Question
Do you know if it is viable to work with a remote business partner when running an e-commerce business?
Both partners have had really strong experience and success.
The timeline of events are as followed;
- A business partners lease ran out in Melbourne
- The partner then was going to buy real-estate in Melbourne but decided to move to Korea quite abruptly with no real warning
- The reason behind the Korea move is because it is cheaper
- The partner wants to go there for 4 months during the startup phase of the business
- If the partner has decided to do this now, what is the likelihood of them doing this again in 2-3 years
- The end goal is to build an 8 figure business within 4 years which is achievable with the track record all partners have had
An e-commerce business can definitely be run off a laptop but our questions are.
> Is it really viable?
>Will it be harder to bounce ideas and be innovative?
> What objections can you see for this situation?
> Will this kill momentum?
> What are your immediate concerns?
Answer
~ Is it really viable?
Distributed teams are very common. If you are startup is not having to deal with shipping/receiving or if onsite events are not critical; then there are plenty of proven examples where a remote team is viable.
~ Will it be harder to bounce ideas and be innovative?
As long as all stakeholders communicate regularly and a system like Slack or Discord is adopted, it shouldn't be.
~ Will this kill momentum?
Only time this might is around an actual product launch where timing is critical for success. Otherwise it shouldn't impact anything.
~ What are your immediate concerns?
My only concern would be that adoption is key. If you both are unfamiliar with or haven't adopted agile methods for remote work, I think there will be some growing pains. But if you both commit fully to the process and the project, being remote shouldn't slow you down.
