Working from home offers convenience and practicality, as well as comfort, but it’s not without its shortcomings. Using your home address as your business address eliminates privacy, and acting as your own receptionist is a hassle. But there’s a solution that’s both cost effective and easy: A virtual office.

 

Think of a virtual office as a storefront from a movie set: the appearance of a business, when it’s really just a nice façade. Virtual offices give you a business address and even a receptionist to handle phone calls and appointment setting. Depending on your needs (and how much you’d like to pay), you can even arrange to use conference or meeting rooms at the office location, allowing you to keep up the appearance of a functioning office when the real office is in your spare bedroom at home.

 

The office of the future

 

In the internet age, the need for an office and a workstation is decreasing every year. With popular internet services such as Google Drive, Skype and GoToMeeting, employees are able to collaborate and communicate virtually with the ease of walking from one cubicle to the next. In a work situation like that, why would you pay for unnecessary office space? A virtual office will give you the appearance of that traditional office, without a hefty monthly lease.

 

As much office as you need

 

Depending on the services in your area, you can have as much or as little office time as you need. Among the services offered for virtual offices:

 

-       A mailing address at an office location. You can have a locked private mailbox for regular mail or packages.

 

-       A business address that gives you a more professional appearance. Some clients or potential business partners might look down on a random home address for your business. Instead, you can have an address that carries a little more prestige with it.

 

-       A receptionist who can answer phone calls and take messages. The receptionist can then forward calls directly to you, giving the appearance of an office environment when you could be hundreds of miles away. The receptionist can also sign for packages and hold documents for you, or allow documents to be left with them for you to pick up later.

 

-       Meeting/conference rooms. If you need to meet with a client, many virtual offices will allow you conference room space on a monthly or as-needed basis. Since the conference rooms are specifically meant for occasional use, the costs are low and availability is high.

 

A cost effective solution for your business

 

The best part of the virtual office is the cost – or lack thereof. A true full-time office for your business could cost thousands of dollars a month, and you have to be locked into a lease. With a virtual office, you’ll pay a fraction of what a lease costs, and many virtual office services allow month-to-month agreements.

 

If you have a small company or you work from home, a virtual office is a convenient way to heighten your professionalism without breaking the bank. To read more on this topic, download our free eBook "4 Reasons Why a Virtual Office is Perfect for a Home-Based Company".