Technology & Internet
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Build Your Virtual Business

In this age of instant communications and Web-based business services,
there’s more than one way to start and build a business.  If your budget and
time are limited, and potential partners or co-workers are widely dispersed, a
good model to consider is to operate as a “virtual business” where most of the
business structure exists online.  

The virtual business movement has transformed how millions of small,
successful firms operate in America. Under the virtual model, business
owners outsource nearly everything—including people and partners who may
be anywhere—to create their company. The technologies and Web-based
services to tie it all together are becoming more sophisticated, but less
expensive all the time, helping fuel the move to virtual existence.

But while the absence of a traditional office might change how you manage
your business and the people who work for you, it doesn’t eliminate the need
for doing so effectively. Staying connected and working in unison are vital to
virtual success. Cell phones, e-mail, follow-me-anywhere messaging and
shared workspaces on the Web can keep it all running smoothly.

With people interacting only electronically from remote locations and little if
any face-to-face contact, you will need to make an extra effort to foster trust
and bonding between individuals involved. Talk by phone, use Web
conferencing and try to meet in person on occasion.

Leverage the strengths that a virtual business affords, including flexibility, such
as offer short turnaround, low overhead to keep costs lower than the
competition; and competence by touting the credentials of your virtual partners.


The Microsoft Small Business Center at www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness is
a portal site that offers nearly everything you’ll need to get up and running.  
This site, previously known as bCentral, has been reinvented as a suite of
small business tools and services such as Web marketing, payment
processing, online catalog creation, shopping cart, list building, banner ads
and search engine submission.

Intranets.com and HotOffice.com both specialize in offering virtual small
businesses Web space and handy tools to communicate, collaborate and get
things done, while Yahoo Small Business, http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com,
and BigStep.com offer an extensive lineup of tools and services to help
establish a virtual retail business quickly and inexpensively.

Whether you operate virtually or in the bricks-and-mortar world, the small
business experts at SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" can
help. SCORE is a nonprofit organization of more than 10,500 volunteer
business counselors who provide free, confidential business counseling and
training workshops to small business owners. Go to www.scoredm.org on the
web or call (515) 284-4760 between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M.
Monday through Friday.