Should You Have a Virtual Office? Going virtual might be just what your company needs to save cash, increase profits and expand.

Just because you need employees doesn't mean you need an office with all that overhead. Why not build a virtual network of employees where you communicate with each other via phone, e-mail and fax to get the job done?

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Greg Chagaris, 59, and Anthea Stratigos, 45, did just that with their market research and analytics business, Outsell Inc., in Burlingame, California. For four years they ran the business from a traditional office space with employees. But in 1998, Stratigos interviewed a highly qualified job candidate whose husband had recently been transferred to Maine. Says Stratigos, "[Greg] and I looked at each other, and that was the sign from the universe. We went with it."

They repositioned Outsell to be a virtual company, maintaining their small office with five employees, and soon expanding to include 35 virtual employees nationwide. Though finding a health plan to cover employees in so many states proved to be a challenge, Outsell's sophisticated intranet, telephone and e-mail systems keep their virtual team tightly connected. Now with 2005 sales projected at about $7 million, the setup seems to be working.