Freelancing is a big business in today’s globe. Forbes reports that a growing number of freelancers earn six-figure income each year; many young professionals fail to see the need to be chained to a desk during regular working hours and instead have opted for a more leisurely pace of doing things.
However, with this newfound freedom, several associated issues arise. Fortunately, freelancers can count on the virtual office to give them several benefits over their competition.
The Benefits
- Freelancing is something that can be done by consultants from almost any field. All it takes is demonstrable skills to perform a service for a person to profit from freelancing. The most important aspect of freelancing is also its greatest downfall. It may be more about creating the correct first impression and letting appearances talk for themselves.
This isn’t too much of an issue for many freelancers who have an established practice. However, it can be a fight for new freelancers to become respectable to a point where clients don not attempt to take advantage of them. A virtual office is a good start to creating a good brand and a wholesome reputation.
- Having a physical address linked to a portfolio can go a long way towards landing lucrative customers as many professionals who work as consultants can attest. Businesses prefer not an individual to deal with a brand identity.
Having a branded virtual office space that can manage incoming calls and serves as a location to get mail contributes a little to the professional’s reputation. Depending on your choice and place, your mail can be held secure until you pick it up or forward it to you.
Furthermore, your virtual office business address can be used on your business cards, websites and any other form of marketing material to further support your business.
- Another advantage of a virtual office is the capacity to safeguard your privacy. As a freelancer, you’re going to have several customers who come and go. Do you really want each of them to have your home address for mailing materials, checks, or agreements?
Your privacy is protected by a virtual office address. Instead of getting client mail at home, you can choose to pick it up at your virtual office location or forward it to your home address. This can also be useful for freelancers moving from one location to another — which is a good benefit for you.
- Lifehacker states that while all individuals have a time management issue; freelancers are in the unenviable situation of losing income if they are unable to handle time correctly. Despite the drive for many experts to leave the office behind, the reality remains that in an office setting, individuals are more productive.
In most instances, virtual offices give distraction-free spaces that can help get work done by maintaining one’s focus on a single assignment. An article released in the journal Personnel Psychology mentions that employees experienced greater flexibility, productivity, and work / life equilibrium in a virtual office setting. These advantages alone are enough to make a freelancer consider having a virtual office room
- While some professionals in their home office are comfortable meeting customers, others prefer a more centralized environment. The virtual office provides such space for a freelancer who needs to have face-to-face meetings with clients but doesn’t have a home office or doesn’t feel comfortable taking customers at home because of their division of work and home life.
The virtual office also acts as a background for video conferences. In some teams, telecommuting employees need to participate at least one meeting per week through voice and video conferencing. The virtual office offers a working atmosphere conducive to a video conference and limits the amount of interruptions and background noise that would be out of control of someone working out of a home office.
- Some freelancers consider hiring a whole office space for their company, but this is not essential in most cases. A virtual office acts as the company’s physical address and mailing address with the added advantage of costing far less than renting an entire office room. In addition, virtual offices sometimes include expenses such as a phone number along with a response and call forwarding service; something that would require a freelancer to invest in their own secretary when using traditional office room.
- The best virtual offices come with the possibility to upgrade your plan to include the services of a well-trained virtual receptionist, which can be the biggest asset of a freelancer. Virtual receptionists can manage all your client communications, plan appointments, and so much more. When you have someone else managing your entire administrative job, you are freeing up a significant quantity of time that you can dedicate to expanding your company. Leave somebody else the remedial, time-consuming duties and concentrate on attaining your biggest goals.
Who Benefits from a Virtual Office the Most?
New business owners and solo entrepreneurs tend to be the best fit for a virtual office. People in this category include freelancers who are just beginning to claim back their time as their own.
Above all, freelancers who haven’t quite got the hang of home offices or who need a change of environment setting to be more productive stand to make the most of a virtual office arrangement; in many cases, professionals who need to meet their clients in a convenient face-to-face setting can benefit from having a virtual office in an urban core.
Conclusion
One of the things that stand out for new independent professionals is how special each employee is. Some flourish in busy, noisy settings while others require full silence to concentrate on what they are doing. While the virtual office offers a handy utility for freelancers, in general, some may not see the need to spend cash on it.
Freelancing will continue to develop as a career as more and more individuals recognize the earning potential and the better work / life balance it provides. As more individuals switch to telecommuting and operating from distant places, the virtual office offers a critical connection with customers who need to have a physical space connected to the services provided by the professional.
