Whether you run a virtual business or not, these tips will help you manage and motivate your team.

2. Encouraging your team to do their job, perform
well or even just hang in there during a difficult
Intro period is tough. It’s one of those things that are
hard to learn in a business management class. If
you run a business, virtual or otherwise, this list
is for you!

3. Money
Money is by far the easiest way to encourage
your staff. So let’s get this list out of the way
before we get to the real goodies. Remember, I
got 37 of these bad boys!

4. Give a Raise
#1 Since the dawn of time, bosses have been giving
raises. Sometimes this is due to inflation,
sometimes this is due to merit, sometimes it is
due to the guilt of the boss that you are working
too hard. It is, by far, the easiest to accomplish
but doesn’t do a whole lot to motivate people.
And it rarely keeps any motivating juice after
the check is cashed.

5. Commission
#2 Traditionally, commission is part of a salary
package but don’t let that limit your thinking. If
your dishwasher comes in with a multi-million
dollar idea that saves your company, you should
give him a commission on the idea. In my
business this means if one of my writers brings
me a new client on a plate, they typically do as
much of the client’s work as possible plus they
get a cut of the profits as a commission.

6. Buy Lunch or
Dinner
#3 As a virtual business owner this means I send out
gift certificates or a PayPal transfer. After a
really tough week, I want to buy everybody ice
cream. If we worked in a real office I could just
get some ColdStone; but a gift certificate works
and it conveys the same message.

7. Personal Touch
These are the “low-cost” options but that takes
some real effort. Unlike sending out gift
certificates, each of these points takes some
background knowledge of each team member. If
your company is more than 50 people… you
might want to delegate this to management.

8. Handwritten
Notes
#4 Go to Hallmark, buy a few packs of thank you
cards and include the card in your next payroll.
Or, just send it on a whim. This comes better at
strategic points in your employee’s life. So
instead of blasting all of them, keep the cards
at your desk and once a week (put this in your
calendar!) ask yourself who did an awesome job
and send that person a card.

9. Simply ask “How are you
doing?”
#5 Set aside the time to hear the full answer. I’m
not above making a Skype call just to check in.

10. Never, ever, ever
send out a mass
#6 “thank you” email
It’s tacky and a lot of people won’t like it.
Rather, send out individual emails. And no,
don’t use your email software to “personalize”
the names.

11. Use the language of
#7 your team members
My staff is around the country so I try to keep
my Kentucky slang to a minimum when
conversing with Michigan. You can always be
casual with team members, but don’t start text
speaking with 50-somethings. It’s offensive.

12. Find projects slightly
outside of the normal
routine but more in line
#8 with team members’
outside interests
Especially in a smaller company, there is always
something to get done – who says it has to be
the same person all the time?

13. Make a note on a
paycheck about
#9 something stellar the
person did that pay
period

14. Gives thanks to all
involved
#10 If your company had a particularly hard month
with tons of overtime, send a thank you letter
to the spouse of your team member for the
support.

15. Pass along articles or
links that would be
helpful to your team
#11 member
Note: this can be to do their job better or just
for anything. “I saw this and thought of you” is
a great thing to read.

16. Let people in on your
personal plans for them
#12 Have a team member that you want to put on
the fast track for management? Let them know
where you see them in six months and how they
can get there.

17. Research a unique
prize for each team
#13
member
Buy it when appropriate. For example, maybe
you have an endurance runner on your team:
send them runners socks or a gift certificate. Or
you have a die-hard redvsblue fan, buy them
some swank.

18. Glory
These are the ways you can encourage your team by
giving them some glory. Give them the tools to look
and feel awesome. Or, put them in a position that
they will be praised. Keep in mind that this isn’t a
great thing for all team members, so be mindful of
who you “encourage” with these:

19. Empower your team
members to “own”
projects and
#14 customer issues
This is a hallmark of Marriott management and
it is amazing. Give guidelines like, “if you can
solve the problem with $100, solve it without a
supervisor” so your team members can feel
empowered.

20. Give your team
members room to
impress you
#15 This is easier said than done in a virtual
environment. You can’t see them so you have no
idea if they are going to hit deadlines, until
they do. Give them more work then you expect
and just wait. You might find they are beyond
impressive!

21. Have a company-wide
contest for the most
#16 sales, leads,
performance, etc.
The winner gets bragging rights or a new car.
That part’s up to you.

22. Create a group contest
where the groups
#17 choose their leader
This is great on a lot of levels including gauging the
leadership skills of team members.

23. Share their goods on
social media
#18 Is someone in your office running a race for charity?
Share that on your company social platforms and give
them virtual kudos!

24. Random Act of Bonus
#19 I love this idea. If you see something or notice
something that a team member does that is great or
is simply something you would like to encourage in
other team members, give them a little bonus. Even
$50 can motivate the team and give some glory to the
recipient.

25. Document client
feedback and let the
company know which
#20 team member did a
good job
Share testimonials on your site, in your company
newsletter, anywhere.

26. Create a place for your
employees to interact
#21
with one another
An internal social network, a bulletin board, even an
employee-only newsletter.

27. Ask a team member to
do a presentation or
training on something
#22 they are awesome at
doing
Even if it isn’t 100% work-related; make sure to
promote it enough that there are plenty of visitors.

28. Invite team members
to join in the
brainstorm of
#23 company-wide projects
Who cares if it is outside their “job description?”
They can provide some great perspective.

29. Send a team member
to a convention or
#24 training
Ask them to come back and recap what they’ve
learned.

30. General Goodness
These are the things that keep all your team
members motivated. They should be implemented as
soon as possible and keep a steady morale.

31. Create company wide
rules, and keep them
#25
for everyone
…including yourself. Fairness is a hallmark of
American culture. Use it.

32. Be proactive about
holidays or other events
you know people will be
#26 wondering about
For example, if you have a holiday coming up ask
about who wants time off, etc.

33. Invite a speaker to a
company meeting to
discuss things that are
#27 important to your
team members
For example, our company has mostly freelancers as
team members, so we bring in a CPA to do a virtual
training twice a year so people know how to plan for
and do taxes. It’s not required, but it shows your
team that you care about them outside of work.

34. Have quarterly goals
and make them known
#28 to your team
You don’t have to open the books, but giving people a
snapshot of the progress can be motivating.
Especially when you emphasize how they have
impacted the good!

35. Provide resources that
help some of your team
#29 members
For example, provide childcare services or 401K
matching. This is going to drastically change company
to company, so get a pulse of their needs and then fill
them.

36. Be mindful of your
criticism
#30 Keep track of your discouraging remarks. It can’t be
all roses and bonuses but being intentional of
sprinkling compliments with your criticism keeps you
from being bossy.

37. Let people in on your
priorities
#31 If you really want to land a specific client or you
really want to get everything done in time for a
special event, let your team in on the background
chaos. Never complain to your team, but showing
them some skin never hurt.

38. Defend your team at all
#32 costs
This is huge and will help you keep morale. If your
team knows that you will always defend them (to
clients, to one another, etc), they will trust you.

39. Don’t filter feedback
#33 Okay, filter a little. If you are in a service-based
business and a client comes screaming about
something your team member did, make sure they
know the concise issues brought up. Take out the
angry words and hateful tone but if the meat of the
feedback is “X wasn’t done” or “this needs X” then
you owe it to your team member to pass that along.

40. Re-adjust based on
performance
#34 You or your managers should know the pace of your
team members. In writing, this is super easy. I can
see the amount of words coming in each day for each
writer. After I take into account the complexity level
of their assignments, I know whether they are at a
good pace. Once they slow down I investigate. Do
they just hate that assignment? If so, can I give it to
someone else? This helps morale... and your bottom
line.

41. Have a truly open door
#35
policy
In a virtual environment, this means team members
have my cell phone and Skype. For you, it could just
be having your door open. Be sure to let people know
what works for you.

42. Don’t ask your team
members to do
something you
#36 wouldn’t
Unless it is something you truly wouldn’t know how to
do based on a lack of skill.

43. Admit your limitations
#37 For me, I let my writers know that I am not a strong
bulk writer. For you, this can be anything that
overlaps you and your team’s skill set.

44. Wow! That pretty much wraps it up, huh? I love
customer service, but I love team service even more.
When you can motivate your team you are helping
Conclusion them help you. Small business development is more
than just software or technique. It’s the people you
are bringing to the next level.

45. Amie Marse
Amie Marse is the enthusiastic founder and resident dream
maker at Content Equals Money. She has been making a
fulltime income online for over six years and has loved
each and every single day of it. She launched
ContentEqualsMoney.com in October of 2010 as a natural
outgrowth of her personal content writing business. She is
constantly researching ways to increase conversions and
About business for your site!
Content Equals Money
Content Equals Money is a content writing service that
serves a wide variety of clients with top-shelf, sharable
content.
http://www.contentequalsmoney.com
info@contentequalsmoney.com