When is it time to go from virtual office to serviced office?

A virtual office is an ideal solution for start-up businesses who wish to keep costs down.

There is minimal capital outlay, as you only pay for limited number of services such as call/mail handling, allowing you to use a prestigious address while still working from home.

Meeting rooms, should they be needed, can be booked from time to time if your virtual office (VO) provider have the facility.

The question for emerging businesses using a VO package is when it is time to make the leap to a full serviced office workspace solution?  Is it worth the extra money each month?

Benefits of moving to a serviced office

• You get to interact with fellow employees and other businesses, face-to-face each day.  Speaking by phone or skype every day is not as inspiring and is restrictive if trying to generate or explain ideas to one another.
• You get the chance to network with other businesses and build possible strategic relationships.
• You are more likely to be focused and work in a more structured manner, taking a consistent lunch break for example.  When working from home there is always the temptation to work in an unstructured way.
• You get full IT support to give you more time to concentrate on your work.

Potential drawbacks

• Obviously, it will cost your business more money, not just in terms of license fees but also in terms of travel time, commuting fares or parking.  I am sure many of those who brave the Northern Line London tube each day would love the chance to work from home.
• You might not be able to afford the location where your business is registered.  For example if you have a W1 Mayfair postcode for VO services, a serviced office solution in this area will be one of the most costly in London, so you may choose a location such as Mill Hill to save significant costs.

Using a virtual office will save you huge amounts of money when you first start in business.  However they could also be used should you need to downsize, or make savings – especially if you are a small company.

Many businesses use a combination of the two services for a well-rounded way to run their business.  Each business will require a solution that fits them and with the various options available from most companies in both products, there will always be a suitable solution for most companies.

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