Looking for office space is a key part to any startup and making sure you choose what’s best for your business is essential. Whether traditional office space is better than a virtual one, is a big question to ask before opening a business. There are pros and cons to both approaches and overhead budgets and costs are a key element to consider when making a decision.
Virtual Office Space
A virtual office bears no, walls. And the windows are limitless. You can work from anywhere at any time with people from all over the world. The working world is how the 24/7 market has built itself. With the addition of forex, an always running online financial system, as well as technology that keeps humans connected full-time, the ability to run an office from home, airport or even vacation has become the norm. Whether you’re looking for a virtual office provider in the UK, or in the US, you’re guaranteed to find a service that meets all of your business’s needs.
As a business owner, you can have virtual assistants available whenever – making it a viable option rather than people who punch a 9-5 clock. While you sleep, meet, and conduct business, these personal assistants work on a contract basis and by the time you wake up or break from a meeting for lunch, the project you ordered is completed and sitting in your Inbox. But there also can be a personal disconnect with a virtual assistant.
Virtual office space is not without costs. They require:
-
Software that is secure and available to all employees
-
A physical and email address that are both reliable
-
Virtual 24/7 phone assistance
-
Virtual tasks that are trusted to be completed
-
A reliable phone number be it landline or a cell phone.
-
Reliable, fast internet connection by all employees
-
Shared overhead costs by staff and employers for systems
Traditional Office Space
Traditional office space speaks directly to its name. Some customers prefer a space that they can physically come to and scope it out. The traditional work-family unit is also forced to come together on a daily basis and grow bonds that prove that productive work is often the outcome. However, there are downfalls of the typical eight to ten-hour day. But there is also the benefit of having a single location to meet with clients and customers without having the shuffle and inconvenience of finding ‘the right’ meeting spot. It is not only knowing the customer; it’s knowing your employees, too.
The overhead of traditional space is one reason it is becoming less used. Rent, utilities, and, licenses come out of pocket before the first advertisement has hit the printer or a potential client’s email. All property is expensive, and office space costs that much more. While in a traditional workspace, you are in close quarters with your employees, that can also cause distractions from both your work and others.
Traditional office spaces do have their benefits:
-
Branding and marketing often come from having a permanent business space
-
Face to face conference rooms
-
Company amenities: fax machine, scanner, kitchen, break areas.
-
Ready office equipment and space
-
Ability to customise the space as brand and business grows
-
Central location for personal contact with clients, employees, and the public in general
So, both options have their upsides and downsides but at the end of the day you need to assess what exactly you are after for your business and how you want to represent your brand. Many people are choosing to move away from the traditional office and into the virtual world, so consider your options and your budget and hopefully you’ll be able to successfully start up your business.
