What do you think of when someone says the word “office?” Chances are – like most of us – you think of a physical office space, a space with desks and chairs and copiers and a receptionist and people bustling around answering ringing phones. However, the Internet age has changed all that. You might have a brick and mortar “real-time” office, but it’s possible you might have a virtual office instead.
Surprisingly, more and more people are working from home as freelancers and consultants. Whether the economy has driven this increase or whether workers are just finding it a more convenient fit, statistics show that about 20% of the U.S. workforce did at least some work from home last year. And according to an msnbc article, “Monster.com saw a 46.2 percent spike in contract job postings in March compared to the same month last year…”
The result is fewer hard space offices and more virtual offices. Today’s workers find the smart virtual office to be convenient in many ways. For example, if you run a home Internet business, do you really want your business mail to come to your house? Do you want your clients to meet with you in the living room, surrounded by children’s toys or barking dogs? Of course not. The virtual office space is the way businesspeople all over are managing the situation.
Like the virtual offices provided by such companies as Apollo Business Centers, Inc., you can get everything from mail delivery to a prestigious address like Beverly Hills, California to an hourly virtual office assistant. You can rent conference rooms real-time, and have a “live” receptionist answer your phones and forward your calls. Just imagine your clients seeing your letterhead with a Beverly Hills address. They’ll certainly be impressed by the professional response they receive when they call, too.
All in all, the virtual office space is the wave of the future for businesspeople who are working from home as consultants or self-employed. They are convenient, comprehensive, reliable – all at a reasonable price. Why would anyone want to go back to the costly venture of a brick and mortar office space?