Owning an online business comes with many benefits. Similar to the advantages of having a job from home, owning an online business allows for flexible scheduling and also the ability to work in the comfort of your own house. However, one major issue arises when it’s time to have business guests in town.
Given the fact that your online business doesn’t have an actual office, things get problematic. Also, it’s not ideal to have business guests invited directly to your house. This is where virtual offices come in.
Cost Effectiveness
While online businesses are a relatively newer trend, the idea of a virtual office has actually been around since the early 1960s. It involves companies that offer businesses a number of services in order for the business to not have to carry the financial burden of a traditional office. Leasing a traditional office can be expensive. And because the online business operates on the internet, there is virtually no need to pay rent for office space that won’t get used anyway. Nowadays, it’s fairly easy to find an office space with a simple Google search with the preferred location—for example, virtual office Las Vegas.
The cost-effectiveness doesn’t only come into play when it comes to the amount of rent necessary. There is also a factor when it comes to furnishing the space. Companies that are leasing virtual offices are also providing the necessary furniture for space but also allowing access to their gear. For example, what if a presentation is needed? This ends up being a great deal when thinking about the bottom line. With a simple payment, an online business won’t have to worry anymore about rent, utilities, maintenance, or office equipment.
What You Get
One of the main advantages that come with getting a virtual office is the fact that it lends credibility to your online business. The simple idea of having a business address in a prestigious location can increase the image of your business. Also, it looks more legitimate and professional. Having a business address on your website or business cards will end up increasing the trust that prospects and clients will have in your company. But there’s more that comes with renting a virtual office. Depending on the package that you might acquire and your professional needs, you could get an office phone number, a private mailbox, the ability to rent conference rooms, etc.
A Central Hub
Besides the aforementioned cost-effectiveness and credibility, a virtual office can also act as a central hub for your company. The Internet makes things easy and there’s no need for employees to commute, being allowed to simply work from home. However, when it comes time for a meeting with business guests or potential investors, holding them over the Internet might not be as rewarding.
Thankfully, conference rooms can be easily rented on an “as-needed basis” for as little as one hour. This comes as a major benefit because your business won’t have to worry about renting and furnishing an entire office. And all of that only to spend an hour in a meeting every month. Your business will be able to use the office supplies available and not worry about anything regarding maintenance or utilities.
When you rent a virtual office, the company in charge will be able to handle all the packages you receive. They might even offer to handle your phone calls and your faxes. While this might not seem like a huge benefit, if your business is large enough, you will be receiving plenty of phone calls and packages constantly, which can end up being disruptive to your productivity. By renting a virtual office that acts as a central hub, you will be able to deal with your calls, faxes, and packages whenever you prefer without having to drop your work constantly in order to handle them.
Brief History of Virtual Offices
Being around since the 1960s, virtual offices have evolved alongside technology in terms of the services they provide. The first known company to provide this sort of service was OmniOffices Group in 1962. Since then, virtual offices started employing the use of portable computers, PDAs, the Internet, and software such as Skype. Nowadays, the concept is popular for online businesses of all sizes, due to the flexibility it offers them.
