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Second Life as a Second Business?

May 31, 2007 | Filed Under Social Networking 

Over at Web Worker Daily there’s a great article about Dana Jones and her business Second Mirage on the uber-popular online game Second Life.

If you haven’t visited the Second Life website yet, be warned, it’s terribly addictive and after two “real life” days I still hadn’t figured out how to make “Linden dollars” beyond mopping a floor. If you know me, you know that mopping a floor is really not where I’m at in my life, virtual or not!

You can be anything from a fairy to a punk-rocker, a human to a frog. It’s garnered so much attention that Mercedez Benz has gotten involved, you can see a commercial HERE for the new C-Class.

I think this may be a perfect example of how business and entertainment online have lines that are so blurred that you can barely tell one from another. The most interesting part? People don’t seem to mind so much. The launch party (some of which was recorded and put on YouTube as well) was well attended and enjoyed by all those who attended.

Back to the business aspect. People are realizing that you can make real money online, but it takes a lot of coding experience to be able to turn around a product in enough time to make the service worthwhile as a second business. Even Dana on Second Life took on a commission for 18,000 Linden Dollars, which is approximately $63 US dollars. It took her a week to complete the project.

I don’t know about you but that is one serious labor of love to work for a week, part time, and make $63. But if she’s working on becoming an expert (and it sounds like that’s happening) what happens when you have multiple stores and start taking on employees? Do these online businesses have business plans? Should they?

I’m tempted to go back online and begin teaching business planning basics to Second Life business owners instead of mopping the floors or sleeping in a magic pool to make a few Linden Dollars a night.

It would make for an interesting second job.

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