Continued from page 1
•Authority - Do they have authority - that is, do they have organizational power to make decision to buy your service or product, and, this is separate from having budget itself.
Step 7: Give serious thought and consideration to your budgetary constraints, projected expenses, expected income and how long you can "float" until your business is generating income on its own; work on developing your online (virtual) presence; purchase domain name(s).
Step 8: Develop a business plan, action plan or plan of action and review it often to manage company growth.
Step 9: Get all legal and financial areas in order prior to securing your first contract or client; examine your equipment, software and virtual office space for maximum productivity.
Step 10: Market your service(s) or product(s) at every opportunity; work on establishing yourself as an industry expert; start your marketing efforts locally.
After launching your virtual business, consider joining one to two professional organizations, they can be local and/or virtual, doing so will give you opportunity to network, build camaraderie, self confidence, and a personal support network.
Victoria Parham is the president and chief technology officer for VSSCyberOffice.com, a forerunner in the virtual support services industry, an advocate of portable careers for trailing spouses and family members. Its web-based Virtual Business Owners Training Program(tm), the first Virtual Careers program for Department of Defense ID Cardholders, is available and accessible at military bases around the world.