you can operate as an individual, this is generally seen as a risky move because your personal assets are always on the line.
LLCs provide the critical protection you need to run your business with confidence and peace of mind.
Unfortunately, registering an LLC means providing a business address. You need to have your business registered with a state, and you need to use a stable, fixed address so they can send you important documents.
Not only that, but you’ll also need an EIN if you plan to hire employees. Employer identification numbers are provided by the state in which you register.
Again, this is an important aspect of business management tied directly to your business’s location.
How to Handle Your LLC When You’re Away
If you want to experience the world, work from a traveling office, and grow your business, there are a few important things you need to pay attention to.
For starters, you’ll need to find a way to communicate with your employees remotely.
The rising popularity of remote work makes this relatively easy. Along with various traveling office supplies, there are numerous web platforms for messaging and project management that can help your team stay on track.
That said, these platforms often require a bit of learning and coordination. It’s essential that you set aside time to troubleshoot before leaving.
Planning in advance will help you keep your LLC operating at total capacity when you hit the road.
You’ll also need to register your LLC properly, and it can be a little tricky to find an appropriate business address if you’re constantly traveling with no fixed location.
You could use your home address if you have a stable residence, but while this option works for legal purposes, it has a number of downsides.
For starters, your home address becomes publicly accessible as soon as you register your LLC, and this can lead to significant privacy issues.
There’s also the mail problem. If you’re away for months at a time, you won’t be there to receive important documents from the government should they arrive while you’re gone.
There are ways to work around this, but most cause as many problems as they solve.
You could have someone else come to your home and forward your mail. This can theoretically allow you to receive documents wherever you happen to be. Various people may be searching for traveling office jobs, allowing you to hire the necessary individuals to keep your business running.
The problem here is that you need to find someone extraordinarily generous and reliable. How many people are willing to show up at your house every day, check for mail, and forward it to you?
Even if they are willing, your mail might not arrive promptly. This can complicate necessary filing procedures and leave you with late fees or missed opportunities.
Luckily, there’s a better way.
The Best Way to Maintain Your LLC from Anywhere
Using a virtual office for your business address is the ideal way to handle your LLC on the road.
A virtual office provides you with a business address in any state you choose. You can then use this address to register your business without paying for a traditional office or storefront.
Your virtual office also includes a mail-forwarding service that allows you to receive your mail from anywhere. Your documents will be delivered promptly, regardless of where you might find yourself.
A virtual office provides you with all the stability of a consistent address without limiting your ability to travel.
With this system, running your business while traveling becomes easy. Consider this traveling office example:
You’re traveling in Spain while running an eCommerce business. During this time, you receive important mail from the IRS that arrives at your virtual office in the United States.
You can then either tell your virtual office service provider to open the letter to see what it says or have it forwarded to you at your hotel or Airbnb.
Upon reading the letter, you can take the necessary steps to keep your business in operation and avoid legal/financial issues.
Conclusion
There’s never been a better time to start a small business while traveling, and working from a mobile office setup is more viable and efficient than ever before.
That said, you’ll still need a stable, fixed address if you want your business to run smoothly. Managing the legality of your LLC while you’re away is often much more complicated than handling any other aspect of your business’s operations.
Luckily, there’s a modern solution that provides everything you need to maintain your LLC while traveling. A virtual office from Alliance Virtual Offices is the ideal solution for traveling business owners.
Further Reading
- Using A Virtual Address for LLC Formation | 3-Steps
- Most Successful Businesses Focus on a Niche, Here’s How
- How to Grow Your Business When You Hate Talking on the Phone
You’ll gain access to a stable, virtual address you can use for business registration while trotting the globe to your heart’s content. All mail will be forwarded directly to you, so you won’t have to worry about anything.
Grow your business from anywhere with Alliance Virtual Offices.