Virtual offices have garnered a lot of popularity in recent years as more businesses realize they are an affordable way to expand into new locations.

Virtual offices allow businesses to enjoy the benefits of a prime location business address, anywhere in the world. All without actually being there.

With opportunities to expand your business across the globe, you can benefit from a virtual address in a local area. Thanks to this, you can build credibility, and work according to your needs.

Below, we explore what to consider when choosing a virtual office. This includes exploring what a virtual office is as well as the key considerations for choosing the right one for your business.

Things to consider when choosing a virtual office address

In addition, the process of choosing a virtual office through to the initial setup is quick and easy. This makes it a more desirable option when compared to finding a physical office space to rent.

But what exactly makes one virtual office better than another? Before you buy a virtual office, here are some factors you should consider.

Location

While you may not be occupying the physical space, the location of your virtual office is still important.

Your business address is directly linked to your brand and helps legitimize your business within the local area. Therefore, it is best to consider the different industrial hubs present in any city or town.

This gives businesses of all sizes the opportunity to have a business address on the other side of the planet. No matter where you physically work.

For example, a law firm wants to establish itself within a new city. It would be better for it to rent a virtual office in a location where there are similar businesses surrounding it.

This would help improve their credibility and attract more customers, rather than if they were to rent a virtual office in a neighborhood full of creative businesses.

Similarly, a creative business, such as an influencer agency, could benefit from opting for a virtual office in a trendier neighborhood rather than a financial hub.

A virtual office is a cost-effective way to utilize a prime location. It’s also an easy solution to make use of a prestigious and reputable address with minimum overheads.

Flexibility

The virtual office spaces offered by Regus provide great flexibility for businesses, with access to virtual spaces in over 3,500 locations globally. You can scale up or move location, depending on your needs.

This means that if there are a few different cities or even countries that you are looking to expand into, a virtual office provides an affordable way in.

By renting a virtual office space in multiple locations, you can see which city would be most beneficial to expand into. All without the high costs of renting and maintaining a physical location.

With the flexible agreements that are available for virtual offices, you can scale your operations as and when the needs of your business change.

With the costs of running a business increasing, virtual office rental provides you with the flexibility to ‘test the water’ in new markets. You can do so while removing the potentially expensive and limiting factors of a physical workspace.

Other factors in the area

Our virtual offices are often based in central locations within major business hubs.

Many of our locations are just a short distance from public transportation and local amenities, such as coffee shops and bars. These amenities are extremely useful should you ever need to meet with clients in the local area.

The use of a physical office space

If you have clients who might want to meet with you face to face, then you are going to need to use a physical office space. It’s important to know that you have access to the onsite facilities provided by your virtual office.

Knowing how big the meeting rooms are, how often you can book them, and what other amenities are available will help grow the relationship with your client.

At Regus, you can have a virtual address that also includes a physical building that you can make use of. While you may never need to visit the physical office, you could spend as little as two days in the office per month.

This can help boost productivity, especially when making use of amenities like meeting rooms. You may start off with a virtual office address and then move into a coworking space or permanent office space further down the line.

This is why when choosing a scalable virtual office solution it is so important. By doing so, it’s easier to understand what facilities are available and how you can best use them.

Mailing services

If your virtual office is in a different location to you then you will need your provider to offer mailing services.

A mail forwarding service allows you to have your mail sent from your virtual office address to wherever you may be located. It allows you to receive your important mail however often you would like.

At Regus, we provide daily, weekly, monthly, or ad-hoc mail forwarding, depending on your needs. This means you won’t need to waste time coming into the office to pick up mail. Instead, you will have more time to focus on your clients and growing your business.

Call answering services

Customers trust local phone numbers a lot more than any other type of number. If your business has a local phone number, then people will find you more trustworthy and are thus more likely to consider using your business.

This is why we provide a cost-effective telephone answering service, with a dedicated team of friendly customer service agents available to take calls from your clients.

Even if you're on the other side of the world, our virtual receptionists can answer calls in your company name. They can also transfer calls to you or even take messages on your behalf.

Contract lengths

You need to know that the contract for your virtual office space matches the needs of your business. This is true whether you’re looking for a virtual address for local credibility or you’re focusing on affordable ways to expand into new markets,

If you’re testing the waters in a new market, you might not want to get locked into a three-year contract. Or, if you want to get set up quickly, the speed of setup makes opting for a virtual office a quick and easy solution.

Whatever your needs may be, there is a solution to suit your business plans.

Rest assured that the contract terms provided by Regus are flexible and scalable. We offer agreements for as little as a month or for as long as two years. Thanks to this, you can save more with longer contracts.

Your budget

While one of the most appealing aspects of a virtual office is the affordability, an important thing to consider when buying a virtual office is your budget.

If you’re looking to impress potential clients, then you can look at some of the more premium virtual offices available within major city centers. With Regus, you will be able to secure a virtual business address within some of the most iconic buildings in the biggest cities in the world.

However, you may have a smaller budget to secure virtual office space. In that case, it would be best to look into quieter areas or the outskirts of wherever you’re looking to expand into.

You will still be able to display that you’re in the city on your website and contact details but the monthly costs will be lower.

Local laws

If you want to find a virtual business address and phone number in another country because you’re expanding into a different market, you’ll need to consider local laws.

The local or national laws may differ vastly from the ones in your current country. For example, taxes vary from country to country. Considering this, you need to make sure your business knows how much it needs to pay now that it’s operating in a new country.

Speaking to a local virtual office provider will give you a huge amount of local expertise in the location you’re looking to base your business in. They’ll also have information on local amenities and facilities if you need to drop by for an important meeting.

Finding the right virtual office with Regus

Ultimately, there are lots of other factors to consider, such as employment laws and competitors, so getting financial and legal advice from professionals within your new market is vital.

Once the legal part is out of the way, the virtual office setup is very simple. To help, you can find a virtual office space with Regus and work your way today. If you need more guidance, you can reach out to our team, who are always happy to offer their expertise.

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Regus offers virtual offices all across the globe. Whether you’re looking to establish a presence in a nearby city or you’re expanding overseas, our office spaces are available for you and your business.