5 Must Haves to Take Your Business On The Road

by Erica Wiley

Two days on the road and it still hadn’t sunk it. We’ve been working from home since 2010 and homeschooling since 2011; this wasn’t the first time we were breaking from a normal schedule.  But this was different- this was a whole new adventure with our business, 3 young sons and over 3000 miles of interstate.

We’d been talking about moving and doing a road trip to explore some options. We picked a tentative departure and than on a whim, with some supporting excuses, decided to leave 2 weeks early and in only 2 days time. It cut our preparation time short, to say the least. Yet, it was incredibility liberating.

With only 1 full day between us and the new departure date, we zeroed in on the key things we needed in order to work from the road, literally.

1. charger converter:  A converter car charger was the number 1 item we needed and used. If you need your laptop to work on the road for an extended amount of time and your tablet wont’ suffice, this is a must have.  For under $30, we were able to “stay open” meaning we could work with current and new clients, not having to delay projects at all. We used the BESTEK Dual 110V AC outlets and Dual USB 3.1A
2. mobile hot spot: Paying for the add on service of mobile hot spot is totally worth it since it  puts you in control. No worrying if the hotel(or campground) has wifi or if you can find a coffee shop. With mobile hot spot service, if your phone has a signal, so does your tablet or laptop. Because this is an add on service, you may be able to add it temporarily for your trip and discontinue afterwards without any contract hassles. Check with your wireless provider for details.
3. extra chargers: Odds are you will lose a charger (especially if you’re traveling with kids and preoccupied with not losing them.)  Having an extra phone charger lowers your stress – really. No more code red, freaking out, searching for the nearest electronics store  or offline sticker shock (I continue to be amazed how expensive things are in stores compared to online.)
4. web & cloud access to data:  Before you leave, verify that you have access to everything you use on a daily and weekly basis. This includes everything from your CRM to your invoicing or merchant account.  It would not be cool to get 100 miles from  home and realize you can’t login to Mailchimp to send your newsletter because you don’t have your password saved. As an added precaution, I’d be prepared with key internal business info too.
5. Bonus Tip: Safety hound? Me too! That’s why I’d check out LastPass to streamline, simplify and protect your information, especially while accessing remotely or in new locations.
6. hard copy or local copy of info: Doesn’t sound as sexy as sleek apps, but it would be worthwhile to have a hard copy on hand for situations when despite all your efforts and mobile hot spot, you just don’t have internet access.

It’s the honest truth when I say there was nothing else we brought or needed to work from the road. We did ship the charger converter to one of our destinations since it wouldn’t arrive in time for our expedited adventure. Otherwise, while it does take preparation, it doesn’t take long to follow the call of adventure and take your business along, so you don’t have to take a financial hit.

What about about our 3  little guys you ask? We brought pillows, audio books and they each picked a stuffed animal; my 7 yr old packed a notebook for journaling. It also helped to make pit stops more exciting. On this trip, we included Gettysburg, Nashville, and The Boy Scout’s Museum (Texas.)

Have a traveling business story? Share it below, I’d love to hear it!

Read more from Erica on She Owns It here.