The merits of leveraging the power of the internet, compared to doing business in a physical location are hotly contested. In truth, building a successful business, lifestyle and long term legacy relies on a combination of both physical and virtual components.
Physical business locations, like stores, offices or warehouses do have their place in a successful business, as they offer somewhere to build a sense of community and shared endeavour. However, they require large sums of capital to be invested, and this means that this money cannot be leveraged for other parts of the business. Operating these premises also requires large amounts of time and effort, which again could be leveraged elsewhere in the business.
All this time, money and effort is tied up in a building, it is not driving value for your business, and it is in some sense redundant. All this money is at risk, as with any investment in your business, but this risk is not generating any return or increased value.
These difficulties of operating a physical business premises can be juxtaposed with the value of a virtual business. Virtual businesses require much less capital, time and effort to be tied up in premises, allowing these resources to be leveraged in other parts of the business and build value. Virtual business also allows a far greater level of flexibility, as they are easy to adapt and reposition in the light of market changes. This flexibility also allows for a much better quality of lifestyle for the business owner, who is free to manage their business around other commitments.
At first glance, it may seem that the future lies with a leveraging of the possibilities of virtual business, and that physical business premises are relegated to the confines of history. This is not strictly true, as the future does lie in leveraging the power of the virtual world, but in combination with existing physical businesses, not isolated from them. To successfully build a business and legacy, coupled with an enjoyable lifestyle, the entrepreneur must work out the best way to combine the physical and virtual.
The virtual world will never replace the physical business, just as the internet will not kill off newspapers, and the television did not kill off radio. These business enterprises merely adapt, evolve and transition into new business models. So how do we envision this relationship between the physical and the virtual, and how do we make it work?
Put simply, the possibilities of the virtual business world should be used as a tool to leverage the promise contained in the physical business. For example, a successful local salesroom should view the internet as a way of transporting their local success to a much greater scale. The internet does not replace their successful physical operation, it takes that success and leverages it into a much larger scale.
Getting the best out of both virtual and physical business will propel your business to huge success, and build a lifestyle and legacy that you can enjoy. Success will depend on your ability and willingness to leverage the power of both forms of business, and not close your mind to those areas perceived as out of date.
