Web Worker Daily’s Recipe for Going Bedouin

Web Worker Daily is one of my favorite resources for everything having to do with online business. I just came across an article in the archives from last fall (I only started reading them a couple months ago) titles “Going Bedouin“, complete with their recipe for doing so (it basically consists of a laptop, cell phone, mailing address, a space - or spaces - to work in, and a host of web-based applications for keeping track of everything).

The basic idea is that as companies (especially tech companies) grow larger, they tend to overinflate, which usually leads to their demise. As they move into the posh new offices, they become more conservative, more constrained, and much less likely to innovate. Going Bedouin, on the other hand, leaves you with pretty much all of your options open. If you can fit your entire company’s infrastructure into a backpack, you know you’re on the right track.

Having mobility can be essential for a small business. It leaves you with many more opportunities to make changes, to grow and transform as your business changes, and with much lower overhead (and therefore higher profits). Which would you prefer? A luxury office (complete with reflecting pool and Zen garden) and constantly having to worry about making the rent (or mortgage)? Or would you rather have a small but functional office with the flexibility to pack up and work from the beach in Brazil for a month at a moment’s notice? How about the option to work from home for a couple weeks? Or taking in twice the profits because your overhead is nil? Personally, I’d prefer the last three.

And if you really need the Zen garden, get one of the little one’s that sits on your desk (and throw in an Itty Bitty Buddha while you’re at it).

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!