Rima McDonald, 32, began her sojourn away from Singapore after she befriended Neal McDonald, an American soldier on holiday in Singapore in 2000. Romance came later as they fell in love and married in 2005.

After her marriage, Rima settled down in Alabama, United States (US), leaving her job as a marketing manager for a club in Muhammad Sultan Road. Her husband, 48, retired from the army about four years ago, and now works as an engineer in Birmingham, Alabama.

When Rima decided to start her own business in the US, she soon realised that there were many ways to conduct business and that having an office was not always necessary. She also found out that technology played a huge part in the success of many American businesses and so started to do more research into how businesses communicated, marketed and functioned in both the virtual and real worlds.

Said the mother of two, an 11-year-old son and a one-year-old baby girl: "I found that companies can do business with one another as long as they set up the infrastructure for communication. The Internet and global telecommunication networks are part of this infrastructure."

With this discovery, her reception-call-centre business, Virtual Receptionists, was born. Now into its third year of operations, Rima is expanding her business to target foreign companies with interests in the US market. Her business aims to arm these companies with the necessary tools to establish a consistent and professional presence in the US market cost-effectively. These include US toll free number, mailing address, fax number and 24/7 customer service specialists.

She has just set up her Singapore branch for local companies and will be launching the new venture in July with a web conference. She is also looking to establishing similar outfits in other countries.

Since day one, Rima has been working on her business from home. So do her management staff - from their own homes. Although the call centre operation is now based in Atlanta, Rima's head office is still operated from her home office in Alabama.

Why did you decide to start a business like Virtual Receptionists?

I want to help other small business owners to think big, look big, and grow big not just within the country, but internationally as well. My target clients have always been small business owners who have the same business vision as we do. We are a living example of how a home-based company in the United States is able to expand its business operations into the Asia Pacific region.

Our mission is to help local businesses overseas expand their businesses in countries such as the United States, in a more cost effective manner. They can now establish a presence here without the need to set up a physical office and hiring full-time staff. This is one way a local company can keep its initial set-up cost as low as possible because the first year of penetrating a new market is devoted to mostly market research, business development, and making connections with the key people in the country.

Please describe your initial set-up. How different is it from your business today?

Our head office is still operated from my home office. But our call centre operation is based in Atlanta.

I used to run my own call centre operation from remote locations, meaning that I hired work-at-home professionals to provide the phone coverage, but the staff turnover was pretty high and we lost so much money in just the first six months. So, we started to contract the job out to a partnering company in Atlanta and they now run our operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing me to focus on what I do best - marketing and business development.

Rima and Neal McDonald

When starting your business, what help did you get?

I didn't get any kind of help at all. I had to learn how to do stuff myself from people I network with. These people eventually turned into friends and contacts. They not only support my business, they also teach me how to run my business more cost-effectively.

I was not a tech-savvy person when I first moved here, but I have always been a quick learner. In the past few years, I have learned how to do web conferencing with my partners and customers over the Internet. I now host my own Internet radio show, or podcasts, on my business resources directory site. I also learned how to automate my business marketing system in just a few weeks. I did not learn all these things for free; I paid people to teach me.

The good thing is that learning through contacts or over the Internet isn't expensive. If you are willing to learn, you can very quickly pick up the same skills.

So what kind of problems or obstacles did you face?

When I first started my business, I employed a few people to assist me in marketing. We sent out postcards to small businesses, we sent follow-up letters to them, and we even did telemarketing just to get an appointment with the decision makers of the companies.

I lost quite a lot of money because of this, mainly because I didn't understand the way American companies do business. I was doing exactly what I would have done in Singapore. I realised that the owners or decision makers of American companies do business based on what they need, not want, and who they like to do business with.

So I joined several online networking groups to understand the basics of doing business with American people. It took me a few months to understand their work culture and their buying styles.

While I was learning to understand this, I was actively networking and doing more research on my Virtual Receptionists business. I learned how to improve our sales cycle system. I hired a new webmaster for my company's website and copywriters to help me put together my marketing materials. I also hired people who are capable of assisting me in online marketing.

Because of my ignorance, I didn't make any money during the first year in business. I wish I had known all these tips before I set up the company, but I'm glad I learned everything so quickly.

What is a typical workday like for you?

I start my day with a cup of coffee and reviewing my task list on my PDA [Personal Digital Assistant]. Next, I switch on my laptop to check my email.

I then hop into the shower and get dressed for business. Yes, I do dress for work even though I work at home. I treat my home office like any other office.

By then, my 11-year-old son would have left for school and my husband would be on his way to work. My one-year-old baby girl should be up by the time I come out of the shower. So I set her up in front of the TV, give her something to eat and drink while watching TV. My babysitter comes in at 9am to look after my baby and leaves our house at 3pm. This allows me to focus on my business.

My day ends as early as 9 pm - that is after we have our dinner together and watched family-friendly TV programmes in the family room.

When you first went to the US, how did you cope with the new environment?

I used to live in San Francisco with my aunt before moving to Alabama. Like Asia, there is a huge difference in the environment, culture, and even the way people in both states speak.

Coming from a vibrant city like Singapore, moving to Alabama seemed to be the biggest mistake one could make, but I don't feel that way any more. I've always wanted to live in a nice, quiet, country environment like this where I can raise my children and focus on family time more than anything else. I sometimes feel a little bit bored because it can be too laid-back.

When I lived in Singapore, I used to work from morning till evening. It took me quite a while to get used to the changes. However, shortly after I settled in Alabama, I started looking for something to do that I can run from home. Doing research on the computer and planning my business keeps boredom at bay.

What were your high and low moments?

My high moments revolve around celebrations. We celebrate special occasions like birthdays by dressing up and meeting with the rest of our family members (my in-laws).

My low moments occurred during the fasting month and Hari Raya. I miss spending time with my family in Singapore. When I lived there, we would get together in the evening to break our fast during the fasting month. I miss going to the homes of relatives to indulge in all the great home-cooked meals. Now, my husband and I with our two children celebrate Hari Raya at home.

Rima's top five relocation tips

(1) Look at the state of the economy
What types of businesses are currently there? What is the potential for economic growth for the next decade? What were the business trends for the last five years? Are more businesses moving in or out of the city?

(2) Find out about the local infrastructure
Are there many new business areas where you can open an office or will you need to figure in the cost of building a location? What support services, like telephone, Internet, staffing firms, are available in the city? If you plan to work from your home, what type of technological support is available? Is the area close to a major airport? What are the schools and hospitals like? Also, what religious groups and places of worship do the town have?

(3) Consider the living environment
Ask yourself what kind of work and living environment you want for you and your employees. I chose to live in a community environment out of the city. The commute into the city isn't far, and the community has all the amenities of the city without the traffic, crime or excessive bustle. Our community is very safe for my children to play outside with neighborhood children.

(4) Don't neglect the overall climate and culture of the area
If the business owner is resettling other Singapore workers there, is the climate what the employees are used to? In Alabama, the weather is similar to that in Singapore so I feel very comfortable here.

But, you also want to look at the culture of the area. Is it an arts scene with lots of glitz and glamour? Or, is it a bustling city with business suits and handshakes? There are many smaller cities in the US where business takes place over a slow lunch and where the people dress very casually.

(5) Know the cost of living
What is the average price of real estate, both commercial and residential? How much is your dollar worth in the area?

You want to be sure that you are living in a place where the cost of living is not too high for you to maximise your income and live the kind of lifestyle that you want. This allows you to plan for retirement while still allowing you to return to your home land every year because living overseas, away from family and friends, is not easy.

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