Since the start of the pandemic, the world has seen many changes to how businesses operate. One of the most notable changes to happen to many people has been the advent of mass remote working.
Once it was just a dream for many that they could work from home, but now it is a reality for millions. Once the tourism industry is fully back to normal, there will no doubt be millions of individuals heading off to resume their digital nomad lifestyles too.
This style of working has many benefits for both the employees and the employer. However, there can be one slight issue. Businesses need to have a physical address, and there need to be avenues of communication open to clients and customers.
A virtual office may be able to remedy these problems. What is a virtual office though, and can it help a business expand?
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What constitutes a virtual office?
A virtual office is very often located in quite a prestigious location. For example, the building may be located somewhere famous such as Regent Street in London.
The virtual office operating out of that address would offer services to other businesses, including the use of the address. Although none of the client’s operations would be physically located in Regent Street, the address would feature on their website and any paperwork.
As far as the client’s own customers would be concerned, the business would have its headquarters or main office in Regent Street. This could help to start a business from scratch by immediately eliminating the need to rent an expensive office.
Why would your business require a virtual office?
There are plenty of reasons for using a virtual office service, including wanting to expand.
Imagine that your business uses remote workers in different countries, but you are primarily receiving your business in the US. Perhaps you would like to expand into the UK, but you do not want to rent premises there. Perhaps you don’t need a physical address as your work is all done remotely, or maybe you cannot afford one.
This is where virtual offices come into play. You could achieve your goal of having a prestigious London address and telephone number, so that you can attract new clients, without ever physically setting up an office.
A virtual office in London can also help a business to cut costs, and streamline, and let a new business start-up. A team of remote workers could all operate from their homes, while they use a virtual office for receiving post.
What services would your business gain from a virtual office?
Many businesses are now looking to streamline their operations, especially after the pandemic. Thousands of companies across different industries went bust during 2020, and more still in 2021.
Unemployment rose as businesses were unable to cope with enforced lockdowns and huge drops in revenue. This has caused many businesses to take a fresh look at how they manage operations.
While a virtual office can help with prestige and a genuine physical address, there are other benefits too.
One service that virtual offices provide is call-answering. This is very useful for start-ups that don’t wish to be bothered by constant marketing calls and cannot afford to hire reception staff. It is also useful for sole traders, such as plumbers, who do not want to miss calls but are constantly on the move.
Virtual offices also provide a place for the post to be delivered, and they will then forward it on, often minus the unwanted junk mail.
How would a virtual office improve your business?
The main benefits of using a virtual office are as follows:
- Prestige
- Professional appearance
- Dedicated and customised reception service
- Mail received and forwarding
- Cost-cutting
- Time-saving
When you are looking at marketing your business, one of the top marketing tips is to stand out from the crowd. Having a Regent Street address would certainly help, especially if you were a plumber looking to service prestigious areas in London.
Having someone answer your phone calls will benefit your company too. Not only will you never miss a call, but you will also sound and appear more professional. Generally, these businesses will answer your calls by using your company name and greeting the caller with a custom message that you choose.
You will save money by not hiring receptionists, and save time from not having to answer nuisance calls from marketing companies. You could gain more business too by having a professional receptionist answer your calls at the virtual office.
All of this leaves your team able to get on with more important tasks, free from disturbances.
What sort of businesses use virtual offices?
If you are weighing up the idea of using a virtual office to help with your own firm, you may be interested to see what type of businesses use them.
As you have read above, there have been a few mentions of plumbers. Indeed, sole traders and small businesses, such as plumbers could benefit greatly from using a virtual office.
Anyone that is operating a company out of their home could improve the public perception of their business by using a virtual office’s services and address. Companies that use remote workers could certainly use a London address to give the appearance of having a central location for operations.
Any business looking to expand into the UK without huge investment might want to consider a virtual office, and start-ups could also benefit. As Investopedia points out, virtual offices are especially popular with start-ups as a way to minimise overheads.
What about when you need to meet clients?
These days, meetings can be made no matter where all the attendees are situated. Zoom meetings became extremely popular during the pandemic, and some would say they happened a bit too regularly.
However, there are occasions when you really need to meet up with clients and employees in a physical location. Sometimes only a proper face-to-face meeting will do.
This is especially true when it comes to meeting important clients when trying to win big contracts, or when there is a problem to be smoothed over.
Depending on what virtual office company you use, you may well have the use of their building and meeting room. Very often, these businesses will let you set up meetings on their site which can add to the overall effectiveness of using a prestigious location.
Are virtual offices legitimate?
This is a common question for anyone looking into virtual offices. Using an address that you are not based at might seem a tad shady, but they are actually regulated by the government.
If you chose to use a virtual office in the UK, you would have to provide certain documentation proving your identity and your company. There are HMRC regulations regarding virtual offices and money laundering. Businesses supplying virtual office services have to be compliant to be able to operate.
Summary
Any business that needs to cut costs, or is just starting up with limited funds, might want to use a virtual office. Sole traders, start-ups, and expansions could all find that a virtual office gives them that prestigious location, without ever having to lease any real office space.
Finding a professional, compliant virtual office company is important. Once that has been established, it would be down to you to choose what level of service you require. Then you can start running your business virtually from London, or whichever prestigious location you choose.
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