There’s still an ongoing debate whether the US is officially in an economic recession - the definitive answer will be determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research soon. Despite the debate, many individuals and small businesses have been feeling a downward economic shift, with the end remaining uncertain. With a downturn at hand, now is the perfect time to maximize the potential of the virtual workplace.
Encourage telecommuting. Having a telecommuting program for your business will lessen costs and encourage higher efficiency with most employees. This type of arrangement, if done right, will provide several benefits for most businesses.
Cut down on business costs. Conduct a financial review and find any expenditures you can remove or minimize by finding an equivalent web-based. Do you have an external IT company doing system backups? Consider automatic online backups instead such as Carbonite and Xdrive. If you’re scheduled to purchase new software, see if you can find more affordable Web 2.0 apps that provide the same features, while looking out for enhanced features as well.
Grow overseas income. If you can, find overseas clients - preferably from Europe. After all, the American recession has less impact there, meaning both individuals and businesses there have more disposable income. With the Euro outperforming the US dollar, you can opt to charge your new, foreign clients in this stronger currency. This is much easier to do in a virtual workspace because of the wide variety of Web 2.0 communication tools available.
Move towards affordable online marketing. Newspaper and TV ads can make your marketing budget bleed. There are many cheap or free online marketing methods you can take advantage of, especially with the popularity of social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Find a social network that suits your business best and attracts people within your target demographic. Business blogs also boost your company’s profile while offering your business a new level of two-way communication with current and potential clients. There are vast online marketing opportunities available if you look hard enough.
Look at trends. Doing a bit of research can help you plan your next move. According to the ads placed in Jobstreet, Monster, and other job forums, what industries are hiring and thriving? What niche markets have you overlooked?
Maximize your website’s potential. You might need to rely on your website more than your brick and mortar office, especially if you want to attract new foreign clients. Get a website consultant, if you don’t have one yet, with a proven track record of boosting sales.
A recession might not be here yet, but taking advantage of virtual tools and technologies at our disposal might prevent or lessen its effects on our businesses.
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Be sure to catch Bill Ives' ongoing review series in which he looks at online, sharable database apps. The focus of Bill's reviews: web-based business software that enables companies and individuals to better organize, track, and share information, as well as better manage projects, processes and workflows.
Among the Web-based tools he's reviewed: Zoho, QuickBase, and TrackVia.

Or, if you’d like to get all the tips now, click here to request a copy of the white paper – “7 Ways to Optimize Project Team Productivity: Using Customizable Web-based Software to Your Business Advantage.”.
The AppGap has hosted a series of discussions with leading thinkers and doers intended to illuminate how new apps and approaches are changing the way we work and help companies and individuals implement better collaboration, project management, and productivity practices and solutions. Access, via the links below, the recordings, each about an hour long, of the discussions.
- 5 Big Ideas for Getting All That Work Done
- Should Your Business be Friends with Facebook
- The Future of Work
Need help in getting organized? Want to keep things from falling through the cracks? Check out this free and simple to use online "To-Do List" called Intuit Task Manager, offered by our sponsor Intuit QuickBase. Sign-up is easy so you can get started with it right away.

Intuit's QuickBase, the sponsor of this blog, has just been named an Editor's Choice by PC Mag. Check out the review which calls QuickBase a "a surprisingly simple and elegant application."
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Can today's project management software be done better? What can online CRM help companies companies accomplish? Which development platform can help individuals and organizations build better online databases, Web based applications, and HR solutions? And what are the processes and best practices that help organizations large and small achieve success. Find out more.