What Should You Bring On A Business Trip?

When packing for a business trip, is your approach “better safe than sorry?”

In order to be prepared for anything the client might ask for, do you pack everything but the kitchen sink? And, if you’re selling kitchen sinks, do you pack them too?

May we suggest the approach frequent business travelers take: “less is more.”

The key to successful business travel is determining what you truly need for the trip, and fitting those essentials into no more than your carry-on bags. Carry-on travel requires minimalism when packing and that should be kept in mind when selecting your luggage. Here are some tips:

• Stay organized with Travelpro business cases that feature an intelligently-designed business organizer in the front pocket. This allows quick access to presentation materials, as well as flash drives, power cords and other electronics.
• Take advantage of the wide variety of Travelpro luggage, like the Crew 8 20” Expandable Wide Body Rollaboard or the ExecutiveFirst Expandable Rolling Computer Brief. Choosing bags like these will enable you to carry on all meeting materials and clothing.
• If you don’t need your laptop, or have a smart phone with sufficient computing capabilities, leave your computer at home.
• Carefully consider each piece of clothing you intend to pack and whether you will truly need it. Remember that you can always wash something or send it to the dry cleaners, rather than taking a single outfit for every day you’ll be gone.
• Pack using the “bundle” method. Wrap clothes around large objects (such as bags of toiletries or pairs of shoes), rather than folding or rolling clothes. The bundle method saves the most space and also prevents wrinkling.
• On long trips and extended stays, take only the essentials with you on the plane and ship everything else to your final destination.
• Select neutral colors so your outfits are easier to match, and will require only one pair of shoes.

Checking and retrieving luggage, paying excess baggage fees, and dragging multiple bags through security checkpoints is expensive and exhausting. You’ll be far more “sorry” than “safe.”

To be at your very best, remember “less is more.” Pack less stuff, and sell more kitchen sinks.