The rise of the virtual office

Owning a business no longer means working the 9-5 in a scratchy shirt amid arctic conditions (you can see which side I sit on in the office air-con war).

A business can easily be started as a hobby from your front room. Which means that virtual offices are gaining popularity – so in this article, we’re taking a look at the main benefits of having one.

What is a virtual office?

According to Wikipedia, “A virtual office is part of the flexible workspace industry that provides businesses with any combination of services, space and/or technology, without those businesses bearing the capital expenses of owning or leasing a traditional office.” Here at MadeSimple, we cover a number of services including Telephone Answering, Mail Forwarding (and packages for both) as well as our very own Work Hub.

Why are they so popular?

Having a small business or being an ‘entrepreneur’ is on the rise, with LinkedIn reporting a 6.4 per cent increase from 2016 to 2017. Running a business with no prior experience is now even more attainable as virtual office services replace the need to have a physical premise and staff members.

Why would I need a Virtual Office?

Costs can be kept to a bare minimum
Don’t have an accountant? No problem – you could use software such as FreeAgent. You can even hire a Virtual Assistant who can work on tasks remotely for a fee.

They’re great when getting started
You may have heard of the ‘Side Hustle’ or ‘Passion Project’, as many people now plan a business whilst being employed. Virtual offices are great to use whilst starting up, especially if you are unable to answer calls or pick up letters during the day. Never miss an opportunity and look professional!

It’s a chance to take back time
Chances are, you don’t have staff working for you, which means that you’re the company secretary, accountant and marketer. Take a load off by outsourcing some of those roles. You could have messages taken and dealt with when it suits you. There are also plenty of marketing tools available online to help you get noticed – many are free!

Get a business premise without the rent
Not yet got a physical location for your business? A virtual office can provide an address that you can advertise online (for customers, stationery, etc) as well as making sure your home address stays private.

Help the environment
Environmental concerns also extend to businesses. Some people now choose to run a business from home to be more sustainable (and Cloud software makes it easier than ever to negate the need for paper). This also includes commuting – as well as saving money, you’ll also be making fewer fuel-guzzling journeys.

Meetings get a makeover
Virtual Offices don’t mean the end of meetings (a necessity for the growing business). There are many tools to use when it comes to catching up remotely, such as Skype or Google Hangouts. And if you do need to meet in person, why not hire a meeting room? 

Running a business is now as simple as owning a laptop – and a virtual office service can make all the difference!

Interested in our Virtual Office packages? We offer Telephone Answering and Mail Forwarding (you even get your own PA to take calls for your business). And if you’re looking to capture calls outside of office hours, we have separate telephone support to suit your needs.