What’s the deal with virtual business? Right now a good business owner should be doing their part to #flattenthecurve but that does not mean you need to #flattenyourbusiness

I have been running a successful virtual business for 5+ years. My business started out at 100% virtual and now is about 90% virtual. I do offer in person meets ups and events, which I think people crave and are important. BUT right now it’s just not something that is possible.

Here are 5 ways to run a successful virtual business:

  1. Offer a freemium: Give your customers and potential customers something they can use right now and offer it for free. I am currently offer many of my at home fitness programs for free as gyms are closed. Think about what you have to offer that you could giveaway as a simple video or guide for free.
  2. Create a community: You can do this on Facebook, WhatsApp or many other places. You want people to be to post pictures, video and interact. Remember, this is the only ‘human’ contact they have so make it count. This is where you can show your customers that you truly care as well. Lead with the heart.
  3. Get an online meeting tool: I recommend Zoom as I find it the most reliable. You can get the basic plan for free which allows you up to 40 mins of live time. You can also upgrade to other plans for a small fee so you can go longer, I personally have the pro plan for my everyday activities. You can run virtual classes this way by sharing your screen or simply putting yourself on video. You can even upload these videos to YouTube when you are done and list them as ‘unlisted’ so only your customers can see with the links you profile.
  4. Offer virtual office hours: I recommend using Zoom for this as well. You can have set days/times for office hours or you can set up one on one meetings. So for example if you are a nutritionist, perhaps instead of meeting your clients in person you just do it via zoom. It really does not need to be complicated, it’s just a little shift in the way you do business.
  5. BE POSITIVE on Social Media! I do not recommend posting a bunch of political stuff or all about things shutting down. I feel like the rest of social media has that covered. Be yourself…funny, thoughtful, kind, lighthearted. Make people want to come to your little place on the web.

So why does all this matter?

You have to do what you feel like is right in your heart. It is 100% OK to be working your business actively and it is 100% OK to just be pouring into people and not actively working your business.

Either way if you follow these steps, it will help your business grow and help people at the same time. You have to what you feel like is right with these 5 ways to make your business virtual.