“Harness the Power of the Virtual Office” by Lori Spiess

“Harness the Power of the Virtual Office”, an article written by VirtualOffiCenters owner, Lori Spiess is featured in this month’s edition of  New Business Minnesota. Lori joined a team of business experts to give you ideas on how to project an image that says you are up to any challenge.

The following is a reprint of Lori’s article. For the full version of the article download THIS PDF or click on the image to the left.

    What’s the difference between you and one of the big companies? Oh, they may have their fancy board rooms, conference rooms, recep­tionists, secretaries, big office equipment and support staff, but… you have a virtual office.

The real difference is that you can have many of the same resources as a big busi­ness for a lot less money using a virtual of­fice. You get to keep your home office, but acquire a public persona of corporate brick and mortar with an array of services you can buy on an as you need it basis.

For most new businesses, the virtual of­fice option is the business model for the future. After all, most new businesses start with a home office. The virtual office is ba­sically a low-cost means of preserving the benefits of a home office with a whole new layer of support services from the tradi­tional office business center, sometimes re­ferred to as executive suites.

Done right, the virtual office cannot only make you more efficient, but many of our clients see a direct impact on their success. It really is amazing to see people blossom and grow in this business model. I often hear people say they didn’t realize there were so many resources and options.

Before I get into more detail about the list of traditional executive suite options it’s important to introduce you to perhaps the most significant benefit: interaction.

Virtual Community

The virtual office as we prac­tice it now includes a vir­tual community. The No. 1 complaint about a home office is that people miss interacting with others. Home is lonely. We want to make people welcome.

We’ve created a vari­ety of events to encour­age our clients to get out of the house, come into our space and interact with other business profession­als. We offer free network­ing events with our clients. We’ve added a monthly Lunch and Learn seminar series, for clients, by clients. You must be a part of the virtual community in order to do a presentation to others.

We even created a whole new Facebook Fan Page to keep them up to date on events. We have Christmas party and holiday par­ties at each location. It’s always busy, full of buzz and positive energy. It’s all about creating a real community for the virtual office. A home office doesn’t have to be lonely.

We created other interaction opportu­nities by making our space more flexible. In addition to the traditional executive offices, we added Touch-Down Space. Clients can stop by, pull a stool up to a table, use the internet and make phone calls.

We offer more co-working and co-officing spaces. You pay by the hour to use the room which has a number of desks in it. The desks aren’t assigned, but a reservation is needed.

We heard from our virtual office clients that they would like storage space. So we built a room with business cubbies. It’s like a busi­ness locker where they can stash brochures, flyers, sam­ples, proj­ects they’re working on or whatever.

They really like being able to leave things here. If they have a project they’re working on because we have copiers and work space, they don’t have to pack up everything at the end of the day. They can store it and have easy access when they come back to finish.

Keep in mind, these clients still have a home office. But if you want to think big and look big you have to think outside the home.

Virtual Office

The backbone of virtual office ser­vices is live answer­ing. People aren’t impressed by the automated phone tree options. Live answering is having a rebirth that’s very retro right now. It’s also interactive. The receptionist will take messages, answer basic questions and schedule appointments.

We have people to manage your mail and correspondence. If you’re waiting for a check and are out of town, we’ll call you if it doesn’t arrive so you can react. There is someone at “your” office every day to accept mail and packages or to help with PowerPoint presen­tations, spreadsheets or big projects.

Adding virtual office capabilities means you can have a mailbox service, access to conference rooms and furnished offices. You can even use an office for as little as 30 minutes. Your name is listed in the building directory.

You can use our location for shipping and receiving. We even have curbside mail pickup. Call ahead and we’ll hand the mail off as you drive up. Much of this would not have been possible in years past because of technical and financial obstacles.

The virtual office concept is so popu­lar that in the last 18 months we increased our virtual office clients by a factor of four and added a fifth location. That is explosive growth…in a recession.

Another reason virtual office plans are catching fire is because they are a great val­ue. You’re looking at a 30-day commitment and you only pay for what you need. Today value is a driving factor in any business de­cision.

When client comes in from their home office to use our facilities, they find value in being part of the business center environ­ment. It’s like a community. There is a syner­gy. You’re at the copier or getting coffee and you start talking to another business owner. You find solutions to problems; someone to bounce ideas off to share leads with. It’s amazing what can happen. You get support as well as referrals.

Virtual offices are aimed at what we call gazelle businesses: small, quick, highly flex­ible and frugal businesses. This isn’t a stop gap measure until they move into a physical office. This is a business and lifestyle choice that is growing quickly.

With virtual office options, you won’t have to be a one-man band. As you grow your business, keep in mind that you now have very powerful options to make you more responsive to customers, project a stronger image, preserve your sanity and leverage all the advantages of your home office.