Virtual Business Virtually Unstoppable - Businesses For Sale
Posted by Kipp Krukowski on Sun, May 22, 2011 @ 02:10 AM
The Internet is credited for opening the floodgates to business opportunities that were never even dreamed of just a few short years ago. A “place” to do business is now irrelevant as long as you can get connected to customers. Many virtual business owners work from the home, but anyplace you can connect to the internet or get a signal on your cell phone can qualify as a virtual office. But what happens when you have a virtual business for sale? Will your virtual business command a premium price because it is a virtual business?
To get a better understanding of a virtual business, here is an example of a virtual business that is for sale in Pittsburgh. The owner lives in Pittsburgh but the buyer can be anywhere because it is a virtual business. Baseball Sports Agency For Sale. The assets in the business are the contracts and established relationships that the owner has developed in the virtual business.
When you sell a business, you transfer the assets, inventory, customers, systems and procedures to the new owner. There may be a building to buy or lease with the business. In a virtual business, there are usually less tangible items being sold and more intangible items like trademarks, websites, customer lists, software and telephone numbers. Yes, these are things that are the heart and soul of a virtual business.
Virtual businesses today are commonplace. Why go to a bookstore when you can purchase books cheaper online. Zappos has made buying shoes online the way to go. Netfix has reinvented the DVD rental business. The industries supporting virtual businesses are doing well. A perfect case in point is eBay. You could almost say eBay is built on serving virtual businesses.
EBay provides a marketplace for 750,000 businesses that sell online, the majority of which are virtual businesses or home-based businesses. Its PayPal unit enables countless businesses to operate virtually by streamlining their accounts payables and receivables, and even their eCommerce functions. For instance, with PayPal you can purchase needed business services and goods electronically, and issue invoices and get paid for them completely electronically. You also can use PayPal as a plug-and-play shopping cart for processing online eCommerce transactions. And Skype, also owned by eBay, allows virtual business team members to communicate easily and for free.
The traditional concept of employment is also changing with the virtual business concept. Independent contractors have replaced the traditional employees in many companies. High unemployment and an army of disgruntled employees allow companies to get work done with contractors and staffing companies. Virtual companies staffed with contract employees may seem like science fiction, but this is all part of the brave new business world of today. A concern is that when you sell a virtual business with contract employee’s, there’s a risk that these employees leave the business and may even become competitors of the new owner.
Virtual businesses often use a shared office facility to have a physical location to meet customers and conduct business. This is a smart new alternative to traditional offices and executive suites that combines the benefits of physical office space with the flexibility of virtual office solutions. The owner of a virtual business can work from home, out on the road, or wherever else their businesses take them while promoting a polished, professional image of themselves and their businesses.
The shared office facility may provide a full spectrum of address and mail services. Office and conference rooms are available for rent by the hour, day, week or a long term lease. The professional telephone answering service provides business men and women with a dedicated phone line with voice mail and a receptionist to answer and screen their calls. Calls can be seamlessly connected to customers putting them "in the office" wherever they are.
The strategic advantage of a virtual business will create demand for this growing business sector. Pricing and business valuation of a virtual business for sale may require business buyers and business sellers to challenge traditional methods and establish a new set of guidelines for virtual businesses. Business buyers will adapt to the notion that many businesses for sale have a virtual business address.
Written by: Jeff Young, Business Intermediary, Confidential Business Sale, Inc.
