As the costs to run a business continue to rise, business owners are looking for more and more solutions for cutting costs. One of the more popular solutions has become the virtual office. What are virtual offices? They are used to represent office space for businesses that have decided to reduce their costs by eliminating their full-time office space.
So much business is done “online” nowadays, that it has, in many cases, rendered the traditional office environment unnecessary. Although many employees are able to telecommute, there is often still a need for an actual physical address for the company.
A virtual office suite not only acts as a physical address for the company, but it can also provide a number of other services that a business would be lacking without a full-time office space.
1) Physical Address – Setting up a virtual office space provides a physical address for your business. This looks much more legitimate than having a PO Box, and it also allows you to have an “office” in various locations. It’s much less expensive to rent virtual office space than to rent an entire office space that would go mostly unused. A physical address allows you to receive mail there, and you could even hire someone to sign for packages, and screen mail.
2) Communications – A small business doesn’t have the ability to provide round-the-clock telephone customer service the same way other companies do. However, a virtual office setup allows you to hire a remote receptionist or answering service to screen your calls, and/or handle after-hours calls for you. Customers will think they’re reaching your office, and if your receptionist is well-trained, they’ll be none the wiser.
3) Useful Office Space – A virtual office space isn’t completely virtual, however. Many virtual offices for rent provide actual office spaces to work in, as well as broadband internet, and printer/fax/copier accessibility. Working remotely provides a great deal of flexibility, so it will be nice for your employees to have office space they can use as needed, on an hourly basis. There are also conference room spaces provided that will allow you to conduct meetings with either employees or clients.
Setting up a virtual office space provides many advantages for your company. It provides all the amenities of a full-time physical office space, without having to pay out the nose for a space you don’t really need. If you’re looking to cut costs, setting up a virtual office space is a great place to start.
