Nowdays, the work sector is expanding and it's becoming more and more virtual and digital. This means that a good part of companies try to widen their businesses posting their products on Facebook, showing them on Instagram and (who has the possibility) also selling their items on their own ecommerce. This virtual business increases the need of companies to find experts for example Web Developers, Social Media Managers, Content Strategists, Designers and so on! This is the time when Remote work come into their business. There are a lot of platforms where an entrepreneur could find and hire the right expert which he needs for example Toptal. Toptal is the best platform I have ever worked with. They ensure customers to have serious experts and, on the other hand, they enable experts and freelancers to be reached by as many customers as they can work with.
What about becoming a Remote worker?
The first question you need to ask yourself is: are you sure about wanting to become a remote worker? you have to be determined. Because of time-zone differences, technical issues may occurs, difficult and demanding customers, houseworks that could distract you. Also the fact that you are on your own place could stress you even more than being in office. This feeling could be faced only using some useful advices that could make your job more proficient and pleasant. Here there are some tips:
1. At morning, dress like you'd have to dress up for the office
Wearing casual or smart clothing will make you feel at work and so you will do it more seriously. It will be difficult that you will distract yourself.
2. Prepare your breakfast, lunch or dinner before starting working.
Remember to prepare your meals before you start working because it's easy to be distracted by housework while cooking.
3. Have a comfortable sit.
Because of long times of working (it also depends on you), you should sit on a comfortable chair. (Don't sit down on your bad, it will make you feel tired soon!)
4. Wear eyeglasses (or reading glasses)
Wearing glasses will help you to don't tire your eyes out and will help you prevent headache. If you haven't eyeglasses, you could backlight your desk in order to help and don't tire your sight.
5. Tell your family you are working.
Tell your family that you are at work and don't let them disturb you.
6. Define a workshift and how long it will last.
Deciding how long your workshift will last and how many hours are included is very helpful because you can actually focus more on the project during those hours ( Remember to postpone everything after you will finish your workshift). Include it on your work profile and also on your website and determine:
↠How many days you work in a week;
↠how long does workshift last;
↠When clients could contact you outside your working hours;
↠If you have some commitments, update your new work details.
These are some general tips but there are also technical tips which Ryan Wilcox have already explained on Toptal.
After you have enstablished your workplace, your workshift and you are sure to work comfortably, you should consider what you will do when you will have your first customer.
"I want to be very professional and I would like to be known as a serious expert, what can I do?"
Well, sit down and have a lot of patience.
1. Always deliver an extract of the project to the customer.
You could use the Bugs Tracker which is a very helpful software because :
For the customer:
↠he can see that the work is proceeding
↠he could give you a feedback: he could approve or give an advise an improvement
For you:
↠you can get more confidence from your clients
↠you can get a feedback if you are doing well
2. Use software for chatting
"How will we communicate? What if I will have some collegues?"
You can easily use Skype for talking with clients or colleagues. You can use chat rooms for teams in order to communicate altogether in one place. There are other software available on the Net but it really depends on you, how you work and how you want other to see your working process. For example Sqwiggle, it always takes a picture of you while you are working and this allow your customers or anyone else see what are you doing, if you are behind your monitor or not.
These are our pratical and technical tips that we hope you can use them in some way. At the end, you will learn more during your work and you will get a lot of experience on your own starting from our tips. We know that it can be intimidating for someone but you have to be brave and dive into this virtual world that let us connect and do what we like most.