shared office calgary

Ways Your Business Can Benefit From a Virtual Office

A virtual office is a shared space that is used as a physical space and legal address for a business.  For some enterprises, there is less need for a traditional office, and a Calgary virtual office can help lower costs in those situations.

Popular for startups, freelancers, consultants, or others, it provides a professional atmosphere at a lower cost than renting an entire office suite.  Amenities will vary depending on your agreement and needs, but most offer a dedicated phone number, mail services, and technology.  For a company that is cost conscious or that has limited resources, this is a boon to their business.  For example, check out our Calgary Business Centre.

Overhead

Studies show that overhead costs range from 15% to over 45% in rent.  The physical location gives employees a place to work every day, a location for meetings, and a site to deal with clients or customers. 

A Calgary virtual office is about the same thing.  It is in a respected building with easy access but at a much lower monthly cost.  This provides a professional appearance, an address for legal reasons, and an option for meetings and work space, but leaving more funds available for operational costs, investments, or profit.

Pro-Environment

Considering only the carbon emissions from daily commutes for employees, even a small business can impact our environment.  With a virtual office, staff have the option of working remotely with access to all the information necessary to do their work.  Utilizing technology and cloud storage, anyone has access to the material as needed.  If it is preferable, personnel can do their work at the physical space you have rented to take advantage of amenities like copy facilities or meeting space.

Traditional offices, even when they try to be conservative, create massive amounts of paper every day in addition to other waste materials. 

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Satisfied Employees

Studies show that many employees enjoy working from home without the distraction of noise or interruptions by coworkers or a supervisor peeking over their shoulders.  Individuals find it easier and more productive to be able to manage their own time and still make deadlines.

Remote working creates a better life and work balance.  The ability to work more efficiently and to avoid lost hours in commutes makes them more satisfied in their jobs.  Motivation increases along with productivity.  Satisfied employees mean less turnover and lower company costs.

Studies are showing that fewer vacation days are being used to take care of routine activities.  There is no need to schedule a half day off to go to the doctor or dentist, or to sit at home waiting for a repair person to show up during a four-hour window.  Better time management means that everyone benefits.

Brick-and-mortar offices often provide perks to retain and motivate good employees, which can mount up over time.  Remote staff are more self-motivated, and they are more invested in the completion of a project or task rather than feeling forced or under pressure.

Professional Image

With a virtual office, you can easily register your company with ASIC on Google Maps or Google My Business.  These rank higher on search engines and provide a more professional appearance.  Using a home address makes you vulnerable to being denied by Google.

Using the virtual office address also helps maintain your privacy.  There are many legal reasons to list an address, such as domain hosting, business and tax registrations, phone numbers on websites, mail, and official notifications.  The virtual office will separate your business and personal addresses and detailed information. 

Amenities

There are times when it is advantageous to have a physical space for meeting rooms or to deal face-to-face with a customer or client, host events, or conduct interviews.  With a virtual space, you have a receptionist to greet and direct your guests.  There can be support staff to handle phone calls with a dedicated line, take messages, and forward calls.  They can also be useful for making appointments or dealing with travel plans.  This is much more professional than an answering machine.

Expansion

As your business grows, it is likely that you will need more virtual office space.  Working with the leasing agent, it is usually quite easy to increase space or amenities.  The cost will be incremental to the expansion but still far lower than if you were in a traditional space and significantly lower than if you moved from one building to another or had one built. 

When you initially work with the agent dealing with your virtual office, discuss options for the future, both in square footage and in services.  Often there are packages available that will even give you marketing ideas that you would not have otherwise considered.

Cost Reduction

Popular with startups and sole proprietorships, a virtual office can be adapted to many larger operations as well.  With a significant segment of the workforce in remote locations, it is unecessary for a company to lease an entire floor of an office building when only a small room will suffice.  A virtual space will offer a receptionist, equipment like copiers, and conference rooms.  With cloud storage, all of your work products and documents are easily accessible from anywhere, the office, a hotel room, your vacation home, or the airport. 

With this type of technology and a virtual office, companies of various sizes are recognizing the significant savings to be found in a virtual office.  Employees are more satisfied with the options of working from home or taking the laptop to the virtual space for a change of pace or to meet with coworkers or clients.  A reduction in expenses means more cash flow that can be re-allocated for additional employees and expansion or is held in reserve for slack periods or even an increase in profits.

If the concept of a virtual office appeals to you, contact us today, and we can direct you to just the right space for your needs.

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