Our Business Evolution

I’ve had people asking me “Where am I located?” In another word, where is my static office? Where do I actually work? Well… I don’t have an office. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally capable of having my own office. In fact, I’ve been lucky enough to be offered by friends and relatives wanting to invest in my business. But, I have long released myself from the shackles of being in a same location. The world is my office. The freedom to stay in touch while I’m on holiday or having a coffee. In fact, I’m writing this while I’m approximately 3000 miles away from my “favourite” office. How do I run the business?
• I live in Melbourne, Australia
• My co-workers/talents/clients are based around the globe
• We are able to work 24/7
• We wear jeans to work and shorts during hot summer day
• We exploit Skype, iPhone and Google technology
• We get to travel to meet our clients
• I get to spend more time with my family
• I get enough sleep without worrying about being stuck in traffic jams
• I get to choose which cafe to work in
• We don’t pay for office rental and utility bills

Imagine 2 decades ago, it is impossible for me to run a business this way. By using the free technology such as Skype and Google and also my handy sidekick iPhone, I was able to perform my tasks faster, more financially and with utmost flexibility compared to a fully geared/suited 5-9er who is working in a cubicle. I find that I get fresher and better inspiration working at different places depending on the project.

Let’s have a quick example, Tom Harry takes 30mins to get to his office in the city, and another 30mins to get home. That is assuming that there is no traffic jams or the train has seats for him to rest. That is 60mins worth of life wasted a day and 300mins of unproductive time wasted every week. This is just a brief example, I’m sure there are some other ways that would waste our precious time. Most of it “mindless tasks”.

My evolution? Less walls, less travel, less waiting, little to no attire and more to contribution, comfort and enjoyment. The more I enjoy working the better the quality I can produce. Yes I go to work with messy hair sometimes, and yes some of you who are reading this may have gotten their work done by a designer with messy hair but it beats paying unnecessarily. You get the drill.

I recognize that having unnecessary stress, working overtime and not getting paid, not having enough sleep and time with family will ultimately hinders the work performance. In some country, having more than 7 days off is considered “lazy”. I know this because I used to work in such country. This is not the kind of life I want and I value my own personal well-being. Working hard is essential and not entirely a bad thing.  But sometimes employer should encourage a holiday more than a week.

So if it is a long vacation, there’s nothing wrong to intertwine both together like what I’m doing. How cool it is to pull out your high tech device in a nice sandy beach, on a yacht, on top of a mountain. Much like a photographer. The only thing I worry about is probably that I’d accidentally chip my precious MacBook Pro.

To be continued…