Purpose and Preparation

What you need to know about Business Trips

We know that the business world can be a drag, and not really fun. Board meetings, staff meetings, long hours, lunches at your desk - it’s not all pretty. But, every businessperson will probably agree that the absolute best thing about the business world is the trips you get to take. Whether it is attending seminars or conferences away from home or visiting investors and clients across the country, traveling is one of the best perks of working in such a field.

Business trips are opportunities. They are not just business opportunities; they are also personal opportunities that you need to take advantage of as much as possible. Being sent on business trips means that someone who is above you in the company has confidence in you. It means that someone important in the company feels that you are worthy of representing that company around the country and even around the world.

Even though business trips are a real opportunity for you to make some good career moves and move on up by representing your company well, it is an opportunity to screw a lot of things up as well. You are representing your company either way, whether you do it well or poorly, and if you do it poorly, then your career might hang in the balance.

There are some things that you need to be aware of while on business trips that will help you make the best out of them.

Purpose and Preparation

Remember, this is not a paid vacation; a business trip has a purpose and a reason. Usually you are either going to meet with clients to talk about your cooperation or to coax new clients into working with you. In other events, you might be going to a conference or a seminar to increase your knowledge of your business and to present your company to peers that work in similar companies and are interested in similar things. Regardless of the reason you are going, there is always a purpose. There are tasks that are set for you that your employer expects you to fulfill during your trip. For example, you might have a goal of meeting a potential client. Maybe you were sent just to give a message to an important client in person, as a sign of respect to them from your company. There are many different possible purposes for these trips.

You could be sent to learn about new companies that are working in your industry or to begin dialogue with possible new clients and contributors. You must always remember that you are on a business trip and that business must come first. There will be time to relax, see the sites, and do other things, but make sure you accomplish what your company sent you to do before you think about anything else. Remember that someone else is paying for this trip. It is not an excuse to meet up with family members or friends from college. If you have time after work to do that, then it is fine, but keep in mind your purpose and take care of business first.

In order to make sure that the trip will be productive, it is important to make all necessary preparations. Do not get overexcited and forget to prepare, because that can lead to disaster. If you need to track down your own hotel or flight, make sure not to waste time on that and try to find the most reasonably priced options if your company is paying. Make sure that you will be staying in a hotel that is close to where you will need to be. Do some research, see where the conferences and meetings are being held, and try to find a hotel within walking distance if possible. It saves you a lot of time and stress, especially traveling and taking the public transportation in a city you are unfamiliar with. It also shows your employer that you think logically and that you are on top of things.

If you are going to be traveling a lot around the city see if it is cheaper to take cabs or to maybe rent a car for your stay in the area.

If you are traveling outside of the country then you need to do some more preparation. Get to know the basic culture of where you are going. No matter what you do and where you are going, the first and most important thing is to list all of your needs and then make sure that all of them will be covered before you leave for your trip.

Expenses

This is one of the biggest parts of the preparation time for a business trip and it is very important to know how to handle your expenses, because that is what your employers will not only expect of you, but also appreciate if you do well. Usually, the company pays for all expenses related to your business trip, like conference registration, hotel, airfare, rental car, and meals.

How it usually works is that you will charge everything to your personal credit card, and then the company accountants will be given the receipts and you will be reimbursed when you get back. Just keep in mind that you will probably be using your own credit card, so plan accordingly. Don’t stay in a five star hotel and go out to fancy restaurants every night. You must act respectably and logically in these circumstances so that the company sees that you are responsible. If you are, then there will be more business trips in store for you.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 836