Modern world mogul’s aka virtual entrepreneurs.

When researching for last week’s blog, I unintentionally stumbled across a Youtube video on Second Life and virtual entrepreneurs. Prior to seeing this video I knew that there were many types of entrepreneurs that existed, such as business entrepreneurs and even enviro-preneurs, however, I had never come across the notion of a virtual entrepreneur. It was my lack of understanding about virtual entrepreneurs, which fuelled my desire to know more about these new age businessmen and the online contemporary marketplace.

The first time I watched the video, I was amazed by what I saw, as I had know idea a virtual business world even existed. Obviously, I knew the internet was central to conducting modern day business; however I was unaware that real businesses were starting to develop within virtual games. I thought that online games were just for entertainment and couldn’t lead to any real monetary profit, oh how little did I know.
I have attached the link here if you would like to watch it yourself. The video is in two segments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM6b_DBmolM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdX02VADGZE&feature=related

The video reveals how real people are frequently creating avatars, ultimately extensions of themselves, and developing virtual shops which earn them real world money. My first thoughts were ‘this is absolutely genius, utilising the internet, the fastest growing market place in the world, all by the click of a mouse’. As I thought about the possibility for commerce in virtual communities a little more, I realised that there were indeed many benefits. Virtual entrepreneurs are able to access an extremely diverse marketplace, but in a much more manageable space. For viral entrepreneurs, the cost of setting up a shop in Second Life is much more economical than setting one up in the real world, thus the risk is also a lot less.

As the clip went on my thoughts on the benefits of virtual selling, were solidified by the experiences of various virtual entrepreneurs. A lady called Nyla Kazakoff established the House of Nyla in Second Life, a fashion hot spot. Nyla explained that the virtual world has managed to achieve something amazing; it has bridged the gap between reality and imaginary. Once I thought about this, I realised Nyla was indeed correct, she was able to sell fantasy designs for Linden dollars, and then have that money exchanged into US currency. Nyla also explained that setting up her business in the virtual world, meant she has been able to do business in foreign countries, something she would not have been able to afford to do in the real world. Evidently, Nyla’s ability to access foreign markets has also meant, that she has been able to generate more widespread attention for both her online and real world House of Nyla brand.

The success of virtual entrepreneurs is resulting in many real world businesses following suit; creating brand presence in online community’s aswell. STA travel has bought space in Second Life, because they believe that is an efficient and inexpensive way of rapidly growing their youth target market. I predict that over time more and more businesses will venture into gaming communities such as Second Life, eventually making virtual worlds a universal way of conducting commerce.

Throughout the clip I began to think that conducting business in the virtual world sounded pretty easy, all you need to do is think of something you want to sell and rent a virtual space to sell it in, right? Wrong. As I continued to watch the clip, I learnt of disgruntled virtual entrepreneurs who were offended by the fact that people thought their job was easy or not a real job. I quickly learnt that just like setting up a business in the real world, virtual businesses also require strategy and a lot of time. Virtual world businesses need a strategic marketing plan, which specifies who the target market will be, how the brand will be advertised, the best location for the shop and so on. Not only do virtual entrepreneurs need to apply real world business concepts, but they also need to study the virtual world. I can imagine learning about virtual communities in regards to business would be quite hard. For example, you would have to consider how an avatars needs and wants are different from that of real people, you would have to learn how to use Linden dollars and transfer that into real currency, aswell as how much people are willing to spend on goods and services in the virtual world.

After familiarising myself with virtual entrepreneurs and really reflecting on what they do, I think I can safely say being a virtual entrepreneur would not be as easy as it sounds. In fact, I commend people who have managed to establish a viable business in the virtual community, because it really would require a good understanding of real world business, as well as an appreciation for virtual games, like Second Life. Becoming a successful virtual entrepreneur like any other entrepreneur, requires a creative mind and a good eye for identifying gaps in the market place, even if the market place isn’t exactly real. For now, I think I will stick with real world business, but I will definitely keep an eye on virtual commerce, because I believe it has a very powerful potential.

Amanda Pearce