subject: Enjoy the best of both worlds with a virtual office [print this page] Some people were born with a business savvy the rest of us can only dream of. To use serial entrepreneur Richard Branson as an example, he was publishing his very own magazine in his mid-teens, launched Virgin Records by his second decade and formed an airline shortly after his thirtieth birthday.
Throw into the equation a carbonated beverage and an all-encompassing media company, then you start to realise that some people were simply born to do business.
But alas, many business owners are happy enough putting all their efforts into one initiative, concentrating on whatever their passion is. However, the difference between a business that sinks, swims or soars can often be the smallest of things.
One of the fundamental rules of thumb for any budding business is to control costs a pound saved is a pound earned.
All those precious start-up funds should be treated with kid-gloves and you'd be surprised how easy it is to run a professional outfit with little more than a networked computer and an ounce of business acumen.
Given that so much business now takes place online, the smallest of companies can compete effectively both domestically and globally. Your website is your shop-front, your inbox is your letterbox and your VoIP technology is your meeting space.
Indeed, why pay thousands of pounds a year for a plush office space in London's West End when you can work just as well from your spare bedroom in Clapham?
Having a virtual office presence means your garage can serve a much more valuable purpose than housing a bunch of rusting garden tools. A high-speed broadband connection means you can network with the many millions of suppliers and buyers across the globe. But there's a fine line between keeping your costs down and cutting corners to the detriment of your business.
Face-to-face meetings with clients will be likely at some point, and whilst email certainly plays a vital part in any modern day business, good old snail-mail' is still necessary. There's a lot to be said for having a physical address on all your correspondence, and a trendy Covent Garden postcode will give your business that added edge.
And what about a chirpy receptionist to answer your phone calls? Running a business is a lot of hard work, and if you're spending your whole morning answering calls, you won't get a lot of work done.
Indeed, many businesses opt for a virtual office setup, working remotely but using dedicated services designed to support those who like to work from cyberspace. So a permanent postal address is possible, alongside a telephone answering service plus other additional administrative support that is typical of a traditional office space. And what's more, it all comes at a fraction of the cost of setting up an actual office.
So whether you're launching a new business or looking for ways to cut costs in an existing venture, digital communications can certainly help. And with dedicated office support services that operate remotely, you can enjoy all the benefits of a physical offices space, with all the freedom of working wherever you want.
Enjoy the best of both worlds with a virtual office
