The content of this post came from a response I gave to a question from Hayel Msherbesh in regards to the JEFLO domain name selection, and whether it is an office, an organization, a society or a company. Here is basically what I said with some modifications to make it more general and more detailed.
" In the first group meeting which we held on 10 Sep 2011, I mentioned to the other JEFLO members that we will adopt a phased approach towards implementing the JEFLO initiative.
- Phase-1 (which we are in right now) relies heavily on the "virtual office" / e-collaboration model". I mentioned that in this phase, we will NOT have a physical office and there will be no employees. This is why we have to rely on volunteer work because we have no operational budget to spend from.
- Phase-2 (which we will be ready for as natural exit from the current phase-1) will witness the move from the "total virtual model" to the "partly virtual/partly physical" model. In this phase, I envision we will have a prestigious (but small) physical office in a prominent area in Amman. The office will be equipped and furnished with high-standard/high-quality items, there will be very few employees (possibly selected from the current JEFLO core team), and so on so forth. Because I would expect in this phase to have a clearly specified operational budget based on the sources of revenue that we achieve or anticipate to achieve.
I hope this elaboration explains the story behind the domain name which we will use on temporary basis (now) and on permanent basis (later on).
Furthermore, let me talk a little more about the
transition from phase-1 to phase-2 and
when we may expect this to happen. Let me first confirm that such a transition is not time dependent. It is more "
readiness" dependent and hence we need to assess our "
readiness" to take this step and ensure we take it in a mature and disciplined way.
The way I see it, is that we need to determine the "
exit criteria" from phase-1 and agree that these exit criteria are the necessary "
entry criteria" to phase-2 of JEFLO implementation.
- Development and finalization of V1 of the JEFLO business model basics, principles, processes and procedures.
- Development of V1 JEFLO web site that reflects and mirrors V1 of the JEFLO business model above.
- Critical volume of JEFLO members reached; whether this means 200+ members, 500+ members,
- JEFLO members professional profiles and JEFLO initiative profile ready for publishing and promotion
- Feeding the opportunity/leads pipeline with a significant number of qualified leads.
- Being able to close and successfully execute the first few engagements inside/outside Jordan
- Ensuring required level of commitment and business conduct from the JEFLO members through pioneering customer engagements during phase-1
- Availability of funds from the executed pioneering projects and/or from other sources of funding to support the Phase-2 operational plan and its budgetary expenses.
- Nomination and consensus on the JEFLO core team members / additional employees to the JEFLO physical office
- Official registration of JEFLO inside Jordan as a society and/or as a company.
I will put this topic as an item in next group meeting on 29 Oct 2011 due to its importance.
Mohammed Thiab
Jordan Freelancers Office (JEFLO) Initiative
