Various technological developments are making business operations much easier – and potentially more profitable. Where sellers and customers once had to be in the same place at the same time for a transaction, today we can buy a smartphone from China in the middle of the night via the internet (just to name an example).

For savvy entrepreneurs, the revolutions in communication technology offer many additional benefits. They can use them to expand their market and revenue, optimize their working hours, and reduce costs.

But the fact that you can now run a location-independent business may be the most interesting development. Whether you’re at home or walking around a trade show in New York, your business doesn’t have to suffer. In fact, there are even freelancers and internet entrepreneurs who have made it a sport to combine traveling and working – the so-called digital nomads.

How to Benefit from the Digital Revolution

To what extent is your business location-independent? Can you make important decisions from a beach chair, or do you need to be physically present? Let’s look at what’s possible and what you can do to gain more freedom. For some entrepreneurs (like a restaurant or horticulturist), this is naturally more difficult than for others, but optimization never hurts.

  • Delegate and Outsource Depending on your industry, you can delegate or outsource some or many tasks to (new) employees. If you mainly do office work, you might be able to outsource simpler tasks to virtual assistants. For affordable Dutch-speaking help, you can find an assistant in Suriname, while Filipinos have a good reputation for English-speaking assistance.
  • Get More Out of Your Website You undoubtedly already have a website, but does it include your price list? Can customers order one or more products online? A business like a hair salon can offer shampoos and hair dyes online to expand its market. You can also sell outside business hours thanks to an online store. With a service like Shopify, you can create your own online store without programming knowledge.
  • Accept Online Payments Having a price list on your website is one thing, but accepting online payments is the next step. This saves your customers and yourself time at the checkout (if you have one). If you process many payments and can handle a large portion of them online, it also saves you costs. With services like PayPal or the Dutch Mollie, which also processes iDEAL payments, you ensure a secure and reliable payment environment.
  • Offer Digital Products A digital product takes up no physical space but can be sold repeatedly. You don’t need to pack it and send it to the customer via a courier service. Instead, it’s sent as an email attachment or in the form of a download link. It goes without saying that the more digital products you sell, the more location-independent you become. You can interpret the term ‘product’ very broadly, as it can just as easily be a Skype consultation as an e-book or video course. Platforms like PayPro (Dutch) and Gumroad (international) are specially designed for accepting online payments and delivering digital products.
  • Stay Reachable Despite the popularity of email and WhatsApp, the phone remains an important medium, especially for businesses. A customer who asks questions over the phone can be subtly guided toward a sale. But how about you? Can customers always call you? And what happens if they try to reach you after business hours? With a virtual phone number from Belfabriek, you’re always reachable, no matter where you are. This Dutch phone number forwards calls to the device of your choice – at your office, at your external call center, or simply in your pocket. You can change this so-called destination number in an instant with our handy apps (iOS and Android), ensuring you’re always reachable. With other handy features like the queue, the call menu, recorded messages, and the digital answering machine, you enhance your accessibility and provide your customers with the best phone experience.

Stay Ahead of Your Competitors

The trends of outsourcing, automation, and online shopping started a while ago but will continue to grow in the future. Savvy entrepreneurs like you understand that they need to capitalize on these trends as much as possible because competitors will eventually do the same.

Belfabriek provides virtual phone numbers in the Netherlands and many other countries. Choose from geographic numbers for a local presence or service numbers to set call costs. We even offer vanity numbers, with our own number being a great example: 0800-BELFABRIEK (0800-2353227). Register your own number or call us for more information.