Barbara Findlay Schenck

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

If you plan on starting a virtual enterprise, you will need to account for a fast-changing climate in your business plan. Many observers are convinced that virtual companies will become increasingly common as advances in technology make it even easier for employees to work wherever they are. Transformative innovations will continue to yield new opportunities and new virtual business models. To take just one example, virtual reality is already making inroads in the information and entertainment sector. Chances are good that virtual reality will soon be used for hiring and training remote employees and as a tool for allowing potential customers to try out a product or service before buying it. No one — not even so-called futurists — can accurately predict where technological change will lead. But if you’re already on the cutting edge as a virtual business, it’s smart to stay as informed as you can about new breakthroughs and changing trends. Some advice: Keep an eye on business and technology news. Attend technology conferences relevant to your business, such as QCon, AppSphere, CIO, ITEXPO. Listen to your virtual team members (as remote workers, they’re often the first to hear about some cool new file-sharing or teleconferencing platform). Schedule regular sessions with key managers to review your IT operations and suggest areas for improvement.

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

Planning for your virtual business means accounting for the technological necessities. At the heart of every successful virtual company is a flexible IT network that allows employees, clients, customers, and subcontractors to interact smoothly and efficiently. Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and groupchats allow participants from around the country or around the world to connect from far-flung locations. File-sharing programs allow group members to review and edit documents, passing them back and forth through digital transmissions instead of handing them off in person. Collaboration and project management apps provide a centralized place online where all project information is stored and accessible. Supporting your virtual team with IT solutions Technology is the key to virtual business success. If you’re a small virtual company, you may be able to assemble the IT components for group communication and collaboration by yourself. Or, you can turn to a long list of readily available and often free collaboration tools and software solutions that you can stay on top of by opening your browser and searching for “virtual team collaboration tools.” Among the many options, you can find the following tools: Collaboration tools that direct group communications through a central hub, such as Slack, which is free, and Huddle Project management tools for planning, scheduling, assigning, tracking, and managing tasks through a central hub, for example, Microsoft Project, Basecamp, JIRA, and Asana Document creation, file storage, and sharing tools, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box Virtual meeting tools, for example, webEx Meetings and GoToMeeting Videocall and conferencing tools, such as Skype and Google Hangouts Realtime talk and chat tools, for example, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and HipChat, to name a few Plus, you can turn to experts for customized solutions, including companies that help artists or craftspeople build and manage retail websites, software programs designed to enable lawyers or other professionals to work virtually, and tech wizards who help you put together your own IT network. The bigger your enterprise is, the bigger your IT component is likely to be. The specific technology tools you’ll need will depend on the kind of virtual business you plan to run. Whether you’re planning a one-person business or a sprawling international company with distributed workers around the world, your business plan should specifically address the kinds of technologies you’ll use to conduct your business virtually. Using technology as a team-building resource One of the most difficult challenges for a virtual company is creating a strong sense of teamwork among employees who never lay eyes on one another. The chief complaint we’ve heard from people who didn’t like working virtually is that they felt isolated and, well, remote. Successful virtual companies find clever ways to use technology to motivate and inspire employees. One firm set up a group chat room, dubbed “The Water Cooler,” which allows remote employees to interact informally, sharing personal stories and funny videos. Another company asked employees to create online bios that combined both professional information and personal stuff like favorite hobbies and most embarrassing moments. Another encouraged remote employees to interact by creating a virtual book club and an intranet travel site that allows employees to post photos and descriptions of their vacation outings and take advantage of group discounts. Other strategies to inspire and motivate remote employees and to foster teamwork include Posting your mission statement and values statement prominently on your website and on key internal communications with employees Creating an online newsletter or blog that includes vignettes of remote employees Offering awards and contests that allow remote workers to compete against one another, either individually or in teams Holding in-person or virtual annual retreats or summits where remote employees get together — in real-life if possible and in real-time if not.

Article / Updated 07-05-2023

You need to include your remote team as part of your business plan. At the heart of the virtual business model is a radical new relationship with employees. Instead of punching a clock or showing up at the office, employees work remotely, often when they want to, and their only contact with management may be via phone, email, videocall and groupchat apps, or other project management and digital technologies. The freedom and flexibility is a strong draw for many employees and can make it easy to tap top talent. But it also requires team members with the right temperament and talents. The best people for a virtual company organization are Self-motivated Well-organized Good communicators Flexible about their working schedules Sold on the benefits of working virtually Comfortable with evolving technologies Willing to buy into the culture, mission, and goals of the business Many virtual companies conduct the hiring process virtually, evaluating and interviewing applicants without ever having a face-to-face conversation. Traditional HR folks might see that as a disadvantage. But if prospective employees will be working remotely, it can actually be an advantage to interact with them during the hiring process in the same way you’ll work with them — by email, videocall, chat rooms, and whatever other technologies you employ. Because employees in a virtual company work more independently than traditional employees, having a solid and detailed job description for each position is critically important. With a comprehensive job description in place, the job candidate will be clear about expectations. Having a detailed job description also provides the basis for reviewing an employee’s performance.

Article / Updated 06-28-2023

Calling in the professionals to help advertise your small business is often the smart choice. But whether to call on marketing professionals at all depends on many factors, including what you’re trying to accomplish, the audience you’re targeting, the talent available within your company, the size and scope of the effort you’re about to undertake, and the communications tools you need to create. When to bring in small business marketing experts Sometimes, especially with lower-budget or short-life materials, the help you need may be available through print shops, media outlets, or online resources. Seeking outside help is like most business investments — you can’t afford to dive in too soon or wait too long. Here’s when to bring in the pros: When you’re creating a long-life marketing piece. If you’re creating a logo, ad campaign, website, or any other major marketing piece that will represent your business for years to come, invest in professional assistance if you’re not certain that your own talents are up to the task. When doing your own marketing takes you or your staff away from more profitable activities. Focus on doing what you do best and contract with marketing professionals to do what they do best. When the budget for a single marketing effort exceeds $10,000. If you’re putting significant dollars behind a marketing effort, don’t risk your investment by trying to do it yourself unless you’re certain of your capabilities. When your annual budget for marketing communications reaches $50,000. Don’t wait until you reach this spending level to call on pros for help in creating important brand and marketing materials. When your budget for brochures, advertising, web presence, direct mail, and other outreach efforts reaches a mid-five-figure total, it’s time to form a creative partnership with an advertising agency or a marketing firm that can help you direct your dollars into a strong message and image for your company. Who to call for help with small business marketing When you’re ready to call in the pros, here are some resources you may need: A copywriter writes ad headlines and text — called copy in print communications, content online, and scripts in broadcast communications. Good copywriters know how to write simply, clearly, and directly to target prospects, using a single-minded approach to grab and hold attention and to achieve the ad objective. A designer — also called a graphic artist — arranges headlines, text, and art elements so they’re visually appealing, using a layout that draws the viewer’s eye to the correct starting point before guiding it with effortless movement through the ad. A producer is necessary if you’re creating a broadcast ad, a video, or a multimedia presentation. The difference in quality and impact between do-it-yourself and professional productions is big and identifiable. Broadcast stations and cable companies can produce ads, but in return for their low production costs, you often have to supply your own creativity. If you’re not up to the task, you’ll likely end up with an ad that looks unremarkably like all other station-produced creations. A web designer adds talent and expertise to the development of website visuals, content, and navigation. Ideally, choose someone who’s both a web designer involved with the visual aspects of a site and a web developer involved with the necessary coding. The result: someone who can design a site that’s aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, and efficient for your business. An agency or marketing firm handles entire campaigns, from strategic and concept development through design, copywriting, production management, and implementation of printing, advertising, and digital communications. Agencies have teams of professionals they can assign to your job, along with systems to handle multifaceted tasks. They also serve as brokers — screening, selecting, and managing marketing specialists for you. Most assign a liaison, usually called an account executive, to serve as your primary contact and the person who holds the agency team members accountable on your behalf. The management function comes at a price, which is why most businesses don’t hire an agency until their budgets are large enough to warrant management fees in addition to design, production, and media charges. Until that time, small businesses often turn to marketing consultants to provide strategic planning and program management on a more limited-budget basis. What kind of small business marketing expertise to hire Many small business marketers call on the talent of staff members or rely on vendor, media, or online resources as they produce low-budget marketing materials without investing in professional expertise. (Conduct web searches for “online logos” or “online brochures,” for example, to find useful sites.) Others hire professionals on a per-job basis to create more customized and professionally produced material. Usually referred to as freelancers, these experts work for a number of clients at a time. They usually perform tasks under work-for-hire agreements stipulating that copyright ownership of work commissioned and paid for, including credit and control, belongs to the company and not the freelancer who created the work. As needs and budgets increase, businesses move up the professional-assistance ladder to hire a company that specializes not so much in projects as in campaigns or large-scale productions. Included in this category are public relations firms, web design firms, social media marketing firms, and full-service ad agencies that get involved in all aspects of developing your marketing image, message, and materials. How do you choose your approach? Follow these tips: Scale your resources to your needs. If you want a photo of a new employee to send with a news release to the local paper, you hardly need to hire a photographer who charges $1,000 a day to take the mug shot. And you don’t need to pay a public relations consultant $150 an hour to write a two-paragraph news release. Hire the level of talent that fits the task you face. If you need a single solution — say, a logo design or website development — a freelancer may be a great fit. But if your project requires management as well as creative expertise, you may be better off turning to an agency that’s set up to offer full service and to assume the coordination role.

Article / Updated 06-28-2023

You need a consistent set of policies in your virtual business’s plan. The virtue of a virtual company is that employees have tremendous freedom in their working lives. Managed well, a virtual company can be more flexible and efficient than a traditional nine-to-five, office-based enterprise. But with employees working as free agents distributed around the country — and sometimes around the world — virtual companies must establish specific standards and policies for operations and procedures, so that employees know how the business runs and what is expected of them. The specifics will depend on the kind of business you plan to run. In the area of human resources, policies range from how prospective employees are hired and trained to how and how often their performance will be reviewed. If your business involves contracts with clients or customers, you need policies in place to establish who is authorized to sign on behalf of the company. Plus, you’ll need policies for how products are produced, how and when outside supplies or services are purchased, how timelines are created and tracked, and more. The online company Etsy provides a marketplace for artists and craftspeople to sell their wares. Sellers are essentially distributed employees who create the products sold on the company’s website. Etsy’s claim to fame is that it is a marketplace for handmade or individually designed products. Recently the company came under criticism because some people were hiring others to make the products and in some cases even selling (and sometimes reselling) manufactured goods. In response, Etsy established specific standards — “Our House Rules,” the company calls them — for what constitutes “handmade” goods and manufactured products. Your business plan won’t include every standard and policy relating to how you do business. But definitely give some thought to the most important standards and policies you’ll need in place to run your operation. Those that are essential to defining your business and how it will operate should be described in your plan.

Article / Updated 04-14-2023

Leave room in your business plan for branding your virtual enterprise. Your brand is the set of beliefs that people associate with your business name. It mirrors the overall image and tone of your company, your employees, your product, and your customer service. Branding is reflected through everything from your name and logo to your business offerings to how product manuals are written and how employees interact with customers. Branding requires consistency in message, tone, interactions, and the promise you make and keep with customers. And branding can be a challenge in a virtual enterprise, with far-flung employees operating independently. To insure consistency across all areas of your operation: Draft a clear and concise brand statement and communicate it to everyone. Design a logo and establish exactly where and how it should appear. Create stationery, business cards, and a format for the block of text used in email signatures and make sure all virtual team members know to use them in any official business communications to project a consistent company look. Establish style guidelines for all formal written communications. (Search online for “brand style guidelines” for plenty of examples.) Consider hiring an editor who oversees all official company documents, from instruction manuals or product FAQs to marketing materials. A poorly written document reflects badly on the quality of the products or services you offer. Develop a set of customer service guidelines to establish the quality of customer interactions you expect your employees to provide. Ask your customers and clients for feedback. Follow a sale with a customer survey or telephone call, for instance, in order to get a sense of how your remote team is performing. Because branding is so important to a company’s image — and because it’s a challenge for many virtual companies — your plan should specifically describe how you intend to develop the communication consistency that’s essential to strong brand management.

Article / Updated 07-18-2022

In the same way that your brand name is the key that unlocks your brand image in the mind of consumers, your domain name (the string of characters web users type into a browser to reach your site, such as www.yourbrandname.com), and your social-media handles or monikers are the keys that unlock your brand online. Ideally, your domain name is comprised of your brand name plus .com or .org, depending on whether your brand represents a commercial business or a nonprofit organization. The Internet is populated with millions of websites accessed by domain names that tie up most of the words in the English language. Beyond that, cyber-squatters camp on attractive unclaimed domain names, registering and tying them up until someone pays what can feel like a ransom to free them for use. Landing on your website’s domain name By a mile, making your brand name the centerpiece of your domain name is the quickest route to establishing your online identity, and here’s why: A good portion of web traffic takes the form of type-in traffic, a term that describes users who bypass search engines and simply type the name of the company they’re looking for, followed by .com, in the address bar of the web browser. If you’re developing a new brand, don’t settle on a brand name until you’ve checked it out at a domain name registry to confirm it’s available as a domain name. Research availability on registry sites like GoDaddy.com, NameCheap.com, or NetworkSolutions.com. To shortcut the process, avoid choosing a brand name that’s straight out of the dictionary. You can preempt a ton of frustration by coining a word that you can use in both your brand and domain names. Microsoft, DreamWorks, Netflix, and Firefox are just a few examples. If your brand name isn’t available as a domain name, try these Plan B approaches: Come up with a tagline or slogan that becomes a major part of your brand identity and the basis for your domain name. For example, type in www.justdoit.com and you land on the Nike site. Look into purchasing your top-choice domain name from its current owner. This process can be costly and time-consuming, but if you plan to build a valuable brand, it can be worth the investment. Domain name advice As you plan your domain name, consider the following points: Keep your domain name short and easy to remember. Some of the best-known web addresses provide good examples: www.ebay.com, www.google.com, www.yahoo.com. If your brand name plus .com or .org is taken, don’t try to end-run the system by using your brand name plus .net. If web users instinctively type .com, they’ll go straight to someone else’s site. Don’t get clever by adding hyphens or making unusual alterations to your brand name. For instance, a domain name like www.cookeezncream.com may be available, but the chances that most users will remember and instinctively type it correctly are slim. Don’t invent an abbreviation for a long brand name unless you’re sure it will be easy to memorize and recall. For example, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau can be reached by typing www.hvcb.org, but they don’t ask you to remember the lineup of initials. Instead, they market the domain name www.gohawaii.com, which offers an easy-to-recall address. Think globally. If your business plan calls for international presence, register your name with international codes to specify your global offices. Registering your domain name When you find the domain name you want, register it immediately. Most registration services charge somewhere between $25 and $75 for a three-year period of domain name ownership. When registering your name, consider this advice: The first domain name you need to register is your site name, as in www.yourbrandname.com. Consider also registering your site with various extensions, such as .net, .org, .info, or .biz so others can’t later grab the alternative addresses. You can redirect the traffic to your main address. Consider registering versions of your domain name that people are likely to type when trying to find your brand online. For example: Register your tagline as a domain name so people who forget your brand name but remember your slogan can reach your site. Register your brand name with misspellings. For instance, if you type www.googel.com, you’re redirected to www.google.com. Register additional domain names as you discover new user-error tendencies. After your website is up and running, regularly check error logs to see what kinds of mistakes people are making when trying to reach your site. Creating a multiple-domain-name strategy costs very little. You can use a process called URL redirection to point all traffic to the website that carries your primary domain name, incurring no additional site building or hosting fees. Registering your social-media name While you’re choosing and registering your domain name, register your name across social-media networks as well. When deciding how to present your name, follow this advice: Decide on a social-media moniker that’s short and memorable. If your brand name is available, use it as both your domain name and your social-media handle. Sites such as knowem.com, checkusernames.com, or namechk.com will tell you on-the-spot whether the name you want is taken on various networks. If it’s available, click to claim and protect it. If your brand name isn’t available on the social-media networks you want to use, consider this advice: Avoid adding odd hyphenation or characters that people are apt to forget or mistype. Invent a version of your name by combining your name with a word that describes or reflects your brand promise, business arena, or niche. Use one name on all networks to build brand awareness. Reserve your name on the networks you plan to use immediately.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-28-2022

The best way — make that the only way — to achieve business success is to have a solid business plan. A business plan is critical to finding a successful course through turbulent times. If you have a really great idea for making money (or doing good with a nonprofit), an effective business plan will help you make the most of it. The following can guide you through some important aspects of putting together and assessing your business plan.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-04-2022

Whatever reason you have for selling your business — finances, family, fatigue — you'll want to assemble the right group of professionals to assist you through the sale process, know which essential documents to have on hand, and understand how to value your business assets to ensure a successful sale.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

A brand is so much more than a pretty logo. To win loyal customers, you need to develop a story that represents the quality and character of your organization or product. By then telling that story consistently across all channels and backing it up with exceptional customer service, you gain all the benefits (and profits) that come from being a trusted name in the marketplace.