When Ryan Malone started his digital marketing agency SmartBug Media in 2008, he didn’t bother opening an office. And as the company grew, he began to let staff work remotely. Today, Malone’s three-time Inc. 5000-ranked company, which did $8.9 million in sales in 2018, employs 81 people who work everywhere from Orange County to Halifax to Berlin.
As for an office? There isn’t one. Malone has been managing remotely–and with great success–since long before any of us knew the term shelter-in-place.
Malone has these six suggestions for those who are new to managing a team from home.
Michael Sauers is the Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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