As the world moves to a more remote workforce, businesses across industries and markets are having to adapt. We asked leaders who have experience with making remote work effective to share their stories, lessons, and insights with us.

CHRISTOPHER KELLY

Many of our talented staff members live in different cities, states, and even countries. We have managed to create an efficient workflow by using Chrome Remote Desktop, which grants permitted users access to a designated computer from anywhere Google Chrome account. For our work we use large, powerful computers for efficient rendering, and the ability for our visual artists to access them remotely means that they don’t have to spend excessively to upgrade their own computer and all of the logistical problems that come with the enlarged set-up. This also allows for more than one user to access the same computer, which makes collaborating a step-less process. Read more>>

R. Tiffany David

Recent events in the world have catapulted us forward about 30 years but some leaders have developed an agile mindset to change and are responding with resilience and compassion. But the real work is just getting started and change continues to challenge us to be better. Working from home, or wherever you call home today, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to employers understanding how the workplace landscape has evolved, and will continue to evolve, forever. Read more>>

Gabby Nero

Working remote has changed my life! I am able to work for a New York based company from the comfort of my home and have a home office set up. I don’t have to deal with traffic. I get more sleep and am a much happier worker. Read more>>

Monica Compton

For the 20 years I’ve owned my business, I’ve worked from a home office. This remote business model has worked well in several respects. I save costs by not having the overhead of a traditional office. And because I employee contractors, I don’t need office space for full-time employees. I also find that I’m more productive working from home. I’m not disrupted by office politics and can concentrate on the job at hand. While there are always tasks around the home that could distract me, I’m able to prioritize and stay steadfast on company business. Read more>>

Kimberly Portuondo

Our digital marketing agency has always been a remote company even prior to the pandemic. We have really leaned into the Google Suite (now called Workspace) of tools to help us work in a central “place” although we are all quite far away from one another. Read more>>

Jenni Prisk

In 2019 my husband and I traveled to our native New Zealand for six months. COVID prevented us from returning to San Diego for 2+ years, and I didn’t want to lose touch with my US clients. I offered virtual training sessions which several of them accepted and appreciated. The sessions had to be revamped, and some facets weren’t possible, however, because everyone needs to learn how to better present on a virtual platform, the workshops became very successful., Read more>>

John Harlan

We’re fortunate to work in an industry that easily accommodates distributed team life, but there have been a few challenges and we’ve learned a lot in navigating those. Three things stand out to me when I think about our remote work success: Team hires and onboarding Our team has grown by 25% over the past two years and as we’ve added new team members who have never worked in the office with us, we’ve had to re-think our onboarding processes and remain creative with how we make new team members feel welcome. Read more>>

Dru Pattan

Estheticians and other skincare professionals have traditionally been tied exclusively to in person treatments of the skin. In fact, when I began taking a remote approach with clients pre pandemic, it resulted in quite a bit of side eye and backlash within the industry. It wasn’t something in-person estheticians could wrap their heads around for the most part, but I noticed a need in the industry, an entire demographic of people whose needs simply weren’t being met. Read more>>

Aimee Moehring

I have made remote- or a licensed non “brick and mortar” location work for me by being accessible for traditional and non traditional store hours for my clients. If they need to pick up orders or supplies at non business hours we work out a pick up and drop off schedule, and I am glad to take many forms of electronic payments. My business is accessible on social media platforms, weekend shopping events, personal shopping appointments, and I am always available by phone or text. Read more>>

Ash Daredia

Traditionally, shopping for Pakistani fashion has been enjoyed in person. We like to touch, see and feel the fabrics and textures and try on how certain styles will look on us. In America, I usually sell all of my collection through various exhibitions and shows, but when COVID happened, that obviously was no longer plausible. We immediately resolved to social media lives and it was a huge success! I think people are beginning to acknowledge that most anything can be done remotely. Read more>>