Many guides focus on how you can make business trips a pleasant experience. They discuss the best travel pillows, flight shoes, and more here. The problem is that these comfort hacks are not meant for the overall outcome besides impacting your focus (and slightly your performance).
Many guides focus on how you can make business trips a pleasant experience. They discuss the best travel pillows, flight shoes, and more here. The problem is that these comfort hacks are not meant for the overall outcome besides impacting your focus (and slightly your performance).
You see, on a business trip, you have designed goals, and you’re working to improve the standings of your enterprise. In other words, making your business trip a productive experience is more important than making it pleasant (although these two aren’t mutually exclusive).
With all this in mind, here are the top five tips for making your business trip as productive as possible.
You want to control your expenses on a business trip to hit a sweet spot between being frugal and representative. What does this mean? Traveling is a business expense, meaning you want to pay as little as possible. At the same time, arriving at a meeting in a luxurious rental vehicle leaves a better impression than arriving in an Uber or taking public transportation to the meeting spot.
Most problems don’t come from people’s inability to control themselves - they can’t keep track of their spending. This is especially true if you travel abroad and now must spend money in foreign currency. Even if the exchange rate is “round,” it can be hard to figure out, on the spot, if something’s expensive.
With the help of a budgeting app, you can instantly make a conversion and update your spending status in real-time. Traditionally, people review how much money they have left, which can be misleading and encourage more reckless spending when there’s no room for it.
Also, regarding the money you spend on a business trip, this is not just your private matter. You’ll need a paper trail leading to all your spending, and you’ll likely have to submit it to your accounting.
Because, within the organization, it’s not uncommon for different people to be sent to the same location over the years, this can be a great chance for comparison. Find out if some of your representatives are spending more while out on business trips. This is one of the ways to analyze this data and improve your enterprise.
Another thing you need to understand is the importance of being on your A-game while traveling. You need a place that meets certain standards. The last thing you want is to listen to the loud music from the room next door on the eve of the meeting that could make or break your business.
The best way to solve this problem is to find corporate housing via AltoVita’s platform or a similar tool.
There are multiple reasons why this is a good idea. First, corporate housing is usually in residential areas near the city's business section. In other words, it’s already near the place where you’re likely to have a meeting. Second, if the meeting occurs somewhere nearby and the party is going well, you won’t be shy to invite everyone to join you at your place.
Next, this is the exact purpose of a corporate home - to serve as a temporary headquarter for an entrepreneur on a visit abroad. This means that you have flexibility regarding the duration of the lease. If you temporarily visit a place before you take over, you may bring your entire family.
Now, these areas have numerous enhanced amenities. They’re usually outfitted with training gyms, swimming pools, and recreational facilities. Aside from that, they usually also have fitness centers.
It’s also worth mentioning that complexes of this type are usually in the safest part of town, which makes a massive difference. After all, you’re going somewhere far away without knowing the neighborhood.
Now, during prolonged stays, people often feel homesick. It’s not about the home but the alienation of living in hotel rooms for too long. Well, corporate houses usually provide a more homelike experience. This can make a difference.
Being well-dressed leaves a much better impression on the other party. Being well-dressed and aware of it will make you feel much more comfortable in your shoes. This means that you’ll radiate confidence. You must say anything you say at a business meeting with conviction. The other party often won’t know if you doubt yourself or if you doubt your offer. Nonetheless, they’ll be able to sense this doubt.
Now, creating your wardrobe needs to start long before this business meeting. You can’t get a rental suit to impress your business partner. If you’re serious about making it in the business world, the clothes must be of the highest quality, and your designer briefcase must fit the rest of your apparel.
Unfortunately, this is not something the company will pay for since one’s personal apparel (even if it’s used for business meetings) doesn’t go under representation costs. You’ll have to pay for it on your own. Still, this is so important that it might even be worth getting a personal loan. Forming a sharp business-specific wardrobe is an important asset for any professional early on their career path.
Since you can’t take endless clothing items, you should always carry a small portable iron. It’s even better if there’s a local ironing service, but they might not always be available. Also, this will only take a minute or so.
Another thing to remember is that if you’re traveling abroad, there may be a completely different business apparel etiquette to what you’re used to. Studying this before going abroad makes your life much easier.
While traveling, it’s incredibly important to stay in touch with the people back home. There are both pragmatic and sentimental reasons for this.
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First, you’ll need to get confirmation from the HQ occasionally. While you’ll be authorized to agree to certain deals, you still want to check with the rest of your team. Sure, sending a message to check this is great, but you may also want to join a video call just to confirm.
Then, there’s the issue of work-life balance and nostalgia. You don’t want to neglect your personal relations too much while traveling. Just think about it; with most people back home, you’re just communicating via text. So, if you keep doing this, some of them won’t even notice you’ve left. You also won’t feel like you’re that far away.
Checking in with people back home is incredibly important for your own safety and protection. People go missing while on business trips all the time. Check-in with people back home occasionally or even share your location with them.
Another thing you should do is check the news and weather back home whenever you can. This will be important for your acclimation and ensure you know what to wear when getting off the plane.
First, you must understand that you’ll lose a few hours due to the time zone difference. So, plan your first day accordingly. Try to see when it will be at your target destination upon arrival. However, you should also take jetlag into account. You can’t just hop off the plane and go about your day. There’s first some acclimation, so it would be best to factor it in when making a schedule.
Using Google Flights
Using Google Flights can be a great way to save time and money when booking flights for business trips. With features like the Explore feature, you can find trip suggestions and inspiration for your next trip. You can also use the calendar, date grid, and price graph to find the cheapest dates for a specific destination, making it easier to plan your trip around your budget. Additionally, the Fare Alerts feature can help you stay up-to-date on secret airline sales and never overpay for your flights. By taking advantage of these features, you can make the most of your business trip and ensure that it is a productive experience.
Next, you need to prioritize. You’re there for a limited amount of time and must acknowledge that you may be unable to do everything while there.
There are things you have to do and things you want to do. Business-related tasks come first since you’re on a business, not a pleasure trip. When you finish the job, you may have some time for sightseeing.
There’s nothing more important than punctuality if you want to look professional. Now, consider the jetlag, the time-zone differences, and the fact that you don’t know the local traffic. In other words, be very cautious and always attend the meeting beforehand. This is the only way to ensure that you won’t be late.
The most important thing you need to understand is that business trips are not a one-off. If that was the case, you could probably just wing it and no one would be upset if you spent too much. The problem is that this is not the case. It’s a common occurrence; the sooner you figure out how to do things right, the better. With these few tips, you’ll have a much easier job organizing your trip correctly.
