What do you think of when someone says the word “office?”  Chances are – like most of us – you think of a physical office space, a space with desks and chairs and copiers and a receptionist and people bustling around answering ringing phones.  However, the Internet age has changed all that.  You might have a brick and mortar “real-time” office, but it’s possible you might have a virtual office instead. 

Surprisingly, more and more people are working from home as freelancers and consultants.  Whether the economy has driven this increase or whether workers are just finding it a more convenient fit, statistics show that about 20% of the U.S. workforce did at least some work from home last year.  And according to an msnbc article, “Monster.com saw a 46.2 percent spike in contract job postings in March compared to the same month last year…”

The result is fewer hard space offices and more virtual offices.  Today’s workers find the smart virtual office to be convenient in many ways.  For example, if you run a home Internet business, do you really want your business mail to come to your house?  Do you want your clients to meet with you in the living room, surrounded by children’s toys or barking dogs?  Of course not.  The virtual office space is the way businesspeople all over are managing the situation.

Like the virtual offices provided by such companies as Apollo Business Centers, Inc., you can get everything from mail delivery to a prestigious address like Beverly Hills, California to an hourly virtual office assistant.  You can rent conference rooms real-time, and have a “live” receptionist answer your phones and forward your calls.  Just imagine your clients seeing your letterhead with a Beverly Hills address.  They’ll certainly be impressed by the professional response they receive when they call, too.

All in all, the virtual office space is the wave of the future for businesspeople who are working from home as consultants or self-employed. They are convenient, comprehensive, reliable – all at a reasonable price. Why would anyone want to go back to the costly venture of a brick and mortar office space?

Which business address is more impressive:  Pocatello, Idaho, or Beverly Hills, California?  Whether we like it or not, people make judgments about us and our businesses based on small things such as address or location.  Of course, people will be impressed with a Beverly Hills address for your company!

Now granted, the name “Beverly Hills” makes some of us think of the Beverly Hillbillies television show, but even those folks realized that Beverly Hills was “the place you oughta’ be.”  Even for Jed and his family, Beverly Hills brought thoughts of luxury, elegance, and sophistication.  All joking aside, though, that’s exactly what a Beverly Hills address represents – an image of established class. 

Your company’s image begins affecting potential customers from the moment they hear the company name.  You probably spent a lot of time and money performing research to ensure your company’s name was exactly right.  Well, you shouldn’t skimp on the address, either.  The problem is that most business owners can’t just up and move their companies to a new state or city in order to enhance that image with a chic address.

While you might not be able to move your company to Beverly Hills, you can still have a Beverly Hills address for your business enterprise – all through the wonders of the computer age.  Apollo Business Center can provide you with telephone and mail service, both.  We even offer virtual assistants to help you grow your company.

In our global economy, your customer pool is no longer just the folks in your neighborhood.  It’s the entire world.  A Beverly Hills address for your business is sure to start you off on the right foot.  If you would like more information about the different packages available through ABC Virtual Offices, please contact us at your convenience.

Imagine working in a brick and mortar office space – one day a week you need an office assistant, three days a week you need a receptionist, you don’t need a copier except during the last week of each month and then you use it non-stop.  The second week of each month you meet with clients to review their projects, but the rest of the month you are out of the office most of the time.  Regardless of how often you need these things – a real office space, a receptionist, an office assistant, or a copier – you have to get them and pay for them all month long.  Pretty expensive, yes?

The thing most people aren’t aware of is that virtual offices, like those provided by Apollo Business Centers, Inc., can eliminate those extra costs you pay for but don’t need.  With a virtual office space, you can set up a customized package for exactly the support you need when you need it.  You can arrange to rent a conference room or even a physical office, complete with computer and everything you need.  Perhaps you just need someone to answer your calls and forward them when you are unavailable.  Maybe you don’t like the idea of business associates having your home address for mailing purposes.  Or maybe you just like the idea of having an address in Beverly Hills that’s synonymous with sophistication and reliability.

Regardless of the reasons, many businesspeople are turning to virtual offices to help minimize costs while maximizing productivity.  Virtual help – including virtual office assistants – will take care of the hum-drum copying, mailing, and other standard chores, leaving you to focus on what you do best!  You get to spend time selling or following up leads or signing up clients while boring office tasks are taken care of – what you want, when you want it!

Starting a new business can be a daunting task.  While you’re out there working to grow your new business, there’s no one back at the office holding down the fort.  How many hang-ups do you get on your office line, just because a “live” person doesn’t answer?  And the cost of a brick and mortar space – that can be sky-high depending upon the location.

So let’s see what you will likely need – as a minimum – to set up your office.  For starters, you will need the office space, itself, whether a small building or an office within a physical location.  Next you’ll need the furniture, including equipment such as computers, copiers, multi-line phones, and so on.  Of course you’ll need someone to man those phones, even if just to take messages or forward appropriate calls to your cell phone.  You’ll also need the capital to pay a salary to the receptionist.  All of those are just the physical items; they don’t include fees or operation capital for six months to a year.  They don’t even take into consideration that most places offer some kind of benefits package to that lonely receptionist if the hours worked are fulltime.

Did we say “daunting?”  Yes, we did.  A fulltime brick and mortar office space may be more than your fledgling company can handle right now.  With that in mind, why not shift horses from the out-dated idea of a fulltime physical presence, and instead consider maintaining a virtual office?  Many business owners are turning on to the office space of the 21st century – the virtual office.

With a virtual office like those provided by Apollo Business Centers, you can get all of that and more.  Do you need a “live” voice answering your phone when you aren’t available?  Do you need office space only one or two days a month – the rest of the time you are beating the pavement?  Do you need an office assistant one day a month to help with office-related tasks?  Instead of setting up a fulltime office, check out all a virtual office has to offer you.  You might just be surprised!