5 Essentials for Starting Your Virtual Business

 You've decided to start your virtual business, now what? With the internet filled with enormous amounts of information about working virtually making it difficult to decide what your essentials for getting started. Through trial and error in my business and years working virtually I've narrowed down the 5 essentials for starting your Virtual Business Website Cards:

Professional Business Cards - You may be tempted to print your own to save money; however when you leave your card with someone it is what they have to remember you by..so make a lasting impression. There are numerous sites online like Vistaprint.com who offer low-cost (sometimes free) professional business cards, your local office supply store often provide business card services as well

Productivity Software- Microsoft Office seems to be leading the industry in document creation software with prices ranging near $350.00 for the Microsoft Office 2010 Professional which includes Word, PowerPoint, Access, One Note, Excel, Publisher, and Outlook. You also have the option of purchasing an older version of Microsoft Office if you are looking to keep your costs minimal during your start-up. Google does offer document creation through Google Docs but does not offer all of the formulas and functions of Microsoft Office.

Time Tracking Software- I suggest Paymo.biz the software is easy to use, allowing you to track your time for accurate billing for your hourly clients. The best part of Paymo is its FREE. There are other time tracking products out available, just be sure to choose one that is user-friendly that you're more likely to use consistently. Accurate time tracking is not only crucial for ensuring that you client invoices are correct but you want to get paid correctly for your time.

Account with a Freelance Community - Unless you have a waiting list of clients already freelance communities will be instrumental in you getting your first wave of clients. Freelance communities allow clients to post specific projects for "virtual" workers to bid on. Popular sites are Elance.com an Odesk.com with thousands of projects ranging from website design to ghost writing. Many of these companies do charge a monthly fee depending on the amount of projects you want access to but it is well worth it. There are free communities but my personal experience has been that the quality of the projects compared to the number of people bidding on the projects just aren't worth the hassle.

Creditable References - Being new to the virtual workplace potential clients will want to know about your previous working experiences. Were you reliable? Are you able to handle difficult tasks? For references do not include friends or people whom you only have social relationships with.

There are many facets to starting and operating a successful virtual business. This list is just the starting point to get you ready to take on your first client. How to get your first client is an entire ball game of its own!