BUSINESS TRIP ABROAD Essential Things You Need For Your Business Trip Abroad Even though fying around the world or visitng the contnent on business might sound glamorous, it can be quite a demanding and disruptve experience. From checking-in and going through security at the airport to hiring a rental car and living out of a suitcase, there are several things a seasoned business traveller doesnt look forward to. At the same tme, you need to remain focused on why youre out of the ofce in the frst place. Along with atending important meetngs or product presentatons, youll need to remain civilised and courteous around clients, which can be difcult if youre jet lagged or feeling tred. Here are a few ideas that can help you stay calm, stay focussed and be the best you can with your clients while hopefully enjoying the trip, too. Documentation - As well as your passport and drivers license, youll also need to remember travel itneraries, accommodaton reservatons, health insurance documents and emergency contact informaton. These can usually be found on your phone or tablet, but paper copies are always a good idea. So make sure you have plenty of printer accessories and supplies to rely on. Cards and money Credit and debit cards are perfect for business trips, as they are quick, convenient, provide buyer protecton and can be used almost anywhere. Whats more, if you need to submit expenses, receipts and records can usually be found online too. Although money isnt quite as fexible, cold hard cash is the only viable payment method in certain situatons, so always have some Euros or Dollars in your possession. Mini-first aid kit You never know what might happen when youre away from home, so having a supply of painkillers, plasters and other important medical items is highly recommended. Tissues, wet wipes and even toilet roll never go a miss either. Toiletries and clothing There is a good chance your hotel will stock various toiletries, but having your own supply is imperatve if youre travelling around a lot. As for clothes, smart and formal items are obviously needed for work, but afer a busy day youll appreciate some more comfortable atre. Depending on your job or type of business, you might need some protectve clothing too. Travel accessories A stressful or uncomfortable journey can seriously afect your mood and has the potental to ruin any business trip. Therefore, it might be a good ideal to take some travel accessories such as a neck pillow or ear plugs to make the journey as pleasant as possible. Hopefully, youll arrive at your destnaton relaxed and at ease. Essential items Electrical items Smartphone It is difcult to imagine life without smartphones, as we rely so heavily on them for both work and personal life. Numerous navigaton and translaton apps are bound to come in handy for fnding your way around a foreign country, but accessories including protectve cases and car chargers will be extremely useful too. Tablet or laptop Even though laptop bags and trolleys make it easier to carry these machines around, more and more people are using tablets in the working environment too. Along with productvity apps, Bluetooth keyboards and other accessories make tablets incredibly functonal devices. Headphones Great for the journey as well as in the ofce, headphones are another business trip essental. Both padded headsets and in-ear headphones enable you to relax and unwind or have important conversatons without interrupton. Plug adapter One of the most important and indispensible items when youre away from home is also one of the most forgoten too. Thankfully, travel plug adaptors are very cheap and can be used tme and tme again. Nearly every European country has the same kind of socket and while US and Australian plugs are diferent, the same adapter can be used. Additional power The problem with our favourite handheld devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and digital cameras is that the bateries dont last forever and will need charging every now and again. Therefore, items that give your smartphone additonal power or an extra supply of bateries are ofen invaluable. Work items Stationery Although we are surrounded by a multtude of electronic devices that make working life a lot easier and efcient, some good old-fashioned statonery always comes in handy. Therefore, always have a pen and paper close-by as well as a diary or personal organiser too. Remember that smartphones cant always be used while travelling and the batery can run out before you know it. Storage devices From USB fash drives to SD memory cards, you can never have enough storage devices. Backing up important data and documents is crucial, as you never know what could happen to your laptop, tablet or desktop machine. If youd rather be safe than sorry, you can always create an additonal back up in the cloud too. Presentation equipment First impressions count and if youve got to make an important presentaton, your audience might not appreciate it when technology lets you down. Therefore, be sure youve got appropriate presentaton accessories and equipment that you can rely on. Equipment security Even if youre travelling to see a trusted client or an internal department located abroad, security should always be a prime concern. Not only is an expensive asset at stake, so too are irreplaceable or even sensitve documents and data. Therefore, consider taking some computer security equipment with you for protecton against regretable incidents. Camera If youve got enough tme on your hands, there may be a chance to take some pictures of the local tourist atractons and landmarks. But utlising your photography skills in the ofce or working environment can be very benefcial when you get back home. Therefore, think about taking a camera with you as well. Business trip essentials summary Obviously every trip is diferent but in a straw poll of the people in our ofce that regularly travel abroad, we found that 90% of the above was necessary for most trips. However if you want to save money on your trips, cutng out the bulky items (such as DSLR cameras) might help. The key is to pack everything you might need and the easiest way to do this is to make a list of each meetng you have and maybe run through each one with a colleague before you go. Put all fles and presentatons on removable media (such as a USB stck) and also save to a cloud storage device like DropBox. If possible, also print presentatons. Being well prepared is the key to a stress-free trip and it also means you may well get more tme to enjoy a bit of down-tme, too!