Yes, we began as a distributed team.

Remote work is essential to our business model. Remote workers make up a sizeable chunk of our customers.

One of the greatest benefits of a remote workforce is workspace freedom. Our employees have the flexibility to do work on their terms, which enables creativity, workplace satisfaction, and exploration. That type of flexibility means our team can travel, learn new things, and develop a strong work-life balance. And, remote work is integral to our company culture.

We live the #LiquidLife. We exemplify the product we want to create, working from the inventory on our platform.

New hires must be self-starters. To be successful at LiquidSpace, employees must set and achieve their own initiatives.

We go through multiple rounds of video interviews, often with test projects incorporated into the hiring process. Because we work remotely and all of our meetings are video calls, this process accurately represents our day-to-day work style.

We’re transparent about our remote culture. For me, and for a lot of our employees, the workspace freedom we get at LiquidSpace is a huge draw. Lots of our employees are parents, for example, so workspace freedom is extremely useful. Having the opportunity to work where we want and when we want enables everyone to focus on everything that’s important to them, not just work.

We organize retreats and offsites about once per quarter. A couple tips: choose a great venue for your company retreat and, of course, use the time to communicate and listen.

For team members who work close to one another or in the same city, we usually meet up about once a week. When we bring on new and exciting inventory, we often go cowork out of it as a team. That way we can get a feel for the new space and develop some team camaraderie. Plus we can answer any questions the new venue has while we’re there and start building up our relationship with the venue.

Communication is key to building strong remote work relationships. So is company culture. Whenever we get the chance, our employees cowork together. That gives us the opportunity to explore new inventory and bond. With a bunch of employees living around the SF Bay Area, a handful in and around Minneapolis, and some in NYC, we balance remote work with working together to cultivate teamwork and success.

It can be tough to make sure everyone, across departments, is on the same page about the big picture initiatives in the company. We resolve this issue by having all-company meetings, training sessions, and weekly sprint reviews.

Every once in awhile, we send treats to all our employees. These can include snacks, wine, team hats, and more. And we’re always sending out kudos to our top performers via Slack, making sure our whole team—no matter where they are in the world—gets credit where credit is due.

Our company provides all the necessary equipment for our employees. Plus, everyone at LiquidSpace gets a stipend for booking workspace through LiquidSpace and the LiquidSpace app.

We’re a results-driven company, and we have a flexible time-off policy. We technically offer unlimited vacation days because we know the importance of work-life balance to individual success.

Remote work was natural for us. As we continue to grow our available workspace inventory we can work from more places in the world. We have office options across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, so our team can work around the globe all within the LiquidSpace network.

Of course a remote company can have a healthy company culture. In fact, we think remote work positively contributes to company culture.

If you’re thinking about remote work, consider all your options. Coworking centers are super trendy, but may not be the best fit for every company. There are plenty of other flexible, remote work options to accommodate every size and type of team. Your company might benefit the most from renting extra desks from private businesses and other startups in your industry.

It can sometimes be difficult to accommodate for varying time zones and work schedules within the company. Lots of our employees work as they travel, so there can be hours of separation between us. But when we plan and communicate appropriately, we can mitigate these issues.

We’re always on Slack and we take all of our video calls and team meetings through Zoom. We also use the Google Docs suite to collaborate on projects.

I take opportunities as they come and try to balance priority initiatives with “low-hanging fruit.” Because I’m a remote worker and I work flexibly, I don’t limit myself to a 9-to-5 lifestyle. I find that taking a more flexible approach to work enables me to see the bigger LiquidSpace picture.

“A .300 hitter, that rarest of breeds these days, goes through life with the certainty that he will fail at his job seven out of ten times.” —Ted Williams

I understand that everything I try to accomplish won’t work. I understand that only a small percentage of initiatives will be “home run initiatives.” And I also understand that the more swings I take, the better my chances are of hitting one out of the park, so to speak. In a fast-moving company like LiquidSpace, knowing that most things won’t work gives me the confidence to swing for the fences.