“The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labor…seems to have been the effects of the division of labour."

Having a national presence is one of the many difficult challenges that small to medium sized businesses face. Often times in order to have an effective national presence, it requires hiring remote employees to represent your company. Luckily in 2011, having half a dozen employees in half a dozen cities is more affordable and efficient for most small to medium sized businesses. 

While the technology has allowed businesses to have a unified national presence, it is often a challenge to make sure everybody is on the same page and direction. Here are a few tips that can help your national team stay in sync:

• Leverage your technology: It is important to make sure that all of your remote employees have access to all necessary information. Having information and data available on a dedicated internet accessible network allows your workers to access it at any time.
• Conclude virtual meetings: Whether the meeting is happening via conference call or a string of emails from dozens of people. It is always a good practice to conclude the meeting with what was learned from the meeting of minds, and what will now be done. Having a person that records a set of brief highlights from the meeting, to send to all meeting participants, is a good way keeping everything in context and on a clear definable path.
• Business is not always “business”:  While managers may speak to their remote staff quite frequently, it is common that they may still feel out of the loop. By sharing non-business news such as celebrations, birthdays, entertaining stories…etc, it allows for all remote employees to engage in social interaction that non-remote employees engage in constantly.

By following some of these helpful hints as well as other common business best practices, your remote staff  will become an integral part of your business’ unified national presence.

About First Star Capital

First Star Capital is an established national firm that has financed thousands of different businesses across the country and has funded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of capital equipment. We are an independent commercial lender with a specialty focus in equipment financing and leasing. First Star Capital is a direct lender with the ability to quickly and efficiently fund new financing requests between ten-thousand and ten-million dollars. Since we are a direct lender with our own funding and servicing capabilities we are able to deliver tangible value added financing solutions with the utmost flexibility. First Star Capital has the internal ability to underwrite a variety of different financing requests - nothing is too big or too complicated.

Brad Harmon, CLP

800-604-4817

brad@firststarcapital.com

www.FirstStarCapital.com

Did You Know?

  Roughly 20 million Americans telecommute for their jobs.

At the tail end of 2010, 44% of all small businesses allow their employees to telecommute.

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