One reason you became a free agent was to get away from it all: the office politics, the red tape and the other ugly stuff that happens when professionals pool their talents in the swamp of corporate dysfunctionality. So why would you even consider forming a virtual team with other independent professionals to tackle projects?

Here are three reasons for starters: better access to markets, the chance to focus on what you do best, and the potential to collect markups on subcontractors’ work. We’ve talked to folks who have formed virtual teams and gleaned their wisdom on the pros and cons of these professional relationships of convenience.

As president of Virtual Corp., Scott Ream has overseen the creation of countless teams of independent consultants and contractors. Virtual is a Flanders, New Jersey-based firm that supplies teams of technical and business consultants to Nike, Warner-Lambert and other Fortune 500 companies.

"As an independent, you may find yourself with a client that wants a set of deliverables that’s more than you can achieve alone," says Ream. "If they’re willing to have you work as project manager, you have the opportunity to assemble a virtual project team."

Ream believes that one of the key benefits of virtual teaming is expanding your business. "You’re multiplying your sales network" by working with people in your profession or in allied fields and gaining access to their client bases, he says.

Does Ream see any downside to working on a team of independent professionals? "Technical people and independents can be a bit persnickety," he says. "A lot of these folks don’t like to work with anybody." The moral is that you can’t ignore interpersonal skills and issues when you consider organizing or joining a virtual team.

The Infamous Cartoon Posse of San Antonio puts forth an entirely different image to its clients, but the business model is similar to Virtual Corp.’s. The Posse consists of half a dozen regular artists and two standbys that fan out over the country to ply the trade of caricature at business conventions and other events.

Kid Cardona, owner of the Posse, hooks his artists up with drawing gigs in exchange for a modest 25% of their earnings. "I make my money on my own talents and the other artists bring in business," says Cardona.

Can Cardona’s intranet help him expand the geographic boundaries of his virtual posse? "It would be great if I could franchise," he says.

Ron Ruff’s Lincoln Database Co. is in a formative stage, but that’s typical of virtual organizations, which almost continuously create and disassemble themselves. Ruff’s group, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, sells mailing lists and other marketing services to Main Street businesses ranging from real estate agencies to veterinarians.

Ruff envisions his emerging organization as "a group of independent consultants working together" to share both complementary skills and customers. "We will assemble four, five, six people and work over the Internet," he says of his group, which now consists of himself and a database specialist.

"I can use person A’s strengths and person B’s strengths" to assemble the skill set required by a particular project, he says. Ruff sees another sort of value in this loose assemblage of talent. "You’ve got more than one point of view on how to look at things," he says.

How do the individuals that make up Lincoln Database share revenue? "I purchase the lists from the database guy, and we split it 50-50," says Ruff. The proportions of the split are still under exploration, he says.

You could say the same about the whole concept of virtual teams of free agents. But for those willing to take the risk, the rewards are actually quite promising.