Second Life Business Basics

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I decided to post a few helpful tips for businesses in Second Life.

Let us start with, SL is not a game. People treat it as a game but in fact it is not. It would be more accurate to describe it as a 3D social network with some game like qualities.

There are people in Second Life that make their living here, however, most people are here for recreational reasons. The people who make their living in SL already see it as a real business, now I'm not saying they all run that business well or effectively but they do likely consider it a real business and not play time.

The thing is, even if SL is recreational or a creative outlet for you, if you exchange goods or services for currency or services, you are doing a business transaction. Due to the nature of SL anyone can start a business very inexpensively and just because one owns a business, does not make them professional business people. However, they still need to take those business transactions seriously.

It is never easy to balance work and recreation, even in real life, but it can be done and maintain professionalism. Starting with the basic of time management. If you are trying to have time for both work and play then it might behoove you to delineate a set time for dealing with note cards from clients or customers and do list in your profile your preferred method of contacts (i.e. note card, IM, email). If you run a venue and have events as your work time, make sure you give yourself enough of a time window to send notices and do promotion, get the musician set up and time after to wish people well.

Sometimes delays happen, it is inevitable. I've had to postpone things or rearrange things because something happened in real life that didn't allow me to be in SL. If these events occure, let people know! I cannot express that enough... LET PEOPLE KNOW.  The general populous of SL doesn't need to know your personal business, however, if you have agreed to some sort of business arrangement, like setting up a store, performing a show, meeting with a client, give them as much notice as you can that you need to rearrange or change a timeline. Most people will be understanding and willing to work with you, but if you do not let them know that you cannot do what is agreed to, they will feel blown off or not be willing to work with you in the future. It is about having integrity or a strong work ethic.

I could keep writing on and on...there might be more blog posts in this series in the future but for now, if you need assistance with your business you can always contact my business partner, Seth Regan/ Mankind Tracer in SL or myself. We own the Tracer|Birman Agency and can help with many different aspects of your business, such as: Website Design, Graphics Design and other Digital Design, Social Media, Marketing, Social Marketing, Brand Creation, Event Planning, Brand Introduction, Logo Design, Corporate Identity. More specific services geared toward Second Life include, Logo Design, Social Integration, Custom Builds, Event Planning, Marketing, Product Design and Sim Layout/Design. If you would like more information you can email us at info@tracerbirman.com

You can also check out Seth's blog HERE which has a lot of useful marketing information.