11 Transparency

As far a sales go, the client doesn’t need to know that you’re a virtual company. Whoever is pitching to the client pitches as a member of the firm. Meet with clients either in public places, like cafe’s and restaurants, or in the clients’ own workspace. It maximizes the convienience to the client to do this, and helps them feel more comfortable. It shouldn’t matter that the guy doing the pitch is in NYC and the lady desinging the page is in Melbourne, AU, and the front end developer is in France, and the PHP guru lives on a houseboat in Lake Erie.

Just provide a quality product and experience, and you can keep your vitrual company’s inner workings to yourself.

posted at 09:14 pm on April 27, 2007 by George Romaka

12 Virtual Watercoolers

We’ve got a core team of four supplemented by a network of subs in illustration, database management, programming.. (you get the idea). It’s worked well for us and allows us to be lean and flexible but still maintain a “physical presence” that seems to be important to some of our clients.

But what’s really made that work well is the suite of tools we use to collaborate not just on projects but on ideas, direction, studio culture – the things you’d find around the break room table or during drinks after hours that we noticed we were missing as a partially virtual team. Our favorite of those tools right is Campfire (37Signals.com), we started out using it as a brainstorming space for our team and subs, but it’s evolved into an open-all-day studio space we all log into in the morning and sign out of at night – between which discuss projects, each other’s kids, future plans, ideas and everything else under the sun all day while we’re at work in other windows.

It’s really helped our subs feel like they’ve become part of the core team, helped everybody get and stay on the same page and quick questions get resolved fast, with transcripts available to look back and check if there’s a conflict about what was said.

Great article!

posted at 07:47 pm on April 29, 2007 by Tonya Poole

13 Untitled

I recently used a company that was pretty much based on this setup – although the project worked out well the senior managers I worked for were never convinced about the professionalism of them because they didn’t have “an office”. Admittedly these were not web or tech savvy people – the company’s core business had nothing to do with the web or IT – but a lot of companies still fit that description.

posted at 06:51 pm on April 30, 2007 by Stuart Denslow

14 Staff Development

Great Article. I’m in the midst of building my own virtual company. Two observations based on my experience:

1 – Virtual works great when you have a group of people who are highly talented and self-directed. I think it’s much different to develop the talent of a virtual team. Teaching really requires face time to be done right.

2 – I think at some point you have t have some kind of “meat space” for your company. A nice office space where you can bring Clients and team members for meetings/socials and prospects for pitch presentations. Clients want to “know where to find you” and a nice office can help them feel like you are planning on “sticking around” and will take good care of their business.

posted at 09:09 pm on April 30, 2007 by Rob Landry

15 Don't we all

I think many creative professionals function in this sort of environment to one degree or another. The company I work for farms some of their work out to an agency in another state and maintain contact usually only by internet or phone. I rarely need to have face to face contact with my freelance clients, and even have a few clients whom I’ve never met in person.

posted at 09:09 pm on May 1, 2007 by Jerrol Krause

16 Successful Web Design Co. - Virtual

I’ve been running a virtual company for years now, and I actually make it part of my pitch. If you present it the right way, it’s a positive.

For example:

“Because I have less overhead, I can pass these savings onto you, Mr. Customer.”

Get it?

posted at 02:40 pm on May 2, 2007 by Web Guy Gary

17 Great Article

Thanks great article and much needed since our company is contemplating the long hallway. One concern, or maybe two, that I have is, the creative energy that happens in a room of people is almost impossible to replicate over the phone or via email etc . . . There is something to be said when everyone shares the same physical space and shares and discusses ideas freely. It seems almost impossible to have this dynamic in a virtual situation. And like another comment earlier I can see the ability to do projects in this manner but long term, strategic thinking regarding a company seems much more difficult.

posted at 04:48 pm on May 2, 2007 by Bryan Grundon

18 The Long Hallway is A Must in Todays Competitive E

Losing the ability for face to face collaboration is indeed a challenge for management, but it is trumped by the ability to access a greater depth of talent. No manner of face-to-face will make up for a team that is composed of more talented individuals.

BTW: Once again the quality of your articles is incredible.

posted at 04:30 am on May 3, 2007 by Mark Franks

19 Long Hallway Ethics

Transparency and honesty is crucial, especially when providing quotes for each creative project. There are dozens of on-line communities discussing rates for everything from logo design to Web site production openly. It takes a client five minutes to see if their own quote is somewhat realistic. Honest professionals will thrive in this virtual environment, which is very competitive. Honesty also generates many desired testimonials, inspiring present clients and establishing some credibility for new ones.

posted at 10:17 pm on May 3, 2007 by Kevin Davison

20 Works Very Well For Us

In the 80s and early 90s I worked in a Fortune 500’s cubicle farm. Since then, I’ve worked in virtual companies only and absolutely love it. You do need self-motivated partners and fairly frequent phone/email contact to keep excitement at a steady high, in my experience.

posted at 05:26 pm on May 11, 2007 by Joe Hendricks