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As we enter the new millennium, more and more virtual businesses will appear.  That means they won’t have a definitive location where people gather to work.  A virtual business is a network of people in different locations, with particular roles in a temporary or evolving organization.  People conduct business by phone, fax and the Internet.  Only rarely do they meet face to face.

Although there are new rules for organizing and managing these
businesses, like all other business, they're based on relationships. In
fact, the relationships, with legal back-up, are what holds the
organization together. Whether you’re already well established or just
getting started, you need others to help you reach your goals.

Before you start forming your organization, you should refine and define
your business vision -- in writing.  Be clear about what you want
to accomplish.  What will it take to accomplish your vision?
Create a tentative organization table and see which skills and
contacts you need. Then, see what relationships you have that might fit
into that organization. Chances are you already have more than you
think. Consider relationships from business, personal, former
employment or the Web.  Review school, industry organization or other business connections. Try to find individuals you already know in some
way who might have strong qualities you need.  Identifying, nurturing and taking constructive advantage of these key relationships will be critical to getting from your idea to action.

Maybe you’ve kept in loose communication with a former superior.  Take a look at that and see why you’ve kept the relationship alive.  There's probably a reason that could be related to your vision.  Don’t dismiss a
relationship because it doesn’t immediately connect to your vision.
Evaluate the abilities, interests, personal drive and integrity of the
individual. This could be a chance for that person to create a new
direction for themselves; they might welcome your approach.

Make a list of these people and see where they might fit in your
organization.  Give each one a preliminary title based on their
contribution to your vision.  Prepare a written outline of your vision
and some ideas about how it might be accomplished together with preliminary financial projections.

Contact each one and set a time to meet with them by phone, chat or
even in person. Listen to their feedback on your idea. Make sure they
understand you’re just exploring at this point--nothing is definite. If
they become as excited as you, there’s a good chance this person will
fit into your plan.  If they seem cool to your idea or if anything seems to
bog down, don’t become discouraged.  This might not be the right
individual. Approach others you’ve identified.  Only if you sense
there’s a major flaw in your premise should you consider dropping your
plan.

After getting a verbal commitment from existing relationships, see where
you need to fill in the gaps.  Define each job to be done and who’ll do
each one.  Identify those jobs that still need to be filled.  Include
yourself and anyone else already on your management team.

Set a time to teleconference or chat.  Be open to ideas that come up, but
don’t jeopardize your original vision.  Decide and document what you
want to do and who'll do it.  Work through any disagreements until you
come up with a solution that everyone agrees with.  If that doesn’t
happen at this point, reassess your team.  There could be someone who is not  right for this group.  It’s your decision, and this early point is a good place to set the mode for future decision making.

These early team members become the beginning of your organization table and your advisory board.  This is also the beginning of
your foundation for growth.  Put everything in writing and be sure to
include a statement about your final decision-making power in all
things.  Outline the authority and responsibility for each participant.
Have each fill in the details for their area, sign and return to you.
This is a good idea even for those who may already a part of your
organization.  Summarize and share all plans with team members.  Everyone needs to know what everyone else will be doing.

Your team’s first assignment will be to identify relationships within
their network that might produce candidates for the open jobs.
Communicate individually and jointly with team members to develop a
final business plan.  Now you’re well on your way to the threshold of
action.  Prior to this, it’s all been sharing of ideas, discrimination
and documentation.

Approach getting to this point by setting a target date for yourself and
create a weekly outline.  It might take as little as a couple of weeks or it could take several months.  Chances are if you put it into your written weekly plan, you’ll get there much faster.

The big secret here is to provide some clear structure to an unstructured
situation.  Remember, you are the leader and must offer guidance and support.  It's a great way to create or test new business ideas without a huge expense but it does require attention and good management to succeed.

Cyber business is not a passing fad.  Learning the art and skill of creating and conducting it will likely become a business requirement as the millennium unfolds.
 
 

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