Tuesday, June 1, 2010

How Can a Virtual Business Help Me Survive the Recession?

How Can a Virtual Business Help Me Survive the Recession?

Another question I get all the time is “How Can a Virtual Business Help Me Survive the Recession?"

Unemployment is not letting up, businesses are not hiring. The best way to survive the recession is to take advantage of the economic turmoil and start a business. Not just any business but a virtual business.

The benefits of a virtual business are endless. To mention a few:

  1. Low cost to entry
  2. Speed to market
  3. You can work from home
  4. You can run your business remotely
  5. You can hire virtual employees

Therefore the answer is, start a virtual business!

According to Entrepreneur.com, these are the 10 hottest trends to watch for 2010.  Not all of them can be set up as 100% percent virtual businesses, but their entire back-office operations can. 

Here is the list:

  1. Economic Turmoil:  Results from Challenger, Gray & Christmas' job market index revealed that 8.7 percent of job seekers gained employment by starting their own businesses in second quarter 2009
     
  2. Green Power:  Thanks to government incentives and changing public sentiment, clean energy is the most popular kid on the green movement block. The stimulus plan poured billions into renewable energy.
     
  3. The Senior Market:  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the aging-services industry composed of home healthcare, elderly and disabled services and community care facilities for the elderly make up three of the top 10 industries with the fastest employment growth.
     
  4. Discount Retail:  In 2009, secondhand shops increased revenue by $223.3 million, according to Ibis World.
     
  5. Local Businesses:  Demand is exploding for locally grown and made a product--which means more support for mom-and-pop stores. The dividend: For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 comes back to the community. Only $43 re-circulates from national chain stores
     
  6. Education:  Huge numbers of people are going back to school--ducking the bad economy, retraining for new jobs, even reinventing themselves completely
     
  7. Parental Outsourcing:  Taking care of the kids, scrubbing the toilets, checking in on Mom, helping with homework, coaching Little League--more people than ever are paying professionals to do their domestic chores.  The trend even has a name: Parental outsourcing.
     
  8. Health and Wellness:  Home care was the No. 1 growing industry from 2004 to 2009, averaging yearly increases of more than 7 percent, according to Ibis World. In-home care already employs a staggering 1.33 million people, and revenue is expected to grow beyond $72 billion by 2011.
     
  9. Texas:  Texas dominated 2009's lists of best relocation destinations, home-building markets and job-creation cities. This very magazine also named Austin one of its own Best Cities for Small Businesses.
     
  10. Affordable Alcohol:  The alcoholic beverage industry has been growing steadily for the past three years and is expected to reach a record $455 billion in 2009

You can see an example of a real sustainable, successful virtual business (100% virtual and paperless) at groupbenefitagency.com

Anyone can start a virtual business in minutes!  You don’t need major start up capital.  You don’t need investors.  You don’t need to risk months or years trying to break even.  You don’t even have to gamble your savings.  

Visit Virtual Business Dashboard to get the “20 Insider Secrets for Starting Your Own Virtual Business on a Shoestring” and a video of “The Best Business to Start in This New Economy

Just visit Virtual Business Dashboard