IS Magazine Blog

The World of a Virtual CEO

Jun 02 2011

Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

We all have a classic image of a CEO. The Chief Executive Officer will usually be very well dressed in business attire and will conduct business in a very large and elegant office. The office will frequently be located in a business district with a view overlooking the scores of other office buildings in the area.

Of course, there are other “looks” that a CEO can embody depending upon the industry sector the business is involved in. It is not uncommon for CEOs to maintain an elegant office in a business district but the daily business attire might very well be jeans and a t-shirt. Such are the perks of working in an entertainment or software related business sector.

Nowadays, you may be able to wear something even more casual while at the same time eliminating the office and the business district. You could literally wear a bathrobe and work out of your kitchen.

Welcome to the world of the virtual CEO which is a world that exists in the virtual realm of the internet.

Does this refer to playing a virtual role playing game where you step into the role of a fantasy SEO? No, not at all as the concept of being a virtual CEO entails running a very real business. The business, of course, would be internet based and that means you could run your business in a casual manner although no less professional than a “real” business.

At this point, the word “real” needs to be effectively addressed. A virtual CEO can likely run a business a great deal more effective than many traditional businesses. In a way, a CEO is like a sports figure as he/she must perform effective or the CEO is not truly of much value to the team. The notion of “keeping up appearances” is a nonentity for a virtual CEO.

Does this sound absurd on the surface? It might seem that way on the surface but the dollars and cents component may reveal a different story.

So, who would be the better CEO the traditional CEO that runs a company at a loss or a virtual CEO that runs a company turning a $250,000 per year profit? The answer to that question is fairly obvious.

And honestly, the virtual CEO will slowly become the norm over the years because computer and internet technology has made it very easy to create a business that exists solely on a telecommuting basis. One common example of this is visible in the model of an online T-shirt business.

There are scores of companies which can produce T-shirts based on whatever designs and slogans that you provide to the service. All you need to do is send payment with the order along with the name and address of the person the order needs to be sent to.

As a virtual CEO, you could set up shop in your home and use email, Skype, VOip, and other online communications methods to organize a staff of:

  • Designers
  • Marketing professionals
  • Website designers and developers
  • Copywriters
  • Social Networking experts
  • Artists
  • Administrative help
  • Accountants
  • And any other professionals you would have need of

It would not be impossible to turn a virtual T-shirt business into one that turns hundreds of thousands of dollars in business per year. This could all be done through a virtual business strategy and simply takes a traditional business model and shifts it into an online counterpart. Nothing else really changes in terms of vision or decision making capabilities.

This is the new and true reality of being a virtual CEO: it is simply a new format many traditional businesses can follow as long as the bulk of the business or even all of the business can be conducted in a telecommuting manner.

This opens the door to many would be entrepreneurs to venture into the business world with minimal start up costs while maximizing the potential to amass huge profits.

And yes, there are some truly stunning profits which can be made with the right virtual business. Never lose sight of this fact.

Mariana Fang Lin is an avid blogger and writes throughout the blogosphere. She's most interested in mobile marketing, social media, web hosting companies, and Internet marketing strategy. You can follow Mariana on Twitter here.

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