In today’s digital world, you have options. Those options mean that hobbyists and artists can start to make a living out of their art from the comfort of their own home. It means that a small business idea can take fruit and actually get big. Thanks to the fast internet and the growing power of digital tools (hello, AI assistants), you can get more done, with less.
That doesn’t mean you can stay operating out of home or remotely forever. Eventually, you’re going to want to open up an office and start hiring on more people.
Whether that office is virtual, or physical, however, boils down to what you need done, your budget, and also why you want an office in the first place.
Why Choose a Physical Office
Physical offices are great for businesses that need space to work. If you sell products, for example, then you’ll need some sort of physical space in your name. This could be a warehouse, or an office where you stock your products, print out the shipping labels, and send them out.
You’ll also need a physical office if you need to physically collaborate. Fashion designers, for example, will need a physical space because it’s not just a matter of drawing up a mock design digitally. Still, you need to craft one physically (or at least be able to view samples).
Now, before you sigh and start to tack on a high rent rate onto your overhead, know that there is a hybrid option, which we’ll get into later.
Why Choose a Virtual Office
There are many reasons to choose a virtual office for your business. Virtual offices are, after all, physical locations. By renting one of the top London virtual offices (for example, in Regent Street) you can boost the reputation and prestige of your business in a snap.
Renting virtually can also be done very, very flexibly. You can rent a Zone 1 location for as little as £9.80 for a registered address per month, and stop whenever it suits you.
You can even tack on additional services to help you with your business needs and goals. For example, you can add on phone answering or call patching, allowing you to connect to new business opportunities in ways you never thought possible.
The best part is you can often rent meeting rooms in your “virtual” office ad hoc. If you’re in town, for example, and want to set up some business deals you can do so in your own office so long as you book ahead.
Virtual offices give you so much flexibility to grow, particularly if you want to soft expand into other countries. For example, you could be a US-based business and want to start getting into European markets. To do that you’d want to open a virtual office in London and a European Union country like France or Spain.
With phone answering and call patching, you can benefit from having a local phone number and someone in that time zone taking every call and sending you the notes, so you can start connecting with business opportunities abroad.
Why Choose a Hybrid Approach
The options don’t end at renting an office or working from home and operating under a virtual office address. You can (and probably should) do both.
Why?
Opening up a virtual office in a key city like London has many advantages, particularly if you are in tech, finance, or fashion. The city is packed full of opportunity, support tools, investors, think tanks, and event spaces that you need to succeed. Unless you need those features each and every day, however, you can often get away with renting a virtual office instead, and then renting your physical office somewhere more affordable.
This hybrid approach allows you to make your business appear bigger and more established than it is. Rather than just opening a virtual office in London, for example, you could have a virtual office in London, NYC, and Paris.
How to Make Your Decision
If you’re on the fence, go with a virtual office to start. You can stop renting your virtual office and stop all services after the first month if you don’t find it beneficial to your business, whereas physical offices come with much longer commitments.
That being said, if you’ve outgrown working from home and need more space to simply operate, then you’ll need a physical space that suits your needs. Since you’re still new, try to find an affordable space that suits your needs, without breaking the bank.
