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By Daniel Kehrer |
Vital Help for Virtual Ventures Helps Business Owners
Cut Costs, Stay Connected
Dear BizBest: For months I’ve been fine-tuning plans for my new business. Considering available funds, time and talent, the model most likely to work is to operate as a “virtual business.” Where can I find support services for a virtual venture? – Virtual Biz
Dear Virtual Biz: The virtual biz phenomenon is transforming how millions of small, successful firms operate in America. Under the virtual model, business owners outsource nearly everything – including people and partners – to create their company.
The technologies and services that tie it all together are becoming more sophisticated and less expensive all the time, helping fuel the move to virtual existence.
After eight years working for other public relations agencies, John Jordan launched his own Washington, D.C.-based firm, Principor Communications, as a virtual organization in 2002. His main reason: To kill the high cost of office space and everything associated with it. His biggest savings, however, have been on labor.
But while the absence of a traditional office might change how you manage people, it doesn’t eliminate the need for doing so effectively, Jordan said.
Andy Bourland and Ann Handley founded the Internet publishing firm ClickZ in 1997 as a virtual business operating from two spare bedrooms. The firm started with a few barter deals and a low-balance credit card but reached $3 million in revenues.
Bourland said the real challenge was not turning a profit, but rather staying in touch, and the partners found the virtual model inefficient.
These resources specialize in providing solutions for virtual companies.
| • | Intranets.com and HotOffice.com both specialize in offering virtual small businesses Web space and handy tools to communicate, collaborate and get things done. BizBest ActionGuide: Visit each site for product demonstrations, free trials, pricing and info. |
| • | Microsoft Small Business Center (MSBC) is a portal site that offers nearly everything you’ll need as a virtual business to get up and running – all in one place and at low cost. BizBest ActionGuide: Visit www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness. |
| • | Yahoo Small Business (smallbusiness.yahoo.com) and BigStep (www.bigstep.com) both offer an extensive lineup of tools and services to help establish a virtual retail business quickly and inexpensively on the Web. |
Daniel Kehrer – whose column runs every Tuesday on the Small Business page – is the editor of BizBest (www.bizbest.com), which rates and analyzes small business resources and publishes ad-free solutions directories.
© 2004 Principor Communications