7 Questions for Barry Frangipane, Extreme Telecommuter and Author of The Venice Experiment

7 Questions for Barry Frangipane, Extreme Telecommuter and Author of The Venice Experiment 7 Questions for Barry Frangipane, Extreme Telecommuter and Author of The Venice Experiment Tired of the rat race, Barry Frangipane and his wife left the United States to experience life in Italy. While abroad, Barry was able to maintain his job with a U.S. based software company by telecommuting. As more employers are offering flexible work arrangements as benefits, it’s no surprise Barry had the option to “work from home,” but from a foreign country? In his book, The Venice Experiment, Barry discusses what he learned when he and his wife left everything behind to work and live abroad.’ CEO Sara Sutton had a chance to talk with Barry about his advice for making telecommuting (from home or anywhere!) a success, convincing the boss to say yes, finding balance, and more. Questions for Barry Frangipane: What tools allowed you to not only “work from home” but also from out of the country without missing any major events… other than the holiday party of course? It’s a pretty short list, actually. A good phone/cell phone. Fast, reliable Internet.  A scanner, VOIP, a way to receive faxes. And a quiet place to work, ideally an “office.” What lessons did you learn through trial and error while trying to work a U.S. based job out of Italy? The big-picture problems the we thought we’d have â€" adjusting to the culture and a different lifestyle, missing friends â€"  weren’t problems at all. And in fact, when we came back to the U.S., those same questions came up. So many of the lessons we learned were logistical: Keep the 8am-5pm EST schedule. Before I left, I chose not to communicate the move to clients since my hours and phone number were going to be the same, but the few who found out somewhat accidentally weren’t sure what to do with the time difference, and didn’t know when to call, so they didn’t call. When I reached out to them, they seemed a bit confused by the situation. Have a plan for mail forwarding. For us, it was to have mail sent to my parents in the States, who forwarded non-junk mail once each week, and would fax something if it was really critical. Figure out finances and cash. Direct deposit is a necessity, and other banking arrangements can be more of a challenge, so be sure to think them through. How were you able to convince your boss to let you work outside of the country? It wasn’t difficult, but it was methodical. I started working from home one day a week, then two, then five. It didn’t take too long, about a progression of about 10 weeks. A few things happened: 1) They got used to me working from home, and 2) We got the system down (scanner, fast Internet, VOIP).  Then I started attended weekly meetings from home via Skype.  After that was working smoothly and I’d proved that the concept of telecommuting worked, I talked to my boss about moving. I focused on productivity and promised that I’d be back in one year. In your book, The Venice Experiment, you detail your experiences and the obstacles you came across when working “from home” outside of the country. You also mention that you didn’t need a vacation because you were living in a favorite destination spot! How did you balance work and getting to enjoy Venice? We vacationed every weekend, and I worked 2pm â€" 11pm EST during the week, so I had half a day, every day, to explore Venice the museums, markets, etc.  Really, I led two lives! I was Venetian until noon in local cafes, discussing local issues, watching boat parades, and hanging out with with locals. I’d recommend taking a language course to learn the language. If you’re a couple, then you should both take it, even if only one is working. If you don’t, one person will be isolated.  Buy-in from both partners is crucial. Knowing the language opened so many doors for us, to experience things other than what the tourists experience. What advice can you offer to get over the hump and take the leap? SET THE DATE. You can talk about, “Oh, when this happens I’ll go,” or “I want to learn the language first” but you’ll never go. SET THE DATE, and magically things will start happening. Work your way backwards, each step is a small step, although the idea can be overwhelming. Would you do this experiment in extreme telecommuting again? Yes, and we’re talking about going to Paris this time. Do you have any regrets? Maybe coming back! A big thanks to Barry for sharing his amazing story with us. Readers, if you could telecommute from anywhere in the world, where would it be?