How To Set Up A Virtual Business

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Each year thousands of people decide to form a new business, either by themselves or with a group of investors. Starting a business in healthcare, IT, or any other niche isn’t as hard as you might think. The challenge is launching one while making it profitable in your first year.

Did you know that you can set up a business in most cases without paying for the usual overheads? That means you can forgo expenses like premises, employee liability insurance, and utility bills! The way to do that is by setting up a “virtual” business.

What is a virtual business?

In a nutshell, a virtual business is where almost all operational tasks get outsourced to third parties. With such enterprises, there is also no physical premises, yet the business gives the impression that it’s bigger than it is.

More entrepreneurs set up virtual businesses each year because it saves a lot of money compared to traditional setups. What’s more, it’s an innovative way to accelerate growth in any startup business. Keeping all that in mind, how do you set up a virtual business?

1. Register your business

The first thing you need to do is make your new enterprise official. You do this by either registering yourself as self-employed or registering an incorporated business.

Of course, you’ll need a business address for your registration. Instead of using your home address, you can rent a virtual mailbox at an office block locally or in a major city.

2. Outsource your daily operations

Next, you’ll need to partner with service providers that can offer you outsourced services. The service providers you need will depend on your type of business and what you wish to sell.

For example, if you’re setting up a web design business, you may wish to outsource your graphic design while taking care of the front-end design work yourself. Some providers offer a design service subscription for ongoing work.

And if your business sells physical goods, you can outsource your warehousing needs to fulfillment providers. In some cases, you could avoid buying and storing stock by partnering with dropshipping providers.

3. Market your business

When you’ve got the fundamentals of your virtual business organized, it’s time to pay attention to getting paying customers. You can save yourself thousands by doing much of the marketing work yourself – and it’s easier than you think:

  • Google, Facebook, and Twitter make it easy to launch advertising campaigns without spending much on the cost per acquisition;
  • BirdSend enables you to quickly and easily create email marketing campaigns to existing customers;
  • Have your customers promote your brand for you by launching an enticing affiliate program.

You can also outsource your marketing if you’ve not got the time or confidence to do so. But, doing the work yourself (or setting up initial campaigns at least) will save you lots of money.

Final thoughts

Setting up a virtual business is relatively straightforward and extremely cost-effective for all startups. Plus, there’s no reason why you need to convert your business into a traditional “bricks and mortar” one as your business grows.

Good luck!

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