Life Lessons: What I’ve Learned From Running A Virtual Office

Courtesy of Brand

Lumitrix is an online photographic gallery representing emerging photographers from all over the world, selling their work at an accessible price point. My job role covers every aspect of the business, and with the help of our virtual office we are able to showcase our art both online and physically through exhibitions, art fairs and collaborations.

Running a virtual office presents huge obstacles: five of us work throughout the UK and while doing so from home can seem like the dream – for my team, at least – it can lack the camaraderie that office life provides. To combat the risk of loneliness – which can lead to lack of productivity, direction and enthusiasm for the job – I follow these five golden rules…

  1. Hold weekly meetings via Skype to ensure that everyone knows what is going on all the time.
  2. Work with all the technological tools that are there to help overcome the geographical chasms: Dropbox, Doodle diary, digital calenders, Skype, Facetime.
  3. Keep engaging with your team to maintain morale, as it can be lonely working remotely.
  4. Use the old-fashioned landline as much as email to avoid misinterpreting tone and to minimise the risk of a drawn-out ‘ping-pong’ session that can sometimes result from relying solely on written communication.
  5. Ensure that the group gets together at least six times a year; this is usually sufficient to fuel a good period alone without any issues.
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From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK