Remote working is the new norm, or so the trends say.
Since 2020, there have been about 3-times more remote working positions in the job sector. It makes up more than 15% of job opportunities in the US, and 74% of employees feel good about the WFH opportunities. 83% of employees also report being more productive when working from home.
What about business owners? Well, trends show that working as a digital nomad is perhaps the most relaxing way to run a successful business. Not only you get to select your career path, but you can work when you choose to, and make the decisions which best suit your business and life.
The US has the largest digital nomad population with 17 million people working from any location at their ease. And 43% of those are self-employed.
However, there are some challenges of working remotely. Connectivity issues to finding the right tools and cybersecurity threats, they face hassles in the day-to-day execution of work, especially in the digital sector.
In April this year, UN Trade and Development reported that global GDP growth was set to slow to 2.6% in 2024. The state of the economy around the world increases the need for entrepreneurs to use the best tools available to grow their business, without compromising their primary need to continue working remotely.
In this article, we’ve set out to help overcome such challenges of remote working to help business owners execute their responsibilities without giving up on the luxury of digital nomading.
As Mark Zuckerberg rightly says, “People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t.”
What type of remote-working tools do you need?
There are several remote working tools that you can use at your convenience. However, it all depends on the type of work you do. If you are a business owner in the digital sector, you may need tools for website development, digital payments, team collaboration, customer service, etc. Based on those needs, our list of effective tools will help accomplish any task with ease successfully and remotely.
Tools for Website Builders
Let’s say you’re offering a product or solution, but to let people know about it, you need an online store website to make your work life easier:
Wix
The Wix website builders offer a suite of intuitive tools to make it easy to monetize your website and grow your business. You can choose from 900+ free and customizable templates that have been researched to suit every industry. Wix sites are designed to load quickly and are built with SEO in mind.
Yola
Termed as a “No-fuss” website-building tool, Yola offers both AI-powered website builders and DIY templates to make website-building a cakewalk for most business owners. The best thing about this tool is, that you can change the template design at any time without losing your content. Further, it offers a no-hassle block editor that helps you rearrange, add, or delete blocks on your web pages with ease. The only challenge is, that Yola doesn’t do much for your SEO needs, and you have to do that manually.
Webflow
With extensive customization options, integrations, and widgets, Webflow is one website builder that all business owners should have in their kitty. However, you should note that this tool doesn’t offer any AI benefits. Everything has to be done manually, from a selection of templates to designing. The free version also doesn’t have too many options, but you are going to benefit a lot if you purchase templates. It also has extensive SEO benefits, right from developing meta tags to incorporating widgets and integrations to improve functionalities and meet SEO requirements.
Squarespace
It’s one of the most efficient website builders with incredible templates, blogging tools, and tons of advanced eCommerce features. It also offers extensive AI support to create website content fast. However, you may need to edit the content manually to prevent writing errors. The tools also feature a smartphone app that makes website-building easier and hassle-free.
Duda
This professional website builder is best suited for conventional eCommerce business owners, freelancers, and remote working professionals. Its customization options help create and control precise designs and have structures that help align the site’s content with individual rows and columns. With its section-based layout editing features, you can gain complete control over your website-building process. And what’s more? Duda comes with multiple pricing options to pick from, depending on your budget and type of work.
In a Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) article for Forbes, Kasey Kaplan explained why every business needed a website. “Without a website, people may question your legitimacy as a business,” Kaplan wrote. A website also lets you showcase your brand, increases your chances of getting leads and your chances of showing up in Google search results (especially an SEO-optimized site), saves you time (customers can often find what they need without calling), and gives you a platform for updates and announcements.
With these tools in hand, you can create customized websites at the shortest duration from anywhere in the globe. All you need is a laptop (or a smartphone) and stable network connectivity.
Tools for digital payment integration
So let’s say you’ve set up a website. Maybe you’ve already signed a contract with a business or two. The next step (other than doing the work) is getting paid. As a freelancer in any profession, making sure that you get paid on time and in full is the highest-stakes part of any project. The best payment apps allow small business owners and self-employed workers to pay and get paid easily.
Let’s take the example of PayPal. This payment platform, by far, is one of the easiest modes for freelancers to get their due. However, other apps let you send and receive invoices, issue payment reminders, and deal with multiple currencies without much hassle.
Skrill (or Moneybookers)
You can send money across multiple countries at the lowest transaction fee with this payment app. With some restrictions on the withdrawal amount, you’ll find this app quite helpful to receive your freelancing dues. The transfer period can be a little longer than other payment apps, but it’s hassle-free, and that’s what makes it quite a catch for most digital nomads. It also supports transactions through invoices and lets you keep a record of all transfers.
Escrow
It’s a reliable payment platform for freelancers working with new clients across countries. The buyer of services holds the payment till the deal is complete. Once that is done, the payment is released, and you get your due within 10 days. However, you should know that the charges for making payments on Escrow Is relatively higher than other payment platforms.
Payoneer
A lot like PayPal, Payoneer allows you to get paid through invoices within 5 working days only. By paying only 2% of the charge (3% if you’re using the credit card payment option), you can get all your dues with just a few taps. And yes! It allows for payments across the globe. What more? Payoneer is rated a whopping 4-star rating by Trustpilot. Now, isn’t that enough proof of its reliability and efficiency?
Wise
Getting paid across countries shouldn’t cost you a fortune, and that’s what Wise promotes. The London-based company allows you to transfer money to any part of the globe without extensive charges. It also allows for multi-currency exchanges, making your payment process less of a hassle.
For remote workers who travel frequently, these apps can be particularly useful. However, you’ll need to have access to the local currency to ensure you can support yourself wherever you are.
Cloud-Based VoIP Systems
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is predicted to reshape every business in the coming years. VoIP lets you make a call from a desktop, laptop, or mobile without the need for a traditional phone line. It can also work on software alone – there’s no need for dedicated physical hardware, which can save on your budget.
Telzio has reported that “average savings businesses see after switching to a VoIP system range anywhere from 30% to 50%” in telecommunication. Further, the report also reveals, “The most significant cost savings are realized by companies switching from an on-premise phone system, to a cloud-based phone system.” Gartner has estimated that “more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms by 2028”.
Let’s now talk about some of the VoIP tools you can get your hands on while working as a remote business owner.
Google Meet
Now, every business owner, who has been here for a while, is well aware of what Google Meet does. It’s one of the best free collaboration tools that you can use anytime and from anywhere. Some people also prefer it over Zoom. because of its inherent user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness. Coming to the costs, well, Google Meet also offers a customized enterprise option for companies that want to upgrade for more features.
Zoom
When talking about Google Meet, we cannot just ignore Zoom, our lockdown savior, can we? Although founded in 2011, the VoIP tool’s popularity surged during the global pandemic of 2020, due to the immediate shift of work culture. Remote working teams started collaborating on Zoom’s platform for their day-to-day activities and events. In April 2020, an incredible 300 million daily meeting participants were recorded on Zoom Meetings. Although its market capitalization has reduced drastically in the last 3 years (from $159 billion in 2020 to $18.4 billion in 2024), it remains a popular VoIP platform today.
8X8
If you’re obsessed with providing your customers, team members, and everyone else involved with seamless business interactions, 8X8 should be on your list of VoIP tools. Affordable and feasible for most businesses, its user base exceeds 3 million, because of its trustworthiness, simplicity of making calls, unified communications, and third-party integrations. Operating in over 55 countries, it’s best suitable for freelancers and remote-working business owners worldwide.
Dialpad
Weren’t we talking about cloud-based VoIP services earlier? Add to it a tinge of AI support, and you’ll get Dialpad – A Forbes-recommended VoIP service for remote working professionals. It helps you connect with your teams, customers, and anyone you wish to for seamless business interactions. It has stepped up its AI game recently, so you get to enjoy some of the amazing Metal features to reduce the hassles of communication.
Nextiva
Allowing for unlimited calling in the US and Canada, Nextiva features free-faxing, customer calls, and even advanced team collaboration tools, e.g., group chat rooms. It’s a low-priced, simple VoIP software suitable for small business owners and individual freelancers.
CallHippo
Again an AI-powered VoIP calling service that enhances your communication system, thus reducing business calling costs. With its simple interface and extensive features, it’s a preferred calling system by most companies in the US, Canada, and also in India. CallHippo is also a highly-secure system that offers a consistent experience to the end user, be it your customers, team members, or salespeople.
CallRail
Highly reliable, scalable, and feature-rich, CallRail is apt for small and medium-sized businesses that need to cut down costs of business calling. The virtual telephone service ensures that all your business-generated calls are easily managed, tracked, and analyzed later for reference. People using CallRail often talk about its crystal-clear sound quality, and highest network uptime, among other benefits.
Choose any of these cloud-based VoIP solutions, and your business interactions will never be the same. They will, of course, be enhanced and less cost-intensive.
Office Apps for Learning and Optimizing Productivity
It’s the rule of thumb to select a simple and easy-to-use software to execute regular business operations. Many of your team workers are already familiar with Google’s suite of services, Gmail to Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Sheets. Likewise, many others have already spent years working with Microsoft Office apps like Word and Excel.
Choosing apps people are familiar with can save time in training and communication. Many of the biggest apps are regularly updated and optimized for newer operating systems, which is another plus.
Now, these apart, there are some other advanced apps that you may find worthwhile. Technology is something that keeps coming with new promises and better advancements. Why should you miss out on innovation, especially when you’re working as a digital nomad? You never know what new features they can offer, right? Scroll on!
DocuSign
Tired of signing documents manually? Using DocuSign can help you manage all preparing, signing, and finalizing official contracts with ease. With this tool, you can sign any document practically from anywhere. And you also don’t need to carry a sign pen on you for the same. All the signing can be done electronically from any device. In other words, it eases your business operations to a great extent by giving you the freedom to sign any contract remotely.
Wrike
Essentially a work management software, Wrike offers the freedom to scale up and optimize business operations from anywhere on the globe. It supports multiple languages, including some of the rarely used ones, like Turkish, Vietnamese, Polish, etc. From project management to task tracking, Wrike gives you an all-encompassing platform to carry business operations seamlessly, remotely, and error-free.
Microsoft OneNote
It’s not only a note-taking software, but an incredible organizational tool, a must-have for all digital nomads. You’ll get features, like cross-platform syncing, multimedia incorporation, voice notes, and even third-party integration. You can also use the free version of the app that offers 5GB storage.
Todoist
So what’s a Todoist? Well, in the simplest terms, it’s a task-managing tool that business owners can use to keep track of business operations. However, the software is much more. With a few taps, you can set to-do tasks, add reminders, and view boards, and even collaborate with your remote-working teams on Todoist. It has a user base of nearly 42 million, thus highlighting its popularity. You can use the software for free, or for a nominal charge of $4-$6 per month, depending on your business requirements.
Freedom
Who doesn’t want to be focused and diversion-free while working? Now, how many can actually do that? All those social media notifications, email notifications, and screen pops can divert your attention every time you sit down to work. Freedom can help. The software aims to block every distraction while you work. It doesn’t matter which device you are working on. Freedom can sync the blocking across multiple devices with ease. You can schedule the focused time on the app and block distractions accordingly.
Synthesia
There’s no doubt that we’re inhabiting a video-friendly world. Every business owner thus needs to keep video marketing in the loop to gain visibility and engage potential customers. Synthesia helps you generate AI videos from text quickly. You can create high-quality videos in multiple languages within minutes. So the next time you need a short explainer video for your new product, try Synthesia.
Do you see how many options you have to optimize team productivity while working remotely? Choose the tools that seem effective and apt for your business operations and scale up and beat your rivals in the competitive landscape.
Team Collaboration and Video Conferencing Platforms
While not having a traditional office holding you to a location is a great perk for digital nomads, it doesn’t mean that communication needs to be complicated. Although you can’t walk over to the next cubicle to speak to your colleague, you can always use video-conferencing software for the same.
Some of the latest video conferencing software that keeps you secure with end-to-end encryption and allows for conference calls with participants from 50+ countries have been listed here. If you’re regularly traveling, you’ll want an app that is usable in a range of locations.
8X8 video conferencing
An end-to-end secure platform that allows up to 500 participants, the 8X8 video conferencing tool is feasible for businesses of all sizes and industries. You can execute HD video conferences and audio-only meetings with ease from anywhere on the globe. The platform also offers customization options, like background blurring, image backgrounds, etc. You can also derive valuable post-meeting analytics, including AI-generated summaries. Need more control? Well, the software provides it all, like participant access, host delegation, etc.
Cisco Webex
Cisco only acquired Webex in 2007. The efficient video-conferencing software has been here since 1995. After the acquisition, Cisco empowered it with its complete set of video-conferencing hardware and tools, making it one of the top video-conferencing software today. It’s expensive, but you’ll get a range of advanced customization features that will leave you wonderstruck. Whiteboards, call recordings, transcriptions, and even breakout rooms, are some of the Webex features that will take your video-conferencing activities to another level.
ClickMeeting
Are you looking for a platform that supports a thousand participants in a single meeting? ClickMeeting can be your go-to video-conferencing platform for the same. It offers HD-quality video/audio support and allows up to 10,000 participants. You’ll also get screen-sharing options and whiteboards in a range of online meetings and events. That’s not all. ClickMeeting also offers automated streaming for social media platforms with just a prompt.
Microsoft Teams
Trusted by several organizations, including multinational enterprises, Microsoft Teams is an efficient video-conferencing software for remote-working professionals. You can connect from anywhere on the globe, at any time, and in any way. Feature-rich and efficient, Teams is everyone’s go-to window for video-conferencing, virtual events, team meets, client meet-ups, and the list goes on.
GoToMeeting
Rated 4.3 by Gartner, GoToMeeting is an affordable web conferencing software suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. With 250 participants, you can hold team meets and client conferences with ease, remotely. Features like breakout rooms, hand-raising, screen-sharing, record meetings, and intriguing drawing tools help make your meetings more productive. The paid version offers more features; so pay $12-$16 and get the advanced features to enjoy conferencing remotely.
All Kinds of Customer Service Tools
While it may not be a ‘tool’, per se, customer service can make or break a business. Customer service employees are an important part of any larger business and can be the difference between one-time and repeat customers. Good customer experiences can lead to positive reviews, shares on social media platforms, and word-of-mouth recommendations, leading to a bigger customer base. Sloppy customer service can hold your business back.
Check out all the highly-rated (and successful) customer service systems listed below on review sites like Trustpilot, G2, etc., before finalizing any.
Intercom
Intercom is an AI-based customer service platform that’s making quite an impression these days. It enhances the operational efficiency of any business with AI agents, copilots, and also analysts. Most of the customer interactions can be handled by AI bots, transferring only the complicated ones to real-time agents. It saves a lot of time for sales agents to focus on other aspects of your business, e.g., securing sales.
Front
An advanced customer service software, Front helps resolve relevant issues in a jiffy. The AI-based platform can even handle personalized queries faster than real-time agents. Besides, it can offer you authentic analytics on your business operations and areas that need improvement based on real-time data. It increases team productivity by ensuring streamlined customer service management.
HappyFox
A cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, HappyFox streamlines your HelpDesk by categorizing tickets from several channels. It also has community forums to help customers interact with each other and discuss your products/services freely. Not only that! HappyFox also comes with self-service and awareness sections, where customers can find informative articles and FAQs to clarify their doubts. No wonder it’s such a popular software among digital nomads. It can take a lot off your shoulders, especially when you’re traveling a lot.
Hiver
Wouldn’t it be great if you could just integrate all your customer support channels on a single platform? Well, Hiver can help. It comes with a shared inbox that allows all your support agents to execute customer service hassle-free. Your customers may try to reach you out from multiple channels, like email, WhatsApp, or some other platform. Hiver helps you manage all those queries from a single base without compromising the overall efficiency of your customer service system.
Freshworks
Give some AI superpowers to your customer service system with Freshworks! It’s a cloud-based software designed to take your customer service department to the next level. Its exclusive customer-service suite comes with all the amazing generative AI features that you cannot think of. As a remote-working business owner/manager, Freshworks is a must-have in your kitty for delivering enhanced customer services.
Over to You
The digitally-nomadic lifestyle isn’t necessarily for everyone, as it’s unconventional and sometimes challenging. But people, who can do it, do it fine with the help of technological inclusions. In some cases, it can be quite a profitable and successful way to run your business, as the costs of holding a traditional office in a fixed location can be expensive, to say the least.
If you’re rooting for the digital nomad lifestyle, ensuring access to the right set of tools will always give your business an edge over competitors. Your skilled team will be able to overcome any challenges that they may encounter. There are tools for a range of business operations, from team collaboration to customer service and website management. Get the right ones that suit your business type, size, industry, preferences, and of course, budget.
Stay location-free and do business stress-free!