September 8th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
Traditional business plans require office space, whether that’s in tall office buildings downtown or cubicles arranged in an office park setting just off the highway. New business plans, however, accept virtual office space as a workable and effective reality in business today.
No longer do office managers need to agonize over who gets what cubicle. Competition for that corner office is eliminated. Office politics (at least as regards to office locations) is done away with. Virtual office space means higher flexibility, efficiency, and cost-efficient for any company and its employees that utilize it. Professionalism and productivity are not sacrificed at all, and in fact are increased in many ways.
A company that takes virtual office space instead of a traditional office space is replacing the physical elements of the business with something new that still does the job but actually saves both time and space while still remaining a profitable business.
As far as the day to day business workings of a company, virtual office spaces can have a remarkable positive impact on work functionality and information management needs.
Virtual Office Space Tip: Many companies decide to change how they handle information when they switch to virtual office space, and adopt the concept of a paperless office with potential great success.
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space

September 8th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
You run a small, successful, and busy consulting firm in a big city. Business is good, but life in the big city is expensive, exhausting, and overwhelming for you, your partners, and your family. You dream of being able to move away from the big city and out to the country, knowing that it would be an ideal place for you and your family. But, you wonder, how would your consulting firm ever survive out in the country, away from clients and business centers?
Answer: by becoming a virtual office.
Virtual offices are enabling an increasing number of small business-owners to take advantage of small-town living (and costs) while maintaining their big city business and clientele. If the majority of your business is done by phone, email, fax, and BlackBerry to begin with, then there really seems to be no reason to not transition to a virtual office setup. Your business relationships with your clients would not change at all, but your company’s operating expenses would dramatically decrease. In addition, working out of a virtual office gives business owners and employees alike an increased flexibility and productivity.
Virtual Offices Tip: Transitioning to a virtual office is also ideal for companies looking to grow or expand to new cities, markets, and customer bases.
Relevant Tags:virtual office space, virtual offices

September 8th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
The business world has not yet fully understood what revolutionary technological advances have made possible in the form of virtual offices. As recently as only a few years ago, people in the business world talked about the concept of virtual offices but didn’t actually know any businesses that were taking advantage of it. At the time, there was a lot of curiosity about them, as people wondered how effective a business tool it really would turn out to be.
What an increasing number of businesses are discovering today – in America and worldwide – is that virtual offices are actually tremendously productive, professional, and efficient. Time and space are two of the biggest and costliest commodities for a business. The use of virtual offices turns both of these commodities into incredibly valuable assets, instead of liabilities, for companies in all kinds of industries.
Time is saved with virtual offices as employees no longer waste innumerable hours on a commute, business owners no longer spend time on administrative tasks instead of new business opportunities, and clients get the benefits of increased efficiency and productivity.
Virtual Offices Tip: The world of virtual offices opens numerous opportunities for business expansion and growth to companies of all sizes and industries.
Relevant Tags:virtual office space, virtual offices

September 5th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
More and more small businesses or startups are opening every day in this country. These businesses in particular are making good use of virtual offices, finding it not only a cost-efficent practice, but also an extremely flexible work environment.
If you have a small business that is interested in opening a virtual office, you may have concerns about the initial expenses. Well, stop worrying because the costs are typically quite minimal and reasonable, particularly when compared to the operating costs of a traditional office environment. Even taking into account any new cell or landline connections, new computer equipment, and office stationery (for example, company letterhead as well as business cards with new contact information), operating costs of a virtual office can be significantly lower.
Another potential cost-saving factor in opening a virtual office is that many companies find an increase in productivity and work quality among their employees.
Virtual Office Tip: If your service industry company uses a virtual office primarily for billing and communications with clients but employees are using their cars constantly to travel to client sites, it is often a good idea to keep track of business-related mileage (in addition to any tolls and parking costs) for the company’s tax deduction purposes
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space, virtual offices

September 5th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
Several studies have shown that worker productivity and output increases in telecommuting or virtual office situations. For workaholics or overachievers, however, working out of virtual offices can take a little delicate navigation.
Many people in business today thrive on juggling a lot of work, and often end up doing all of the needed work. Virtual offices can help overachievers to better manage their time and stay focused on only those business tasks that require their work skills. In exchange, overachievers or workaholics stay fresh, very motivated, and meet their personal productivity goals, and therefore avoid burnout.
Some of the tips that virtual office organizers suggest for any business owner or employee who works remotely or in a virtual office include the following:
Build breaks into your work day. Your body will thank you for that ten-minute walk you could take this afternoon!
Delegate responsibilities. Recognize that there are some business tasks that can be a better use of your time than others, and hand off those more minor tasks to virtual assistants or receptionists to take care of on your behalf.
Plan, Plan, Plan. Many people who work remotely underestimate the importance of plotting out goals or a plan when starting work on a new project or task.
Virtual Offices Tip: Different people work best in different environments; some thrive on working in a bustling coffee shop, while others find they do their best work when the phone is turned off and the kids are at school.
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space, virtual offices

September 5th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
It might seem all the rage these days to claim to be “green,” but the fact of the matter is that many companies have been incorporating green, or environmentally-friendly, policies since the Federal Clean Air Act was enacted in the 1990s. Companies in the United States that utilize virtual office space are actually complying with the requirements of the Federal Act.
The Federal Clean Air Act requires companies with 100 or more employees in heavily polluted regions to develop plans to reduce automobile commuting by 25 percent. As a result, since the Act went into effect in 1996, the number of telecommuters and virtual offices in the business world have dramatically increased.
Of course, large companies in heavily-polluted urban regions are not the only businesses that can enjoy the green benefits of a virtual office. Small businesses that use a virtual office space are also able to be green, saving on utilities, while their employees save on commuting costs (and use less gas).
Virtual Office Space Tip: Productivity levels rise with a virtual office or telecommunitng arrangement because employees work in familiar surroundings and save time traveling to and from the office. The total daily hours worked at home in a virtual office space is much longer than it could ever be in an office.
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space, virtual offices

September 4th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
You may hear a lot today about virtual offices but haven’t really caught what they’re all about. It’s really quite simple: the virtual office concept gives a company or small business owner the advantages of professional surroundings without the financial disadvantages of physical office space. Generally, virtual offices feature such services as mail delivery and services, phone answering, shared conference facilities on an as-needed basis, courier services, and access to office equipement. The concept has considerably grown in the business world in recent years.
Virtual offices are quite appealing to startup businesses where financial considerations or constraints may prevent leasing or buying a building while the company is so new. Interestingly enough, however, the concept has also caught on with larger companies that are finding that some of their key people prefer to work from home, which often translates into increased employee productivity. Growing businesses that are in flux about future plans but still hard at work can use virtual offices for a permanent location and phone number where customers or clients can reach you.
Relevant Tags:virtual office space, virtual offices

September 4th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
Anyone remotely familiar with the business world has heard about the heavy competition for a corner office, or even an office with a window. For companies that use virtual offices, however, every single employee can have a prestigious corner office – in their own home.
Through virtual office space, companies can conduct business from practically anywhere: an employee’s home office, the corner cvoffee shop, an airport VIP lounge. With a laptop, a WiFi connection, and a cell phone, many small businesses have opened. With the added benefits of a virtual office space, those same small businesses are able to expand both clientele and employees, while keeping operating expenses reasonable and maintaining organizational flexibility. Companies can even take advantage of reception and human resources services through a virtual office, which is also a major potential cost-effective benefit.
Employees working in a virtual office space enjoy reduced or no commutes, while still having access to business services such as a mailing center or conference rooms for meetings with clients.
Virtual Office Space Tip: As many as 50 percent to 75 percent of the seats in today’s traditional offices are empty at any given time. Only 30 percent of planned meetings take place.
Relevant Tags:virtual office space, virtual offices

September 4th, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
When telecommuting first arrived on the business world’s horizon, many companies assumed that an employee working remotely would not be in their best interest. However, those companies that tested out telecommuting found that – in many ways – a virtual office can benefit everyone involved.
Employers are happy with a virtual office because the expense of acquiring, renting/leasing, furnishing, and maintaining office space for an employee (or employees) is drastically reduced. In addition, companies can utilize people and resources from beyond their physical region – after all, the perfect person for the job might live two time zones away and be unwilling to relocate, but with a virtual office, that person would become a viable option.
Employees are happy with a virtual office because a major headache in their workday (namely, a long and horrible commute) is eliminated. Not only does that mean that the frustration and time wasted on sitting in traffic is gone, but it also means employees have more time to spend with their families at the end of a work day.The virtual office can be as effective a business environment as a traditional office and oftentimes even more so.
Virtual Office Tip: You might think that the computer or high tech industries are the only ones involved in a virtual office. However, industries as diverse as the arts, education, and marketing are utilizing virtual office set-ups.
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space

September 3rd, 2008 by Stacey Barrus
We were curious as to how many employers approach managing employees who work out of a virtual office. We found a number of important factors that go into successful management in a virtual office situation and would like to share them today.
Teamwork. There are a number of ways to do this: through regular communication via phone, email, or electronic message boards, by encouraging employees share problems, get feedback, or even acknowledge successes or goals met.
Trust. In general, employees very much need to know that their managers trust them to carry out everyday work functions, be competent to do the basic job with little or no supervision, and perform to the established standards. This goes doubly so in a virtual office situation.
Communication. Even without a physical office door, a manager who has an open door policy will tend to be a successful one. A regular face-to-face team meeting helps to stay on top of brewing problems or to brainstorm new ideas, as well as to give positive motivation to virtual office workers.
Virtual Office Tip: Team- or company-wide emails from managers recognizing an employee’s success is a great way to motivate virtual office employees
Relevant Tags:virtual office, virtual office space, virtual offices
