How a virtual office can level the playing field for the smallest businesses

One of the most notable effects of the recent pandemic is the greater acceptance of remote work. Governments and large corporations have finally acknowledged that a physical office is not always necessary. Many individuals have become newly aware of the potential to run a successful business without one.

However, to gain the trust of potential customers, remote businesses need to appear to be as professional and established as their larger counterparts. A virtual office is often the best way to achieve this.

Image is Everything

The general public has come to expect a certain standard of doing business that can be difficult for a tiny business to match, such as a live person answering the phone during regular business hours, responding to emails within 24 hours, products delivered within a reasonable amount of time and more. People tend to be wary of companies that seem to be operating on a shoestring. Yet, all of those things can be difficult to maintain for a business that consists of just one or two people.

Whether a company is providing services or physical products, there are limits to what can be accomplished when working alone from home. Yet, it’s usually a lot more difficult to achieve success without already appearing successful. Fortunately, according to Investopedia, using a virtual office allows “… a small business can appear larger than it is.”

Getting More for Less

Two of the biggest overhead expenses of doing business are payroll and real estate costs. The amount of office space you need depends, of course, on how many employees you have. But even if you are the only employee of your business, the cost can still become a significant drain on your revenue. In fact, it can often be prohibitive in terms of startup costs. Also, if you are the only employee of your business, you can still probably use some help with the administrative side of things…just not enough to warrant hiring full-time employees.

As noted by Entrepreneur, “Virtual offices have lower overhead.” That’s because they make it unnecessary for smaller businesses to pay for office space and employees. They don’t really need to make themselves look more professional, established, and trustworthy. Think about it. If a company doesn’t need an actual physical location for walk-in traffic, and all of the work can be done remotely, then there is really no reason to pay for real estate all year round.

A virtual office allows you to access and pay for office space and equipment only when you need it. Most of them also offer services that make it unnecessary for you to have even permanent employees, even part-time. Together, these two traditional expenses make for significantly lower overhead.

Virtual Office Services

Naturally, you can expect virtual office offerings to vary widely. But they will usually be able to reduce the overhead costs of real estate and payroll significantly.

Office Space on Demand

Having access to office space when, and only when, you need it can result in enormous savings. Many services allow you to rent space for as little as an hour to a month at a time, and that’s not limited to just regular offices. Maybe you only need a co-working or shared office space, which will probably cost even less. Other alternatives often include a conference room that is fully equipped with any equipment you need, including tech for videoconferencing. In any case, you will very likely also have access to a fully trained staff while there.

Official Address

Remote companies may only need something as simple as a physical address to receive mail or packages. Virtual office companies often offer this service, as well.

Personnel

Virtual offices usually have staff and services available that relieve you of the costs for permanent employees of your own. A professional answering service can give your company the appearance of being larger and more established. This then fosters trust in potential customers. A virtual assistant can help you with all of your clerical and administrative needs when you need one.

Virtual offices obviously offer obvious benefits. All current and potential small business owners should probably at least consider using one.