Interview to Lois Weinblatt

Lois Weinblatt is a Visioning coach, expert, and facilitator in True North Visionaries. You can find more about her on Linkedin.

1. How did you start working remotely? How did you make the switch?:

True North Visionaries has been growing for over nine years when I set out on my own to become a Vision consultant and leadership coach full time. I can’t imagine doing anything other than owning my own business!

2. What do you think are the main advantages of remote work?:

I am one of those people who can’t hold down a 9 to 5 working for someone else. With a Visionary heart and wild soul, I’ve been able to grow my business while growing myself. Ending up in unique places and speaking to Visionaries all over the world is what fuels my inspiration and motivation.

3. Do you think there are disadvantages or that you’re missing something by working remotely?:

I know that I’m not the best marketer, or accountant, or social media person. But I can’t ask experts within my team, I must seek out mentorship and help from other experts. This can get expensive if you’re paying for it. I tend always to find my tribe (even though I move often), where entrepreneurs can find support and expertise to share.

4. From what cities or countries have you worked since you have become remote? What are your favorite ones?:

I have spoken to audiences all over the world, including Australia, Asia, all across North America, and Europe. I absolutely loved traveling through Thailand, India, and Spain, speaking to groups along the way.

5. From what type of places do you prefer to work? Home, coworking spaces, coffee shops or others? Do you have any specific place?:

Some days, you can find me at home in a cozy sweater on the couch, typing away. Other days, I co-work with my entrepreneurial pals and find myself wandering about their houses looking for the comfiest couch or chair to get creative.

6. What places would you like to travel to while working remotely?:

I’d love to move back to Spain one day to live abroad for longer.

7. What advice would you give to overcome the main challenges of working remotely? Share your remote productivity, communication, management, etc. tips based on your experience!:

Everyone is making it up as they go along, learning what works and what doesn’t. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, take risks, and be vulnerable. You’ll be glad you took a chance on yourself.

8. What tools do you use, and are your favorites to work remotely?:

I absolutely love transcription services like Otter.ai. I use them to interview myself or another subject matter expert on a topic, record it, and break it into chunks to edit it into useable content. People always say, “write how you speak,” well now I speak in order to write!

9. How do you manage your business and taxes as a remote working professional?:

Be honest about what you don’t know and when to hire a professional. I know taxes aren’t my thing, so I hire a pro for that. For the things that are my strengths, I build them. For the things that aren’t (and don’t need to be, like accounting), I hire an expert.

10. What advice would you give to people looking to work remotely and companies making the remote switch?:

Stay in communication. Your verbal, nonverbal, and written communication skills will become that much more critical. Start practicing the fundamentals as you research what it takes to go remote.