Not every business owner finds it necessary to have a central office these days. A surprising amount of work can be handled exclusively over the web, leaving a business with the ability to avoid the expenses of maintaining an office. It does take some careful planning, however, and perhaps a few more online resources than you might rely on otherwise.
Managing a Business Online
Untemplater is just such a business. Essentially an online publication geared towards helping readers live a less-templated life, the team behind Untemplater lives and works across multiple time zones, handling every aspect of the business online. The number of tools now available for handling business finances online has made the process relatively simple. Jun Loayza, the CEO of Untemplater, describes the company’s set up: “We currently use PB Works and Google Groups to manage communication between the team and use a good ol’ excel sheet to track all our finances. Any expenses are sent to the COO who tracks them, along with our income and what we owe to our paid writers.”
If you’re considering making the switch, you can find a variety of tools through the Small Business Web, a group of software companies focused on building online applications specifically for small businesses.
Deciding on a Base
Even if your goal is to take your business on a round-the-world trip, you’ll still need a home base for it — a legal base, preferably in the same country where you are a citizen. The IRS and other government agencies require an address in order for you to operate a business. That address can be a post office box or another location where you receive mail. However, it’s worthwhile to consider all of your options before making a final decision.
Convenience is one aspect, and a key factor in Untemplater’s approach: Loayza says, “The business entity is based in Indiana, solely because one of our co-founders in charge of operations is based in Indiana.” But factors like state taxes may also lead you to make a different decision. The type of business structure you want to use can also be a factor. The Untemplater team chose to create a standard LLC, but individual states have different rules governing business structures.
The Benefits of Mobile Finances
For Untemplater, mobile finances make sense — everything about the business is mobile. “We cut expenses dramatically because we don’t need to pay rent, LAN line, internet, and all the other expenses involved with a physical office. Most of the tools we use are free online services or we utilize the existing resources of one of the members of the team,” says Loayza. There are some downsides, however, if you move beyond the purely financial: “One of the big things we are missing though is facetime—the founding team doesn’t get to bond as well and build trust by working side-by-side. It can be difficult to schedule conference calls over Skype, with team members in 4 or 5 different timezones, but we do try to have regular calls when there’s decisions to be made or progress to discuss.”
The decision to go mobile can depend entirely on your business and how you best operate, but at least the financial aspects are very manageable.
Image courtesy Untemplater.com.
