I read an article earlier today in the online version of Business 2.0 titled “Extreme telecommuting”. The focus of the article was a telecommuter who took his telecommuting consulting business on the road. Below you’ll find a direct link to the article so you may check it out when you have time. The article went on to explain a few things one should consider before taking your job on the road.
From a personal perspective I tend not to agree fully with the part of the article where it mentions that “There’s always an Internet connection somewhere, even in the poorest, most desperate country” . Though I agree that you can find ways to connect to the internet, the service is not always as good as it can be and not as reliable as one would prefer. The past 3 times I took my work on the road with me, Germany for World Cup 2006, cruise last winter and business trip to the Caribbean in May, it did not work out entirely as planned.
Germany - There was wireless internet at the hotel I stayed at, but not only was it expensive, there were connection issues. And I was always concerned about security when logged on to the wireless service. When I returned home, there was the fighting with my credit card company to dispute the massive bill I received.
Cruise vacation - EXPENSIVE! It didn’t matter if you had the wireless service (you still had to be within range) or if you used the internet cafe, the price hit you like a Randy Johnson fastball! So though the service was there (very slow) it was too expensive to actually do any work.
Business trip to the Caribbean - Just could not get my laptop formatted to work with the island-wide wireless network. The service was there, but it didn’t work with all brands of laptops. There were many internet cafes where I could log on, but internet cafes were not made for working, just checking emails and keeping up with the rest of the world as you travel.
PLUS, there were too many distractions. If I were to take my work on the road, I’ll be visiting places I wanted to see or experience. Therefore I’m not sure how much time I would have for working.
Extreme telecommuting - Want to see the world and collect a healthy paycheck? Just grab your laptop and go.
(Business 2.0 Magazine) — Anthony Page stood on the beach of Malaysia’s tiny Perhentian Kecil Island and marveled at the isolation. Around him were bamboo huts and miles of blue water. Much of the island was jungle, inhabited by coconut-hurling monkeys and giant monitor lizards. Yet he wasn’t entirely cut off. At night, when the electricity came on, Page could pull out his laptop and hook up, via satellite link, to the Web. “There’s always an Internet connection somewhere, even in the poorest, most desperate country,” he says.
Page, 35, had been traveling for almost a year before he got to the island. He hit the road in 2005 when his job as a Web developer in London was outsourced to India. Tired of the grind, he decided to take a leaf from the people his job had gone to: He would work with clients long-distance over the Internet; his office would be the nearest power and Internet hookups.
“Ten years ago, there’s no way this would have worked,” he says. “Now there are hardly any barriers.” With so many choices for voice, e-mail, and video communication, many jobs today can be done without a brick-and-mortar office. Getting paid couldn’t be easier; PayPal and other advances in electronic money management make overseas financial transactions nearly friction-free.
Read the entire Extreme Telecommuting article here.
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