Things to consider before signing for your Virtual Office in Leeds

WorkWell on January 6, 2015

How would you go about choosing a virtual office? Would you do a quick Google search and go with the first result, or would price be the main factor to influence your decision?

Are you thinking carefully about the services you may need access to and, crucially, the location of the virtual office?

Unfortunately, not all businesses put the right level of thought and research into choosing a virtual office – which often results in the wrong decision being made. Changing virtual offices can be costly, inconvenient and disruptive to your business, and it doesn’t look very professional.

Why is location so very crucial in a virtual office

You may be able to work anywhere, but as our blog about choosing a location for a virtual office highlights, your virtual office needs to be in exactly the right location. There are two very important things to consider when looking at the location of your new virtual office:

A professional business address. Virtual offices give smaller businesses the opportunity to have a professional business address where they can receive correspondence and calls, and your address can say a lot about you as a company. Ideally, you need an address near a major city or a big business hub, like Leeds, for example. This connection with a major city instantly conveys the impression that you too are a thriving business in a location close to established business networks, limitless contacts and a wide range of resources.

Convenience and accessibility for meetings. One of the main benefits of virtual offices is access to services like meeting space, which may be available at a discounted rate if you have a virtual office contract. However, this meeting space is only useful if it’s in a convenient, central location that is easy for clients and customers to reach. For example, Carrwood Park in Leeds, which has both virtual offices and meeting rooms, is situated just 2 minutes from a major motorway (the M1) and 15 minutes from Leeds city centre. It also has on-site parking, which is another key thing to check when choosing a virtual office.

The essentials – what services do you really need?

With location at the very top of your list of priorities, there are other things you might need in your ideal virtual office, as we mentioned in our ‘What do you need for a virtual office’ blog. For example, do you (or will you in the future) need any of the following?

  • A professional call answering service. If you can’t afford to lease office space and hire a full-time receptionist, a far more cost-effective option is to use a virtual office with a professional call answering service attached. Having someone else handle and screen your calls (and possibly even your emails too) can save you a huge amount of time as well as money, leaving you free to focus on moving your business forward without getting bogged down in admin.  An off-site reception can also be good for your clients and customers, as they get to speak to a real person rather than an answering machine – this can do wonders for making them feel valued.
  • Unlimited posts and calls. A virtual office that puts a limit on how many calls and letters it handles on your behalf is probably not the one to go for – make sure you check any limitations on correspondence before signing up.
  • Discounts for using other services. If you sign up for a virtual office, will you receive any kind of discount if you need to book a meeting room or use co-working facilities? Some virtual offices do offer this, so it’s always worth asking – it could really save you money.

Do you need a desk, or maybe a meeting space?

While some virtual offices simply give you a glamorous-sounding postcode and somewhere to pick up your post, others offer a more flexible solution with a wide range of extra services. For example, many small businesses and freelancers find it incredibly useful to have access to a desk or a meeting room when they need it, on an ad hoc basis.

Ultimately, it could be a good idea to choose an all-in-one facility – one with virtual offices, meeting and co-working spaces in the same complex – as it gives you the option to pick and choose from the services you need, when you need them.

For more advice on how to choose a virtual office, subscribe to the WorkWell blog. If you’re ready and raring to go, why not download our brochure?

If you are looking for quality, friendly and professional virtual offices, Leeds based Carrwood Park provides the perfect virtual office solutions for companies and individuals looking to capitalise on the many benefits these types of offices provide.

What’s the difference between Co-working and Virtual office space?

WorkWell on October 11, 2014

Co-working, virtual office space, shared offices, they all give workers who work independently from a ‘traditional’ office the chance to reap the benefits of working alongside other people in a flexible and modern way.

So they’re all the same, right?

Wrong!

Well, semi-wrong anyway. Whilst modern working environments such as co-working spaces, shared offices, and virtual office space collectively provide independent workers with the chance to network and bypass tiresome office commutes, there are some fundamental differences between them.

As we wrote in an earlier blog, 90% of UK professionals now believe flexible working is the way forward and choosing when and where you work is rapidly snowballing in the UK.

If you are keen to jump into the shared office working environment but are unsure which option of office to go for, take a look at the differences between co-working spaces and virtual offices.

Co-working spaces

Co-working spaces are essentially shared office environments in which the individuals who use them are not usually part of the same organisation and work independently.

What do co-working spaces include?

A well-equipped co-working space will include all the essential office equipment, including:

  • Wireless internet access
  • Scanners
  • Printers
  • Fax machines
  • A co-working space will have the vital office furniture such as chairs and tables, meaning you simply bring your own device and you’re ready to start working.

The better the co-working space is, the higher quality and more comfortable the furniture is likely to be. WorkWell’s co-working facilities, for example, include British designer leather furniture for a real luxury working environment.

Other features which are often at workers’ disposal in a co-working space are:

  • Tea, coffee, water and even kitchen facilities so you can brew up and prepare food at your leisure.
  • Temperature control means the working space doesn’t get too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
  • Many co-working centres, which are located on the outskirts of a city, such as Carrwood Park, will have free on-site parking.

Meeting spaces

Many larger co-working centres will have presentation and conference facilities available. Having access to a meeting room and presentation facilities can be crucial for giving independent workers and organisations a truly professional edge by enabling them to meet existing or potential clients and interview employees in a professional space.

Who uses co-working spaces?

As the opportunities for networking, collaborating and mentoring with other professionals in co-working centres are prolific, they are popular amongst freelancers and start-ups who want to secure more business and help their business grow.

Being equipped with meeting room access, co-working spaces are also suitable for SMEs who want to work in a professional environment but without the hefty overheads of a traditional office lease.

They are especially popular amongst independent tech and digital workers, who require reliable and fast Wi-Fi and benefit from a ‘buzzing’ working environment.

Virtual office space

A virtual office in leeds is the perfect way for a company to invest in their image or brand and consequently increase their visibility and credibility without having to make a heavy investment on office leases.

What do virtual offices include?

Virtual offices provide most of the same benefits of having a traditional office, including:

  • A receptionist
  • A call handling service with mail forwarding
  • A lucrative business address
  • Parcel handling service

Virtual offices typically come in different packages. For example, Carrwood Park offers four different types of virtual office packages.

The first is the DDi Number package which provides a business with a landline which can either be forwarded to a mobile phone or to a personalised voicemail.

The second option is the Registered Address package which offers a professional business address with mail collection, which receives company mail and forwards it on. Having a professional business address in a lucrative location can have a significant impact on how others perceive an individual professional or a company, which can make the difference between securing contracts and not.

Then there is the Reception Answering option in which a company’s calls are received by a front of house receptionist who then forwards the messages to appropriate individual.

Many virtual offices offer all the mentioned services in one package. For example, Carrwood’s fourth virtual office package gives individuals and organisations the change to work from home or independent of a traditional office but still reap the benefits of having a full virtual office package.

Who uses virtual offices?

Virtual offices are most suitable for small businesses and start-ups which seek a virtual space and the benefits of a conventional office but are not yet ready to move out of a home office or take on the financial burden of a traditional office lease.

Virtual office users often use virtual office in the initial stage of their development until they are sufficiently big enough or have the financial means to take on ‘actual’ office space.

In short, having a glamorous business address on a business card can go a long way increasing a start-up’s or SME’s credibility.

Whether you opt to work from a co-working space or a decide a virtual office would be more beneficial to your own personal circumstances, these flexible working platforms provide professionals and businesses with a cost-effective, professional and modern way to develop business and nurture company growth.

For more information on hiring quality and well-equipped co-working and virtual office space in Leeds or Harrogate, get in touch with WorkWell.