The world of work is more diverse than ever. With more small businesses existing primarily in remote form, the traditional office space is viewed as less of a “must-have” than a useful tool for some businesses.
In this new marketplace numerous new solutions have sprung up, including meet-ups and networking events specifically for independent workers, coworking spaces, and virtual office services.
Of these, virtual offices are the least well known, but they offer major benefits at a very reasonable price point for freelancers, small businesses, and startups that don’t need (or rarely need) a physical space outside the home from which to work.
Virtual offices help your business look more professional.
Despite the nearly four million Americans who work remotely, there is still a lot of prejudice about home-based businesses. They’re more likely to be viewed as scams, unstable, or unprofessional.
While the recent retail crash clearly illustrates that willingness to sign a lease is no indication of long-term solvency, it tends to be seen as a commitment, both to the business itself and to acknowledging traditional professional norms. We wear suits, we exchange cards, we go to the office. The emotional impact of a professional-looking business address hasn’t caught up with our reality yet.
This is one of the biggest benefits of a virtual office. Your business gets its own address, one that’s clearly not in a residential area. Your mail goes there (and either gets forwarded to your home address or waits for you in your personal locked mailbox), you can list it on your website and promotional materials, and you can even have a receptionist answer the phone for you and direct your calls.
All this puts out a vibe that says “I take my business seriously.” The fact that the real serious business of your work takes place at your kitchen table is a conversation you can have with clients (or not) once they know and value the work you do.
Virtual offices help protect your privacy.
You want the world to know all about your business. Your private life? Maybe not so much. The issue gets complicated when your personal and public faces share a lot of common data, like your phone number and address.
With unsavory practices ranging from ordinary spam to doxxing or even swatting, it’s foolish not to take basic precautions when it comes to keeping your personal life personal. Having separate email, phone number, address, and social media accounts for your business is just good common sense.
Virtuals offices take your home-based business and add a degree of separation between it and your personal life. Anyone who wants to know about your work can easily look it up and know that you are local, legitimate, and still in business, while anyone looking to stalk your personal information will have to do a fair bit more digging.
Obviously, you’ll need more than a business address to keep your personal data secure, but it alleviates the need to plaster your personal details all over the internet in the name of marketing.
Virtual offices help you maintain work-life balance.
You’re in the middle of dinner and your cell phone rings: is it a friend inviting you out or is somebody with poor timing just calling to ask a question about your freelance rates? A virtual office can help with this.
How? With phone calls to your dedicated local or toll-free line being forwarded, directed to voicemail, or even tackled by a receptionist, depending on the plan you’ve signed up for. You can even choose to keep your mail entirely separate, so you’ll never have to tackle invoices and birthday cards at the same time.
A virtual office means that you can take a vacation and let any curious clients know you’ll be out of the “office” for a week and will get back to them afterward, while still taking calls from your best friend and the neighbor you hired to look after your cat while you’re away.
Work-life balance is complicated for people who work from home in the best of circumstances. A virtual office can be just the thing to tip the balance from unhealthy and unsustainable to a satisfying combination of both personal and professional success.
Interested in giving a virtual office a try?
Victory Workspace’s virtual office options include plans to fit your needs and budget, no matter if you’re just starting out or well-established and ready to grow. Get in touch and let us be your business’ home away from home.
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