Get Financially Fit!
Starting a Virtual Business
by Brion Lau
Back in May, I mentioned an article I read in Business 2.0 called “5 Ways to Start a Company (Without Quitting Your Day Job”. Since then I’ve met a number of people working in Corporate America who are increasingly disenchanted working for someone else and looking for a way to do something on their own.
This morning I was listening to the radio when I heard a segment featuring an interview with author, Julian Dibbell. He was promoting his newly published book, Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot
Normally, I wouldn’t write an article about this, especially if it’s the first time I’ve heard about such venture. However, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard about people trying to make money in the virtual world. The cover story on the “BusinessWeek” May issue featured the “virtual life”.
Bottom line: If you’re still thinking about a way to generate income on the side (or possibly full-time), this may be something you may want to investigate further. This business model is still in its infancy which means there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs. In addition, mainstream advertisers are also increasingly taking notice and shifting more dollars to non-conventional channels such as this.
Am I exploring this opportunity? Not at this time. I don’t participate in multiplayer games or really understand the virtual world. However, for those that do or just play these games as a recreation / hobby, this might help you look at this opportunity with a new lens.
about 5 years ago
Strangely enough, my roommate actually made a killing doing this! So much so, that he hired someone to sit and “fish” at a virtual fishing hole, in one of these games, to earn points, and advance to the next level in the game. He would then “sell” the goodies that he had won on the game, to people who apparently had more money than time.
Crazy, man.