Most people who travel for business don’t really enjoy it. Its not as glamorous as it seems. Long days, hassles of air travel, and time away from the family. Even those who have large expense accounts and travel to exciting locales tire of traveling quickly. You don’t get to enjoy the nice accommodations or see much of the local attractions. At the end of the day, its just a long work day, and time away from your loved ones. When I was employed at BART, I never got to travel much for my job. Now, as a self employed business owner, I have had the opportunity to travel a few times in the past few months, and I anticipate traveling a bit more in the future. Last week, I spent a few days in Austin, and San Antonio for business. My view on business travel is a bit different in that I see it as a very productive experience.
I could see the actual travel part of it getting old, with the hassles of airport security, driving in a strange city, and sometimes uncomfortable hotel beds. However, I enjoy because it is very productive for my business. When you work for a company, you don’t have a choice in your travel, and a lot of times you don’t see the value in it. You may consider it wasted time to attend yet another conference or meeting. As a owner of a business, I don’t spend money and time on travel unless I see a value added to my business because of it. And I get to decide if and when to go. Here are some benefits I gain from my business trips:
- Relationships: Even though much of my business could be done by phone or email, nothing is the same as a face to face meeting to build important relationships. The advancement of technology with such things as overnight mail, email, web conferencing has made doing business from a distance much easier. In my prior job, I have invested million of dollars each day with people I have never met in person. Still, it is not the same as having a personal relationship with someone you are doing business with. Since my personal money as well as my investors is at stake, it is in my best interest to see and touch the land, and to see who we are dealing with. Building business relationships has long term benefits beyond the current deal and to the company’s bottom line. Since I am the company, I don’t mind traveling to build long term relationships.
- Productive Time: I find that my time traveling is among the most productive time not only to the business I am traveling for, but to other areas of my business. This is because I am only focused on conducting business during the trip, and I have time. When I am at home, my time is torn between my kids, and time to run my business. I’m trying to talk on the phone or answer emails with my kids pulling me away, but its different when I am traveling. I have meetings when I am on the road, but they don’t take the whole day. I still have time to return phone calls, answer emails, and to follow up on things that I had been meaning to at home, but did not get the chance.
- Business Retreat: A business trip is like a mini personal business retreat for me. I try to just the extra time I have to rest, and strategize. After dinner, I could return to my lonely hotel room and watch TV, or prepare for tomorrow’s meetings as most business travelers do, but I take advantage of this time for something else. I use it to make short and long term plans for my business. The quiet time gives me time to think about where I want my business to go. On my last trip to San Antonio, I used the time I had to in the hotel and on the plane to fill several pages of a yellow legal pad with business ideas, and to do lists on several projects I am working on. When I returned from my trip, I was refocused, and ready to start on my plan of action.
The time away was productive from a business standpoint. I was able to meet with the people I needed to, build business relationships, and make sure my current projects are on track. It was also successful from a personal perspective. It gave me time to rest away from family responsibilities, and do some long term personal and business planning. It was like a personal and business retreat, and it bought me back refreshed and reenergized as most retreats are intended to. Even though, it was a short trip, I did miss my family, but I do spend more time with my family than most men with regular 9-5 jobs. It was good to be able to break away for a short while. I encourage those of you who travel to think of your next business trip as a “retreat” from the regular routine and use the time away to sharpen your focus, and come back with more energy for your job and home life. For those who don’t travel for your j0bs, such as stay at home Moms, I would encourage a short weekend trip alone, or with friends to use as a time to relax, and reflect on your job duties and life. It is time well spent. Business travel can be as draining or fulfilling as you make it.
hmmm… I like what you have to say here. I have always viewed travel as a chore. Not the actual business I’m doing while traveling, but the traveling itself. I always take the couple hours in the hotel in the evening to relax with a good book. I do it mainly to decompress from the extra long days I put in while traveling.
But I think I need to start viewing my time away from home more strategically. I could use that time to do some long-term thinking on any number of issues – including my family. In that sense, my family might even be better off with a little travel in my schedule.
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