GC>  I've been suggesting to my manager that we could 
 GC> run as a virtual company (being an online service) 
 GC> but haven't convinced him yet.  When I think of the 
 GC> travel time wasted by all the employees, I think 
 GC> there has to be a better way.
I find that the overhead drops to a small fraction.  No more downtown office 
space rent.  The time I, as office manager and vice-president of the company, 
save on commuting is spent on more productive things.  The energy saved is 
put into productivity.  You do need staff who are self-motivated, since you 
will no longer be watching over them in person.  On the other hand, it's very 
easy to tell who is doing a good days work and who is not - the work either 
is there, or it isn't.  Biggest drawback to shifting to a home based office 
is loss of "storefront" - if your customers need to be able to come to  an 
office, if a significant segment of your business is from "walk in" 
customers, then moving the entire business into home offices won't work.
--- Maximus 2.01wb
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