The Covid-19 pandemic was a struggle for a lot of businesses, especially small businesses. As difficult as it was, there was a bit of a silver lining in it. Many businesses found that they didn’t need to conduct all of their business in a physical office space. Some found out that the virtual office can have advantages for them.
Perception
While we may have gotten comfortable with the idea of working from a coffee shop or our back porch, not everyone is there yet. A virtual office can give you a prestigious business address at a fraction of the cost of renting a commercial space.
Work from anywhere
If all your business needs is an internet connection, a virtual office may be just the solution you need. A physical location subtly demands that you use it, but a virtual office goes wherever you go. This allows you to travel and work remotely. The workforce has embraced the working vacation, even coining a term: “workations”.
Time savings
Have you ever felt like you didn’t have enough hours in the week? The US Census Bureau determined that the average commute to work in the United States is 28 minutes each way. For those using public transportation, it was closer to 47 minutes. That is between 5 and 8 hours a week! What could you accomplish with an extra 8 hours? How much money would you save? This is to say nothing of the traffic you don’t have to sit in.
Privacy and convenience
Certainly, there is a privacy factor when it comes to using your home address as your work address. That becomes even more pronounced when services like Google start putting your business on their maps based on data they gathered. There is a convenience factor as well. If you move to a new home or condo, your business address also changes. With a virtual office, your address can remain a constant, professional-sounding address.
Flexibility
If you want a physical office, you’ll most likely have to sign a longer-term lease. After that, chances are you’ll need to deal with utilities, furniture and other things that will take up time and money. These just aren’t issues with a virtual office. And if you decide you want to move to another location, you don’t have to figure out how to break the lease, move the utilities and move a desk.
Still physical space
For all the advantages that a virtual office has, there are some occasions where you may want to meet a client, job applicant or vendor face to face. Sure, there is probably a Starbucks nearby, but is that the answer? Depending on the package, most virtual offices offer conference rooms or meeting spaces that you can use when needed. Your client can come into a professional-looking lobby and meet with you in a dedicated conference room instead of trying to talk over a barista shouting someone’s name incorrectly.
First Street Executive Suites offers virtual offices starting at $99.00 a month. You can have a prestigious business address in the historic Earnhardt building in downtown Fort Myers. Take a virtual tour of your new virtual office and start seeing the possibilities. Contact us for questions and details of the different packages.