- What services does a Virtual Office provide?
- What services should you look for in a Virtual Office?
- Why Alliance Virtual is the best Virtual Office provider.
Q: What services do virtual offices offer?
A: You can expect a wide range of services depending on your chosen service provider. Most Virtual Office providers offer little more than mail forwarding. On the other hand, a reputable provider like Alliance Virtual Offices gives you flex space for meetings and team-building, a wide selection of virtual addresses in prestigious locations across the country, and additional features like Live Receptionists and Virtual Phone lines.
According to Forbes, 62% of employees around the world between the ages of 22 and 65 now work remotely at least occasionally.
In other words, remote work is no longer a quaint novelty.
It’s the status quo.
This transformation has occurred in just a few short years – fueled by the pandemic and growing dissatisfaction with the “9-to-5 grind” of a typical office lifestyle. Many business owners were caught off-guard by these changing times, and some still lag behind.
If you’re still wondering how your company can evolve and adapt, you might want to consider a Virtual Office.
Switching to a remote business plan is one thing. Achieving success in a purely digital environment is another prospect altogether.
To transition towards this new ecosystem seamlessly, you need to take advantage of the latest tools.
And we’re not just talking about a simple Zoom subscription.
A Virtual Office gives you many of the same benefits as a physical workspace while reducing costs, eliminating commute times, facilitating effective remote work, and even creating tax benefits for your company.
One thing you don’t want is to remain stuck in the past. The latest statistics show that Americans are quitting their jobs in the millions. Many are searching for greener pastures – including the increasingly prevalent option of working from home.
In fact, one study found that 60% of job seekers quit their prior positions specifically to find remote work opportunities.
If you fail to take advantage of options like Virtual Offices, you might lose some of your best talents.
But what exactly is a Virtual Office, anyway? What kind of virtual office services can you expect from the best providers? How can these services benefit your company, and how do you choose the best option in a world filled with competing providers?
Let’s find out…
- What services does a Virtual Office provide?
- What services should you look for in a Virtual Office?
- Why Alliance Virtual is the best Virtual Office provider.
What Services Does a Virtual Office Provide?
A typical provider may offer a range of Virtual Office services, including:
Virtual Addresses
One of the most basic Virtual Office services is a virtual address. A virtual address is a straightforward concept, allowing you to register your business in almost any city you can imagine across the entire nation.
Ideally, you would choose a virtual address when you first set up your company and register as an LLC (or any other business type) with the IRS.
But why would you want to do that?
A Virtual Address offers many significant advantages. First and foremost, it allows you to file your business taxes in any state you like. This can result in some very real tax benefits for your organization.
It’s no secret that some states offer much better business tax rates than others – especially when it comes to LLCs and corporations.
The cool thing about a virtual address is that you don’t actually need to live in the state or city where you register.
You also don’t need to set up a physical headquarters or office. You can stay in your current location (or travel the world) while experiencing those tax benefits.
But that’s not the only reason you should consider a virtual address.
Suppose you’re running a tech startup out of Wyoming. In that case, you can give your business much more legitimacy if you register with a virtual address smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley.
Perhaps you spent 30 years working on Wall Street before retiring in a rural area with cheap real estate, such as Billings, Montana.
If you’re currently running a financial consulting agency as a solopreneur, it might make more sense to register your business with a Manhattan address rather than using your home address in Montana.
This is the power of the best Virtual Office services in New York.
Your business address says a lot about your company. By strategically choosing specific locations, you can associate your company with a particular niche or market. An effective business address is one of the most overlooked aspects of a solid branding strategy.
Mail Forwarding
Mail forwarding is one of the most important virtual office services you should be aware of.
The first major benefit of mail forwarding is heightened security. If you are running your business from the comfort of your own home, the last thing you want is a security risk.
It’s very important to separate your work and home life. If you register your business with your home address, virtually anyone can show up on your doorstep without warning.
LLCs and corporations are often required to make public filings with the IRS and the US government. This means that your address and many other details become accessible to anyone who looks hard enough.
Whether you have kids at home or live alone, running this risk is never a good idea. You never know who might show up – whether it’s a disgruntled customer or an ex-employee with an axe to grind.
Privacy and security are critical priorities, and you don’t know how valuable they are until you lose them. Ask any famous celebrity, and they’ll tell you how much of an impact lack of privacy can have on someone’s life.
Putting aside security risks, you also have to consider the possibility of spam mail. As soon as people realize you’re running a business out of your home, you might become overwhelmed with all kinds of random mail.
The worst thing about this is that your personal mail will be mixed in with piles of B2B offers, scams, job applications – you name it.
Sifting through this mail can quickly become a full-time job – and it’s not an effective use of your time as an entrepreneur.
The good news is that mail holding and mail forwarding can store all your letters and documents in a secure location separate from your home, representing some of the best Virtual Office services. USA providers will inform you when you’ve received important letters.
From there, they can hold onto the mail until you’re ready to pick it up.
OR
They can forward it to your current location.
This leads to another important benefit of mail forwarding:
It allows you to travel the world with no strings attached. One of the most notable benefits of working remotely is the ability to experience the lifestyle of a digital nomad.
When you’re no longer tied down to an office location, you can work from your laptop at a cafe in Rome. Book an Airbnb in New Zealand for 6 months and take advantage of their inverted winters to completely escape the cold season.
Or why not live in a beachfront cabin in Thailand? The possibilities are endless, and mail forwarding reduces issues that can hold you back from truly enjoying this lifestyle.
Virtual Phone Lines
To be clear, mail forwarding and virtual addresses are the two most common virtual office services. Even very basic service providers will offer these features, and you should consider anything else an added bonus.
That being said, Virtual Phone Lines are also quite common. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology has been around for ages, offering many advantages over a traditional, landline-based office phone system.
Not only is a Virtual Phone line system more affordable, but it is also very easy to set up for your employees. The phone line is powered by internet data, which leads to almost unlimited scalability that is ideal for teams of all sizes.
Voice quality can be excellent, allowing your workers to multitask effectively. Phone calls between employees have become very easy, and each worker gets a professional phone number instead of relying on their own cell phones.
Virtual Phone lines might be a rather basic example of Virtual Office services, but they can add professionalism and legitimacy to your organization if you’re transitioning toward a digital ecosystem.
What Services Should You Look For in a Virtual Office?
Now that you’re aware of some of the most basic Virtual Office services, it’s time to review some additional features only the best providers offer.
These services allow you to go above and beyond your normal requirements to truly get the most out of your new remote work ecosystem.
You should know that many providers do not offer these additional Virtual Office services. In fact, many so-called “virtual office providers” are nothing more than glorified PO boxes.
Choose a more reputable and functional provider, and you can transition to a remote business structure with more efficiency and ease.
The Importance of Semi-Remote Work
The most recent statistics show that most Americans have the option to work from home – but they’re not necessarily forced into this system if they don’t want it.
If you give your employees the ability to work in a physical environment, you can have the best of both worlds – experiencing the flexibility and freedom of remote work while providing opportunities for social interaction and clear communication.
The option to work with others in-person might be especially attractive to any extroverted employees in your company.
Aside from offering opportunities for social interaction, some tasks can only be carried out effectively in person. These include:
- Brainstorming and collaboration
- Parties, award ceremonies, and celebrations
- Interviews for important new hires
- Meetings with stakeholders
- Meetings with potential investors
- Meetings with B2B clients
Use your best judgment and determine which tasks might be better suited to an in-person environment and which tasks your employees can handle remotely.
The key takeaway here is that flexibility is important when choosing Virtual Office providers.
Support Staff
One of the most important Virtual Office services is the availability and accessibility of support staff.
Does your provider return your calls or emails in a timely manner? What is their reaction when something goes wrong? Is it easy to get answers?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself when choosing Virtual Office providers, and many do not offer extensive customer service.
Live Receptionists
Another feature you might not see with a run-of-the-mill Virtual Office provider is a Live Receptionist service.
If you were relying heavily on an in-person receptionist in your physical office space, a Live Receptionist fills exactly the same role at a fraction of the price.
This allows you to stop paying expensive salaries for workers that have become surplus to requirements in a digital age.
If you can’t part with your receptionist, you could always promote them to a higher position in your customer service department while allowing a Live Receptionist to answer calls.
Either way, you’re getting the most out of your available employees with a Live Receptionist.
Live Receptionists can answer all your business calls – including customer service, complaints, returns, inquiries, and much more.
These trained professionals can take notes during calls and provide you with important information – allowing you to respond to the most pressing matters while delegating simple tasks to your Live Receptionist.
A Live Receptionist operates out of a call center, adding to your remote workforce. You don’t need to set them up in a physical office space, which augments your existing remote structure.
Why Alliance Virtual Is the Best Virtual Office Provider
If you want reliable Virtual Office services that go above the bare minimum, choose Alliance Virtual Offices.
Alliance Virtual Offices covers all the bases with its core Virtual Office services, including:
Over 1,000 Reputable Addresses
Alliance Virtual Offices lets you take your pick from over 1,000 Virtual Addresses, including some of the most prestigious locations in the nation.
This includes New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – but you also get the opportunity to register in tax-beneficial states like Alaska. The options are almost limitless.
Reliable Mail Forwarding
One of Alliance Virtual Offices’s signature Virtual Office services is mail processing and pickup. Your mail and documents will be kept in a secure location until you’re ready to pick them up.
If you’re traveling the world or simply don’t have enough time to pick up your mail, Alliance Virtual Offices gives you the option of frequent, reliable mail forwarding. This lets you stay on top of your mail wherever you might be…
Virtual Phone Lines
Virtual Phone lines and business numbers are also at your fingertips with Alliance Virtual Offices. This add-on feature is extremely popular and provides plenty of scalability and convenience.
Alliance Virtual Offices also provides several additional Virtual Office services that you might not find with other providers, including:
On-Demand Workspaces
One of the Virtual Office services that truly sets Alliance Virtual Offices apart is the availability of on-demand workspaces. These aren’t just PO boxes – they’re real offices you can visit. You can book meeting spaces and work rooms that meet your company’s unique needs.
Why pay monthly rental fees when you only need to use physical space a few times per month? It’s the most affordable and intelligent option for a semi-remote future. Alliance Virtual Offices even employs front lobby receptionists that welcome your visitors.
This helps you set a professional first impression when meeting clients, investors, or stakeholders.
Live Receptionist Service
Alliance Virtual Offices is one of the few companies offering a Live Receptionist feature in addition to its other Virtual Office services.
This helps you boost customer service while delegating more essential tasks to get the most out of your available talent.
Alliance Virtual Offices’s Live Receptionists can learn basic information about your company, setting an excellent first impression when communicating with customers or leads.
Attentive Support Staff
Alliance Virtual Offices’s support staff is always there to help – whether with their online chat feature, phone service, Client Service Center, or email support team.
Alliance Virtual Offices staff are also present at each physical office location, guiding you toward your pre-booked workspace and assisting you in any way they can.
This is much more than a glorified PO box.
Access to the Best Virtual Services Might Be Easier than You Think
America’s workforce has spoken: They want remote work and are willing to quit their jobs to get it.
Further reading
- Resources for Small Businesses: Top Free and Affordable Tools for Entrepreneurs to Grow a Business
- Lazy or Lucrative? Pros and Cons of a 4-Day Work Week
- How Businesses Should Use E-Marketing
There’s only one question that remains:
Are you going to evolve with the changing times, or will your business become a historical footnote?
The choice lies entirely in your hands.
It’s never been easier to transition toward a remote or semi-remote structure. Reach out to Alliance Virtual Offices today if you’ve ever wondered, “What are the best Virtual Office services near me?”
