24 « August « 2013 « NYC Virtual Office Blog & FAQ

Advances in technology have meant that business can now be conducted in ways that would have been impossible even five years ago. The best example of this is the fact that it is no longer necessary for work colleagues to be in the same physical environment in order to collaborate with each other. The internet and telecommunications have been developed to a level whereby people can communicate in real-time in a variety of ways. This has resulted in the emergence of new methods of working, such as the use of virtual offices.

A virtual office refers to a way of working in which a business owner can run their operations from a completely different location to where they themselves are based. For many businesses having a physical office space is simply unnecessary. The financial savings made on leasing or buying office space and all of the associated overheads can be considerable.

Virtual offices are therefore commonly used by start-up businesses, as well as individual entrepreneurs. An increasing number of people in modern times work from home, utilizing the technology previously discussed. One of the most important benefits of a virtual office is that it can provide a level of legitimacy, and can enhance the professionalism of a business. This is due to the fact that businesspeople can rent out virtual office space from specialist companies.

A virtual office space can be a real world location with a physical address. This is beneficial for people who do not want to use their home address for business correspondence, as they can have all of their mail sent to their virtual office address instead. Often that virtual office address will be in a very prestigious location, which can improve the status of a business in the eyes of potential clients.

The companies that rent out virtual office space can also provide employees who can carry out typical office duties such as answering telephones. This, once again, can create a professional impression. They can also forward any business mail that has been received to a home address, as well as forwarding voice mail messages. It is even possible for a virtual office to operate as a traditional physical office, as rooms can be hired to hold business meetings with prospective clients who will be greeted by the office employees as they arrive. All of these services can be hired as and when they are needed, rather than incurring the regular expenses associated with a traditional office.

There is undoubtedly a growing demand amongst business people for virtual offices, and an increasing amount of companies renting out virtual office space and services to meet this demand. This can be an extremely convenient and inexpensive way for a business to raise its profile. As technology develops further and more people begin working from home it seems likely that conducting business from a virtual office will become more commonplace.

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