1. Virtual Business Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

2. “Copyright and Terms of Service Copyright © Texas Education Agency. The materials found on this website are copyrighted © and trademarked ™ as the property of the Texas Education Agency and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the Texas Education Agency, except under the following conditions: 1)Texas public school districts, charter schools, and Education Service Centers may reproduce and use copies of the Materials and Related Materials for the districts’ and schools’ educational use without obtaining permission from the Texas Education Agency; 2) Residents of the state of Texas may reproduce and use copies of the Materials and Related Materials for individual personal use only without obtaining written permission of the Texas Education Agency; 3) Any portion reproduced must be reproduced in its entirety and remain unedited, unaltered and unchanged in any way; 4) No monetary charge can be made for the reproduced materials or any document containing them; however, a reasonable charge to cover only the cost of reproduction and distribution may be charged. Private entities or persons located in Texas that are not Texas public school districts or Texas charter schools or any entity, whether public or private, educational or non-educational, located outside the state of Texas MUST obtain written approval from the Texas Education Agency and will be required to enter into a license agreement that may involve the payment of a licensing fee or a royalty fee. 2 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

3.  A virtual business is a business that primarily conducts business electronically as opposed to operating from a physical location  Very little, if any, face-to-face contact with customers, unless the business is blended with brick-and-mortar  Synonymous with: e-commerce online business digital business 3 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

4.  An innovative business owner who conducts business online  See the vision of a “storefront” although the “walls” are not visible  Understand how to get information about customers  Responds rapidly to changes in laws and trends  Know when or if to innovate 4 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

5.  SBA – sba.gov  http://www.sba.gov/content/starting- online-business  Small Business Development Center – sba.gov/sbdc  SCORE – www.score.orgwww.score.org  Women’s Business Center – www.onlinewbc.gov 5 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

6. ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency Network created by the U. S. Department of Defense in 1969 Original purpose was for electronic communication in case of nuclear war or natural disasters 1982 The term “Internet” is born 1991 Internet became available for commercial use 6 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

7.  Redefines buyer/seller relationships  Is open 24/7  Minimizes distribution channels  Increases productivity & revenue  Unlimited customer reach  Affordable  Flexible schedule 7 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

8.  Can start quickly  Telecommuting  Global business 8 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

9. B2B Business to Business Customers are primarily other businesses B2C Business to Consumer Customers are the general public C2C Consumers selling to other consumers Typically auction web sites 9 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

10.  Business Communications Internal (employees) ○ Email External (current and potential customers) ○ Videoconferencing ○ Company web sites  Information Gathering Research to assist in decision-making Information on current and prospective customers ○ Be added to mailing lists ○ Product registration ○ FAQs 10 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

11. Competitor information ○ Product comparisons ○ Customer reviews  Improving Business Operations Inventory Shipping information Financial statements 11 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

12.  Web Designers – Creating web sites  Web Developers – May need to know HTML  Web Technologists – Entry level position  Customer Service Support – Entry level  Technical Writer – Strong communication and organizational skills 12 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved

13.  Internet Timeline – List 10 events that occurred regarding the history of the Internet and how they have impacted business. At least two companies must also be included in the timeline.  Career Research Newsletter – Students are to create a one-page, two- column newsletter, using either word processing or desktop publishing software, that displays that different career opportunities related to the Internet, such as Webmaster or Web Site Designer. They will conduct Internet research on several of the job-search web sites to locate three job openings. These openings should include the job title, job description, and education, training, or certification requirements.  Report on the Future of E-Commerce – Students will write (or type with word processing software) a properly formatted one-page report on the future of virtual business, based upon population projections listed in the following web site: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population.html The report should contain an explanation of what the projections are and how e- commerce could be affected; for example, whether there will be more users of certain types of web sites, if web sites will be used for different reasons in the future, how different age groups may use the Internet, or if there will be more of certain types of e-businesses in the future. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population.html 13 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved