Chapter 6: Remote Work

Before Covid-19 many people new that remote work was practical. Now, the whole world knows that it is not just possible, but often dramatically more productive. This chapter discusses how to leverage remote work to generate the highest level of productivity.

Setting up a remote office

If you make money working remotely, then you need a remote office. It is fun to work around the world temporarily, and I have worked out of coffee shops in Hawaii, Germany, China, and New York. Still, ultimately you want to develop a home office that allows you to be maximally productive.

What works for me is to buy the best tools I can afford. Here is a list of some of the tools I use:

• 49-inch widescreen monitor
• standing desk
• pullup bar
• speakers
• 4k video conferencing camera
• Heil Microphone
• Macbook Pro with solid-state drives
• High-Speed Fiber
• Wifi 6
• 4K Conference Camera

The general idea is this is how I make money and make sure I have a comfortable place to work and use the best tools I can afford. Your office and tools are not something you scrimp on. These are an investment into your ability to make revenue.

A common mistake of remote work is not to purchase the best tools and training you can afford. I have over twenty years of experience in the software industry, and I buy three hundred dollars at a time at the drop of a hat. Why do I do this? When I need to be up to speed on a subject, I will spare no expense.

Similar to this, I have the best camera, internet, and mic that I can afford. I do this because I want to create a pleasant experience for clients I work with and for students that I teach. I take my clients very seriously, and they return the favor by taking me seriously. One of the most effective ways to make a good impression in remote work is to have top tier tools. Don’t be the person on the call with a bad connection; it may cost you a job.

Being a 10X worker for YOU

When you work for yourself, you can set a goal of being 10X more productive than a typical corporate employee. How can you do this? Think about all of the useless work in a corporate job: water cooler conversations, reoccurring meetings with no pre-set agenda, and unnecessary paperwork.

Instead, you can wake up day and invest in your productivity. An excellent way to do this is to think about yourself in terms of a feedback loop. Each day how can you make yourself more calm, healthy, rested, and productive. Do the things that enable you to produce and eliminate useless work.

Do you need that expensive mortgage or rent?

If you live in an area of the world that has rent or a mortgage that is over 150% of your country’s median rent or lease, you should consider moving. The less your monthly payment for housing, the less stress you will feel in getting your business off the ground. Likewise, if you own a house in an expensive area, imagine how much flexibility you will have if you bank the profit of your home sale and use it as a buffer as you start your own business.

In the first chapter, the concept of MRR covers how significant making revenue each month is automatic. Equally important is the idea that it isn’t just waiting you make, but what you keep. If you have a high MRS (Monthly Reoccurring Spend), it can drain your money lake dry. The more you spend, the more you are forced to take bad deals: bad clients, bad projects, or bad bosses. Lower your spending and give yourself more freedom to bet on yourself.