Most communities of any size have business publications that are geographically centric. This is a good place for checking for resources in your target market, which typically used to be the geographic vicinity of the client. Of course, these days, with Internet, FTP's, and inexpensive global communication, all of our target markets can literally be the world. This includes target locations for the human resources you need for your project.

I worked on one project where my responsibilities were development on both paper-based and online documentation from my home in Tampa, FL. The balance of this project's team included project management (Media, PA), software development (Palmira, NY), product testing (St. Petersburg, FL), technical support (Lexington, KY), help desk development (Los Angeles, CA), help desk support (Little Rock, AK), software production and packaging, and documentation printing (Cincinnati, OH), Marketing (Louisville, KY), and product rollout (West Palm Beach, FL).

Every week, we all participated in a teleconference to report on status within our respective areas. We did, on two occasions, gather as a group to meet. If you do hire people on a distance configuration, I recommend that you include in your budget resources to bring yourself, your resources, and your client together for a face to face meeting. This should happen towards the beginning of the project. In general, people respond better to each other when they can associate a face and personality with a name and a voice.

Other resources to check in your target market include trade publications, local newspapers, the chamber of commerce, and the Yellow Pages. While you are checking the local paper, make it a habit to keep apprised of meetings of clubs and professional associations that might have contacts of interest or even potential contacts of interest. For example, you might attend a photography club. You never know when you might need a photographer.

I made one excellent contact via the local court reporter videographers. This woman focused her business on recording trials and related testimony. As it turned out, I needed to create a marketing video for a client. I contracted with the court videographer. In turn, she had contacts with individuals who could create animated graphics, who could lay a professional narration, and who had sophisticated editing machines. The video was a huge success!