To the 9-to-5er, the image above is the idealized version that most imagine of digital nomads. You, a beach, and 5G, living the dream (Does anyone else get anxiety seeing a computer around that much sand and water? Just me?). As you know, the reality can be far more challenging. Below, we will look at some of the common challenges for location-independent workers, and review some simple solutions to help alleviate those headaches to your digital nomad dreams:
Time Zone Challenges: Many digital nomads choose to live and work in the same time zone as their clients. Most might agree that it makes life a little easier to not have to wake up before dawn for a Zoom meeting. While working in the same time zone may keep you on a better schedule, it doesn’t always fit into your travel goals. For those times when you are in an inconvenient time zone, an answering service that offers automated or live answering to your phone, email, or SMS text can make the difference between a continued relationship with a client or lead, or a missed opportunity. This is especially important for those working in a field where there are lots of freelancers. When working with WESP, you decide exactly how agents respond to existing clients or new inquiries. We work as an extension of your business!
Limited Infrastructure: The most common “must” of being a digital nomad is the need for strong connectivity. It may often seem that you lose cell signal or the Wi-Fi goes down right before an important call. With an answering service, you can customize a plan that, after a certain number of rings, your calls rollover to the answering service where a trained agent can respond with your customized script explaining the delay. While location-independence is a growing trend in industries, it doesn’t provide employers with great confidence if they are unable to reach you when they need to. Even just hearing from a friendly agent that you will get back to them by the end of the day, or the week, is better than no response. An answering service can be a low-cost solution to give clients the warm-and-fuzzy feeling that they can relay information to you at any time.
Setting Work on Autopilot: Structuring time for work and play can be a struggle when you don’t keep office hours. This is why many digital nomads choose to cut work and play into blocks of time, where they are work heavy one week and then travel and explore the next. For those times when you are focusing on travel, an answering service can help keep your business on autopilot, while you enjoy the next beach, jungle trek, or just casually explore your next location. Allow WESP to manage your business line, email, or texts and we can relay the information that can’t wait through your preferred communication method. If you have a preferred app for messaging or software for appointment scheduling, we can easily integrate into your existing system.
Travel Delays and Workweek Disruptions: One of the best parts of being a digital nomad can also be the most challenging: your surroundings are always changing. Many of those changes you can prepare for: set-up automatic replies when you are traveling or know when you will be without service. But what do you do when a client or potential customer needs an immediate response and a broken charger, shotty wifi, or a canceled flight means you can’t respond? Have a fail-safe with a virtual receptionist (VR)! Having a plan in-place with a VR means that you have a back-up if you can’t be reached. Let your VR know when you will be traveling and develop a protocol for how to respond if any calls or messages are received. Unlike working with a freelance VR, you never have to worry about sick days, emergencies, or vacations. Our multi-site solution, secure cloud-based system, and team of trained agents means you receive professional service 24/7/365.
WESP Communications offers customizable automated and/or live-agent options for answering your calls, phone, and SMS text. Call or email us today to see how we can create an affordable, customized plan to meet your business goals!
