Travel light in business

It’s important in business to travel, get out and see people and find out what’s happening.

Walk the talk.

One of my best pieces of advice was: “if you wish to be understood you must first understand”. This means get out and listen and learn before you tell people what to do.

There are many books that talk about the benefits of travelling light for business, including Donald Trump’s ‘Think Big’. You can even go one step further.

Consider just taking the essentials, such as a small suitcase and a laptop for business travel. Try relying on memory to remember names, events and phone numbers, as well as addresses. You will be surprised how this can free you up. You can move quickly and have an advantage over those that need too much.

Aim for face-to-face meetings rather than phone calls. Try to keep discussions one-to-one or one-to-two, and avoid having too many meetings as they can be ego-driven, or sometimes, people just don’t like being there.

There are big advantages in travelling light. Review how you operate.

Date published 17 Aug 2017

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.