I am just getting in the beginning phases and really excited and want to start telling people of my plans but should I wait until I have my website, business name up and going first? Can I just offer my services and charge per hour until I figure out my whole business plan to start getting feelers out there?

Do you think I will lose credibility to future clients but jumping the gun? I kind of want to start talking to people I know and see what kind of need is out there in my local market.

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I don't think it will hurt you much. You will have some difficulty if you don't bring yourself online within a few weeks of securing your first client. But, if you are marketing to people you know, who understand that you are trust worthy and capable, then you won't have much trouble. You probably will have difficulty bringing in new clients.

I wouldn't go very far without a business plan of some sort. Even if its just a bulleted list of targets on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper tacked to the wall. You need a plan or you are setting yourself up for failure.

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Robin A. Holstein
Robin's Desktop Virtual Administrative Services
My Blog

Great reply Robin. Noama, I would advise that you get your site up and running soon. It helps with the whole matter of credibility and to work virtually, you really need one.

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Carlana Charles - Ciboney Virtual Solutions
Web: http://ciboneyvirtual.com Blog:http://ciboneyvirtual.com/blog

I say go for it. I don't see how it would hurt your credibility to have clients before you are fully set-up, if anything it will help increase it. I would start with people you know and go from there. People you know won't need to see a website or anything to know they want to work with you. It will be hard to market online without some sort of online presence, such as a website.

That's exactly how I got my first client, and others, from calling and telling everyone I know or ran into that I was starting my business. You could send out an email announcement to your friends. I quickly had some brochures and business cards made up (I just printed them by the sheet at Kinko's, they don't have a minimum order) and then I mailed them out to my friends and former colleagues with a personal hand-written note announcing my new business venture.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

Ok well...here I go! I am going to a networking event next week and going to have some flyers printed up to hand out!

Great! Let us know how it goes and ...

What your plan is!

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Robin A. Holstein
Robin's Desktop Virtual Administrative Services
My Blog

I am starting my business the same way Rebecka did- contacting family and friends. I have been contacted by one person and hope to bring them on as my first client next week.

I did the same thing before I even got started. I passed around my newsletter to the people in my office. To my suprise, they said that they would need a service like mine. Make sure you have a good introduction letter.