For entrepreneurs who have been building their business from home, a virtual office can serve as that first step towards getting established in a physical space – but in a risk-free way, without commitment. It’s a way of giving your business a professional image, if you’re not ready to move into an office space – and a more flexible and cheaper alternative.
The benefits of a virtual office
What are the benefits that a virtual office can offer – as opposed to working at home without a virtual office?
Professionalism
One of the key benefits of a virtual office is that it gives your business a greater degree of professionalism. Having a business address (rather than your home address), a business phone number (rather than your mobile or home number), and a professional space in which to meet with clients (rather than your home or a public space, e.g. coffee shop) gives the impression that your business is professional, well-established and trustworthy.
Affordability
Another advantage of the virtual office is that they cost much less than renting a traditional office or coworking space. At DBS a virtual office starts from just £1 a day!
Time management
If you choose a virtual office package which includes telephone answering, you will find that you save lots of time that you’d usually spend answering calls, particularly calls that you’d rather filter out. You also find that you no longer miss important calls because you are driving, on another call or have poor signal.
Flexibility
Having a virtual office means you’re not tied down to a single location as your virtual office can be wherever you are. This means the flexibility of your working hours is under your control, and other important responsibilities don’t have to stop you from working. You can also have multiple virtual offices – to extend your business reach or promote your business as a large organisation. DBS have connections within the industry to provide you with a business address and/or meeting rooms nationwide!
A flexible workforce
Virtual offices aren’t just for sole traders – it’s also possible to manage a team of remote workers through your virtual office. In renting a virtual office for your business, instead of basing your team in one space, you’re offering this benefit to your staff. The fact that your workforce can be remote and do not need to travel to a specific location each day means that you can broaden your recruitment to a much wider area – so you can benefit from talent wherever you find it!.
For home-based businesses and start-ups looking to gain a more professional image, a virtual office could be the perfect solution. As you progress, you may find that a virtual office is no longer appropriate for your growing team, and you’d rather be based in a single office together. At DBS we can support you to grow from your Virtual Office to a physical space – helping to minimise costs and business disruption!
To find out more about Virtual Offices at any of our East Midlands based centres, call our head office today on 01332 810 900!