How to Set Your Business Up for Success On the Go:

Take a Peek Into One Woman’sUnique Work Environment

Although having a business that you can take anywhere has its perks — independence and flexibility to name two —

it also has its challenges. To set yourself up for success, it’s essential to figure out what tools and strategies you

need in place to make the most of being on the go.

Take it from Suzy Chesler. Suzy is a professional costumer. She’s responsible for creating the looks for movies and commercials she’s hired for, which includes getting all the necessary clothing to every set — regardless of where it may be. Chesler faced plenty of challenges when getting her mobile business off the ground, but through trial and error, she’s figured out what works for her business.

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One of the biggest challenges Chesler faced was having the right mobile workspace for her particular type of work. When she started out, Chesler’s car — a small hatchback — pulled double duty as her on-the-go office. She quickly realized it was not right for costuming. “You could see everything in the car, and I would often have $10,000 worth of clothing inside,” she says. She upgraded to a costuming van — named Sylvie — and her operation now runs much more smoothly.

Make It Happen:Determine Your Workspace Strategy

Whether it’s a car, a coworking space, coffee shops, or business service hubs like Staples’ Copy & Print centers, it’s important to determine what resources

and environment you need to get your job done. Chesler needed a mobile closet that offered privacy, so she upsized her car to make it happen. Whatever this

looks like for you, determine what you need ahead of time and plan accordingly. 1TWEET THIS TAKEAWAY

Along her journey as a mobile business owner, Chesler discovered having a tool with her that let her show clients the looks she created without disturbing her mobile closet made her job so much easier. Nowadays, she doesn’t go anywhere without her Canon Selphy wireless printer, which allows her to do just that.

Make It Happen:Establish Your Go-To Mobile Tools

Having the right tools while on the go can be a matter of seamless productivity or serial troubleshooting. To avoid the latter, it’s important to determine what your

business requires you to have with you wherever you are, whether it’s a laptop for special software, or a variety of apps that help you stay connected to your team. 2TWEET THIS TAKEAWAY

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For Chesler, organization is everything and something she’s had to master to keep her mobile business moving in the right direction.

“With all the paperwork coming in from costume houses, I need everything to be in just the right place,” Chesler says.

Even when running from set to set, she uses nearly all the same products as a regular office: large binder clips hold scripts together and file boxes house her important paperwork.

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Make It Happen:Get (and Stay) Organized

If you rely on hard copies of contracts and documents to do your job, tools such as a portable file box (with a clear organizer top to hold tools including pens, pencils,

scissors, etc.) and a folding trunk organizer can help you get any paperwork you need with you organized.

If paperless is your thing, Chesler recommends the Scannable app for iOS. It allows you to easily scan receipts, business cards or any printed document, which can be

seamlessly organized in Evernote. If you aren’t a fan of apps, another option is a portable scanner, which allows you to upload scanned documents directly to your cloud storage.

When running a business on the go, it’s easy to focus solely on the task at hand or on getting from one place to the next. Although those things are important, Chesler makes sure to step back and take in everything around her. Costuming requires a lot of creativity, research and inspiration, and Chesler takes advantage of being on the go to gather material for her designs.

“The research that I get from being out in the world is very valuable; it’s R & D,” Chesler says.

She constantly records things she notices in journals or in notes on her phone and uses them later in her work.

Make It Happen:Use Travel Time Wisely

Getting from one place to the next can sometimes feel like lost time, but not when you use it to gather valuable research and inspiration to keep your business moving

forward. Keep tools with you, such as a low-tech notebook and pen, or a smartphone to record notes and take photos of what you see, hear and

experience. You never know what may spark a big new idea for your business. 4TWEET THIS TAKEAWAY

While working on the go isn’t for everyone, it can be very rewarding if you have the personality for it.

“There is never a ‘typical day’ working the way that I do. It keeps me nimble and always creative. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Chesler says.

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