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7 Entrepreneur Travel Hacks That Can Maximize Productivity Having an organized system in place can take the anxiety away, and make your trips more enjoyable.

By Vinil Ramdev

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Travel is ingrained in an entrepreneur's DNA. Whether they are off to speak at a conference, pitching venture capitalists, or meeting with part of the team that telecommutes, at least some amount of travel is expected. Corporate executives and bootstrapping entrepreneurs alike keep an eye out for travel hacks that make their trips more comfortable and productive.

Jac White, CEO of Savoteur, a global digital travel magazine that relies on an influencer network of 200 people in over 60 cities and six continents shared some of her favorite business travel hacks.

Invest in Global Entry

"Global Entry gives you TSA pre-check for all domestic flights and lets you bypass customs on your way back into the states," says White. No shoes, no computer or liquid removal, and a shorter line means skipping these extensive TSA lines to save time.

"I've been saved by TSA pre-check so many times - if I'm running late to the airport or there is an unexpected delay, having a shorter security line is a time saver that let's me get to the gate on time."

Waiting in these marathon lines is not time you can be on your computer, but you can be on the phone with a headset.

"I'm often on the phone with my mom or sisters while waiting in line. Catching up with my family before I hit the road," says White.

Prepare Properly

"I always travel with a carry-on that rolls. I don't want to be stuck waiting for luggage and can't carry a huge bag through the airport. I have a trusty Ramowa and have just started using a BlueSmart."

White says she usually picks a color theme so all of her clothes can be mixed and matched on the road. This means packing fewer shoes, and more options for outfits, all the while saving space in her bag.

"I also have a dopp kit packed at all times with it's own toothbrush, hairbrush, toiletries - basically a duplicate of what I use at home. This way, I never spend time packing and unpacking toiletries. If something is empty, pick it up at the airport or when you get to your destination. You can almost always find shampoo and toothpaste wherever you're going," explains White.

Network

White recommends finding co-working spaces to be industrious while also creating connections. "In almost any city, I get out of the hotel and pop-in between meetings. There is wifi, coffee, printers and scanners for you to use."

Among other things, it's also important to experience local culture, and have some fun. Some people even pick up souvenirs as a memory of the places they visited.

Read or listen

White, like many of us, also receives many monthly magazine subscriptions, but does not have a lot of time to read them cover-to-cover.

"I'll tear out articles that I want to read and bring them with me when I travel. The time between boarding a flight and getting to use your computer is the perfect time to get a couple of articles read. Same thing with landings, then, I can either toss or keep the articles, but don't have the bulk of carrying a bunch of magazines with me."

With hundreds of thousands of books available to listen to, White is also a huge audiobook fan.

"I love the Bose in-bud noise canceling headphones. It took my husband a while to get me to adopt them, but they are a lifesaver on planes," exclaims White. For overnight flights or when a cat nap is in order, the noise canceling option helps tune out the hustle.

Get creative

While it's more common to telecommute than ever before, how do you build a company culture when you are not all in the same room? "Travel," says White. "It's important to get teams together at least a couple of times a year to meet in person, have fun, and build relationships. When we're not meeting in person, we use communication and productivity tools like Slack, Asana, and Basecamp. These allow all of us to contribute and see what everyone is working on - even from remote distances."

Credit where Credit is due

"I travel internationally quite a bit so my favorite credit cards are Chase Preferred Sapphire and American Express Platinum. Both offer no foreign exchange fees and nice points systems. When I call Chase Sapphire, I always get a live human right away who knows my name based on the phone I'm calling from."

That is the last thing travelers want to deal with, so finding the right credit card company can make all the difference when you're on the go.

Load up on apps and tech

"If I'm in New York, my home city, I'll almost always use Via to get around town. It's a shared car service, super efficient and affordable. I can respond to email on my way to meetings. Sometimes I'm booking trips from my phone, so apps including HotelTonight and my airline travel apps make it super easy to book and purchase."

CWT Travel Institute found "road warriors" who take more than 20 round trips per year tend to have and use more than four travel apps. Having access to these travel apps helps save time and money.

Conclusion

Traveling on work can make some people very anxious. But having an organized system in place can take the anxiety away, and make your trips more enjoyable.

Vinil Ramdev

Entrepreneur and Business Writer

Vinil Ramdev is an entrepreneur, business writer and marketer. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Marketing in 2004. Since then, Vinil has been involved in starting and growing several businesses predominantly in retail, marketing, media, advertising and on the internet. His skill for seeing the big picture, and identifying trends and patterns have made him a sort-after consultant for companies who want to grow their business and make their products more discoverable. 

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