What is a Virtual Office?

by Valerie Lim on February 7, 2010

A Virtual Office is a small business / home business phone system that makes your business look bigger and more professional. Virtual offices are shared office services, which normally include; business address, mail and courier services, phone, fax and answering services, as well as meeting and conference facilities. A virtual office is a combination of off-site live communication and address services that allow users to reduce traditional office costs while maintaining business professionalism.

Frequently the term is blurred with “office business centers” or “executive suites” which demand a conventional lease whereas a true virtual office doesn’t require that expense. The virtual office idea came from the convergence of technological innovation and the Information Age.

The purpose of a Virtual Office Service is to provide a professional business environment for your organisation. Whether you’re a home-worker, start-up or sole trader, a Virtual Office allows you to be perceived to be a large, established organisation that can do the business

Benefits of a Virtual Office:

* Cost savings: A virtual office provides clients with a prestigious office address, professional receptionist, mail forwarding and meeting room services without the high costs of renting a physical office.
* On-Site Amenities: A full-service virtual office will provide broadband internet, fax-copier- printer, advanced phone features, conference calling, video conferencing, kitchenette and a business-worthy lobby/waiting area.
* Prestigious address: Most virtual offices are located in the heart of the CBD in well known locations
* Environmentally friendly: A virtual office user can reduce their environmental impact, as well as the personal negatives of a daily commute via car or public transport.
* A virtual office can allow for low-cost expansion with no long-term commitments.
* Privacy protection: If you work from home, leasing a virtual office is a great way to protect your privacy, and virtual executive office suites are a smart, affordable way to establish your business’ presence in another city.
* Flexibility: Virtual offices are available on a part time or full time basis, so you can bolster your company’s image with a prestigious, virtual business address without the hassle, expense, or commitment to a long-term, commercial office space lease.
* Increased sales and profits: A Virtual Office also provides mail fulfillment services for your bulk mail campaigns, information pack mailings and any mail that your company sends out on a routine basis. Virtual office service telephone scripts can be edited with a moment’s notice, and deliver your telephone messages 24 hours a day.

Virtual offices are experiencing growth even in a recessionary economy. Virtual offices save you money besides giving you the flexibility and the opportunity to be at home with your family. As businesses look to trim expenses, virtual office services help reduce overhead while keeping professionalism high. The new generation of entrepreneurs is embracing the virtual office instead of the traditional on a global scale. If you work from your home utilizing a computer, modem, fax machine, email or other electronic means to perform your job and communicate with your place of employment, you work in a virtual office.

Learn more about a virtual office. Stop by Gateway 21 Offices site where you can find out all about virtual offices and what it can do for you.

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