How to set up a remote business (YouTube)
The work and business model has thankfully changed in the past two years. People no longer need to sit in a cubicle to do a job or commute to their bodega to sell their products. No, for the most part, everything can be done remotely. And what makes this interesting is that you can run an entire business online, and it can be a success. This is something we hardly heard about just two years ago (people were running their businesses fully remote but not on the scale that it is happening today). If you think about it, chances are you’ll find any company online; heck, you’ll even find YouTube channels for fitness and even business channels helping you with storage solutions. And if you are thinking about starting your own business remotely, here are some steps to get you started.
What is a remote business?
Firstly, a remote business sees all employees working from home (or wherever they can). All operations are done online unless certain aspects of the business require physical interaction or operation. Remote businesses mostly don’t have a head office or headquarters, but sometimes there is, and they will use it for team gatherings. Some of the benefits recognized by businesses across the world include: lower office costs (none if there’s no office at all), reduced or no commuting (employees might choose not to work from home but rather a coffee shop), wider talent pool to choose from when vacancies become available, better employee retention, and often, streamlined productivity as employees can focus on tasks without the interference of colleagues and management. There are several ways to create your own remote business with step-by-step guides and more.
Step 1: Write your business plan
Whether you are starting a conventional brick-and-mortar business or going full-on remote, you need a business plan. Whether your business plan is quick and simple or long and detailed, it will require your vision, the structure of your business, and a financial plan:
Vision
Here you get to outline the vision of your business. So, you are starting a YouTube business selling writing courses. Essentially you will be selling online writing courses. In your vision statement, write down everything you envision your business to look like, including any dreams and goals attached to it. You also need to ask yourself why you are starting a remote company and include it in your vision. It helps to refer to your original hopes and dreams.
Structure
Next, you need to include the structure of your remote business in your business plan. Think about planning. Now back to the online writing course on YouTube. You must provide basic information about your business structure, including the products or services you are offering, key employees (if any), and business location – if applicable. This section should cover the following: production, suppliers, equipment, inventory, shipping, and data costs. This will, of course, be customized as per your business.
Financial plan
There will be highs and lows, but you need a clear financial plan, including key performance indicators and benchmarks.
Step 2: Marketing plan
Every business needs a marketing plan, especially if your business is fully digital, as with the online writing classes. 35% of start-ups that fail are due to the business not having an audience. If your business is not able to solve an audience need organically, you need to get your business and brand out there. That is done through a marketing plan as well as offering a product or service that is easy to use and understand. If you are an experienced writer starting an online writing service on YouTube, chances are you know the industry well, and you are fully aware of the pain points both writers and editors go through. So, once you understand your industry and your audience, you can create a comprehensive marketing plan. You can do this yourself, but if budget allows, hire a marketing firm to do this for you.
Step 3: Communication plan
So, you’ve written your business plan and have your marketing plan set; now it’s time to focus on a communications plan. Many start-ups feel these are unnecessary, but effective communication goes a long way to position your business on the path to success. How you communicate with your employees goes a long way in running a smooth business. If you want your team to meet daily, include this. If you require daily emails to ensure your team is online, then have that in your comms plan. The point is to be truly clear with each employee’s role, their responsibilities, and how you communicate within the business.
Step 4: Use the correct technology
There is nothing worse than setting up a business you know will succeed because you found a gap in the market only to find that when you roll it out, you’ve not used the right technology, and because of this, customers are not buying into it. It is essential to research precisely what technology to use and if it will require full-on development. Let’s go back to online writing classes on YouTube. You might find that while YouTube is better because you can monetize your videos more easily and that YouTube pretty much gives you free rein to do what you want, other streaming platforms might be easier to use and more accessible. It is as simple as using each platform to understand the user experience.
