Virtually Everywhere
Posted by: James Slater

1101 Pennsylvania Ave—there’s an address in D.C. with some clout. It’s the address on my business card, and I love handing these things out. I don’t work for a major federal agency or a Fortune 50 company. I work for a small communications company. And yes, we’re formed from the new business modeling clay that is the virtual business world.

It’s a chilly morning in February, and armed with coffee and overcoats, colleague Dan and I have just finished with a meeting and are bidding farewell to a couple of our "big business" teaming partners near a Metro stop in downtown D.C. They dutifully produce their calling cards with impressive business logos and an address not far from where we’re standing. We, in turn, share ours.

“Where are you guys located again?” asks one, as he looks over the card. Then I hear the sound. It’s almost like a dance. The sound is his jaw on the pavement. He re-checks to be sure, looks at us again a bit differently, I think. And repeats the address on my card: "1101 Pennsylvania Avenue."

My inner voice is shouting, my inner mouth is smiling, and I have to say that I truly enjoyed the dance short as it was.

The beauty of the virtual company is that we can be everywhere. We have offices in the Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern time zones. In our communications business, we’ve found that the majority of our work can be done more inexpensively without the overhead obligations of office space, break rooms, parking garages and security guards. Technology has allowed us to form alliances, contracts and business partners as if we lived right next door. Truth be told, in some cases we do live next door, but it’s not a requirement. Our homes, our cars, our phones and laptops suffice in delivering the bulk of our products and travel bridges the gaps.

I think the real competitive advantage we have in this model is our ability to attract top talent at reasonable prices without regard to geographic restrictions. Folks who like the slower environment of Nebraska, Ohio, or the attractive weather of San Diego are top candidates. Telework is especially key in the DC Metro region, where we stretch from Herndon to La Plata and Waldorf to Fredericksburg. Our DC team can save an hour on the road each day and concentrate on working instead.

This is not to say there are not unique challenges for the virtual telework model. It’s not for everyone, but it does seem to work well for creative firms. Take away a dismal commute, annoying office interruptions, and the obligatory business noise that brings office productivity into negative territory on a regular basis, and you’d be amazed how grateful and productive your workforce can become.

I know you’ve been dying to ask this since the opening sentence yes, we do have office space in downtown D.C., a few blocks from the White House. We also have office support in nearly every major metropolitan area in the U.S. and many overseas locations. And no, it’s not a blatant lie, a parlor trick or slight-of-hand. It’s the reality of the next-generation business model. It makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, I don’t think I can live without it.

So next time you hand out a business card, think of me. I’ll be right here … smack dab in the middle of virtually everywhere.