According to the Small Business Administration, more than half of all new small businesses fail in the first five years. Inexperience, not enough startup capital, and a bad location choice are the top three reasons behind most failures. In reality, unless it’s a home business and the services offered are Internet based, all three reasons are interrelated.

So how can a startup avoid the frequent mistakes that lead to failure?

Capital vs Costs

Every new business requires enough startup capital to cover day-to-day expenses as well as hidden costs if they’re to have any chance at success. Property leases, payroll expenses, equipment rentals and telecommunication costs are some of the known expenses that can be factored into an operations budget, but some expenses aren’t as straightforward and can cripple a business immediately.

One example of hidden costs can be found in the expenses associated with the initial location setup. Fitting your business space with the necessary office furniture, performing any renovations that may be required to meet building codes and obtaining relevant permits and licenses for your business can get expensive really quickly. To lower these expenses, consider a virtual office at a prime piece of real estate in order to limit the decoration expenses. As a business is just starting off, a virtual office can be nice as it offers all of the amenities at a fraction of the cost of leasing your own office space.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Location

How big it is and how much the lease costs are just two of the many things to consider when choosing a location for your business. Other location-related factors that can directly impact your business’ performance are:

Market saturation

How many competing businesses are located within 1 mile? If competition is high, your chances of failing are greater against your more established competitors.

Tax incentives

As mentioned already, business taxes can be crippling to a bottom line. Choose a location with a favorable tax climate and incentives for start-ups so that more of your profits can go toward reinvestment.

Customer base

Depending on the services offered, are you located in an area with high customer traffic or not? Customer proximity is the best way to promote growth so don’t choose a location that’s hard to find or far away from your intended market or your suppliers.

Aesthetics

If you’re catering to a high-end demographic, choose a high-end location that reflects the image you wish to project for your business. Perhaps access to a conference room will benefit your business when hosting potential clients, or a nice waiting room for your new customers.

Expanding Too Soon

Growth is exciting, but expanding too soon can lead to failure. By starting off in a virtual office you’ll get to know other small businesses. This often gives you the opportunity to hire them as an independent contractor when you need help rather than hiring someone when you may not always have work for them. By contracting work out to other people in your office you don’t have to worry about having office space for them either.

A virtual office is a unique place to work. While the benefits can be immense, there are some challenges to ensuring that the virtual workplace is productive and efficient. Here are some terrific tips for managing projects and work in a non-traditional type of office.

Instant Messaging

While plenty of work can be done over email or by sending documents and other projects back and forth, there is real value in real time communication. Utilizing an instant messaging service is a great way for employees to be conversing in real time. This open communication model will create a sense of teamwork and camaraderie by allowing for real conversations that occur while employees are working on projects together, and it will also protect against the trivial mistakes that result from poor communication.

Team Meetings Online

Even the virtual workplace can benefit from having the entire team have a group conversation about independent and team projects as well as any challenges or problems. While it may not be feasible for the team to meet in person as they would in a traditional workplace, having a virtual team meeting is still a great way for employees to bond and share common concerns. Positive feelings among the team will boost happiness and productivity, and having a dedicated time for employees to raise any issues will lead to speedy and simple conflict resolution.

Use the Right Software

Having a system for online project management is critical to staying organized and task-driven in the virtual work environment. The right software or online system is therefore important to making sure the virtual office runs smoothly. Dedicated spaces for documents and work-related tasks must be a part of whatever project management system the virtual office uses.

The virtual office has many benefits, allowing for a great deal of employee flexibility. But there are also some challenges, and utilizing these tips will allow the virtual workplace to handle them appropriately. Working with an online instant messaging system, dedicating time for team meetings, and providing the right project management system, helps set any virtual office up for great success.

In order to run a successful company, small business owners must continually explore ways to build brand clout and strengthen their reputation. In most cases, building a strong business requires years of hard work and dedication, but business owners have certain resources available to them that make an immediate impact on the legitimacy of their company. Virtual offices are a prime example of such a resource.

Exploring the Benefits of a Virtual Office

Virtual offices offer the prestige and convenience of a well-known address and location, without the hefty investment required to rent or purchase office space in the area. With a virtual office in place, any business owner can utilize a known mailing address on their business correspondence, which helps generate interest in the company’s products and services. Many business owners also take advantage of live answering services, which utilize professional receptionists to direct phone calls and take messages for clients. This can further contribute to the perceived legitimacy of a small business.

Using a Virtual Office for Expansion

Running a small business from one’s home is often a more cost efficient way to launch a company, but when expanding to international sales, business owners must think outside the box. International clientele are much more likely to interact with established brands located at a prominent location, such as Beverly Hills. Virtual offices allow anyone to establish this legitimacy in the eyes of their clients, without spending a small fortune.

Not only is a virtual office a viable solution for savvy business professionals, but this service is also convenient and affordable. This makes choosing a virtual office an option for nearly any business owner to consider. By investing in a virtual office, businesses can open the doors to expansion and look to the future today.

The Bottom Line. Every start-up knows its importance, and any edge up is worth fighting for. That’s where virtual offices can make the difference. Free up your bottom line and opt for a virtual office service that includes two must haves: conference room access and live answering services. Grab a few indispensable business apps, and the transition can be painless.

Conference Room

Let’s face it, there are times when the local coffee house just won’t cut it. A private and well-equipped conference room can increase your client trust and rapport. Making conference calls, pitching projects and even interviewing potential employees in a state-of-the-art conference room provides your clients and employees a viable experience that a fancy address alone simply cannot.

If you find your employees need more physical face-to-face interaction, a virtual office service that offers access to a conference room can provide a comfortable, private, professional space to host luncheons, meet-and-greets or brainstorming sessions.

Live Answering Service

When it comes to phone etiquette, impression is everything. Having a live answering service ensures this impression communicates a legitimate, brick-and-mortar company with all the amenities. Most virtual offices provide a variety of live answering services with numerous options to cater to your business’ needs.

Essential Apps for the Start-Up

Transitioning to the virtual office doesn’t have to be complicated. And with the right tools to keep employees connected, your business can take full advantage of the new opportunity:

Yammer

Yammer provides a free, private social network for any size team, allowing efficient collaboration throughout the company. Keep your work schedule and schedule your work with ease.

iCall

Saving phone plan minutes can be a great tool to minimize your small business expenses, and iCall provides a unique feature to do just that. Receive a call while on a wireless internet network and switch the call with this app to save your minutes.

Skype

Skype makes it easy and quick to share information of all kinds. With voice plans, video chat, messaging and the ability to share any size video, your employees will have no excuse to be “out of the loop”.

A few more must-haves: Beluga, Free Conference Call, Ideapi, iNvite and Dragon Dictation.

Having a receptionist answer your phone when customers call promotes a positive image for your business and is the best way about handling customer phone calls. Having a telephone number on your website instills confidence in a customer so that they’ll do business with you. It shows the customer that they can get help whenever they need it. However, if the telephone is answered in a poor way the client might form a negative outlook about your business which might cost you money.

There are several different ways to answer the phone that you should avoid. First, we will discuss answering the phone yourself. This looks bad because you are running a business and shouldn’t have time to answer the phone. It also does not look very professional. You should also avoid answering your phone out in public. The noise around you can turn off the caller and give them an overall negative reaction regarding the phone call. Potential clients may also get frustrated if they are transferred to voicemail immediately. It is known that most people do not leave messages, so you are likely to lose that customer. Lastly, no one likes to navigate through a menu to reach a live person. Odds are good they’ll just become frustrated and hang up.

You can avoid all of this drama over a simple phone call with live answering services. For a small monthly payment you can have a live receptionist answer your phone calls during business hours and direct them to you. The only difference between a typical receptionist and one at a virtual office is that the one at the virtual office isn’t occupying office space you have to pay for.

A real estate agent isn’t interested in outfitting a new office space or maintaining existing offices in a pricey part of Beverly Hills. Instead, the most successful real estate companies want to make sure their employees are finding new listings and showing homes to those interested in the Beverly Hills market. A virtual office in Beverly Hills makes perfect sense for the real estate industry, where the most successful agents are rarely at their office bound desk.

Of course, a virtual office and virtual assistants can work well for most companies in the majority of industries, but it seems like the perfect fit for the busy professionals working in real estate. Those working in Beverly Hills understand the high cost of renting an office space and maintaining it to the high standard clients expect. Working from a virtual office or a number of virtual office locations provides a series of options for the real estate agent.

Firstly, a main office location can be maintained if required, with a series of virtual office locations spread through Beverly Hills and other parts of Los Angeles. This allows an agent to be close to their clients with an office space always available. Don’t make a potential home buyer navigate through the heavy traffic of Los Angeles in order to meet at your lone office location.

A virtual office and virtual assistant is a good choice for a startup real estate company or an established agency looking to expand their reach into or beyond Beverly Hills. When working from a virtual office the type of employees most companies wish to employ often gravitate towards telecommuting and virtual office spaces. The real estate business does not lend itself to the type of professionals bound to their desk, instead those looking to show houses and make deals at any time and location in Beverly Hills will be attracted to this style of working.

Making the switch to a virtual office is a low cost option for expansion or starting a new Beverly Hills based real estate business, without the problems of high rent and bills you deal with the traditional office.

There are thousands of businesses in Beverly Hills vying for the same market base. Using a virtual office for your small business instead of a Post Office box can be a quick and affordable way to set you light years ahead of the competition and here’s why.

Professionalism

There’s no need for clients and customers to know your business is based from home, or that you’re a low budget start-up. A virtual office provides an array of functions big businesses have, that small businesses usually can’t afford. Examples include a professional physical and mailing addresses, answering services, open envelop scanning, reception duties, and virtual assistants.

Clients may reconsider dealing with your business when they notice they will be shipping or sending any mail to a PO Box. All too often the negative connotations relating to scams and identity theft force customers to look elsewhere. This can be avoided by using a virtual office in Beverly Hills, 90210. Services most often include a prestigious building to be used as the address. The address is also used for receiving, sending and forwarding mail.

Organization

Often Virtual Office packages include everything needed when dealing with mass amounts of business mail. Services may include a mail handler that emails and transfers virtual mail documents to a drop box that can be easily accessed through the owner’s computer. Physical mail can be picked up or forwarded to your home address.

Ease

With just a low monthly cost, virtual offices can be the defining difference in keeping your business afloat and closing down. Clients can find you on the map and trust you’re legitimate. Overall, virtual offices are the best option for small businesses, independent contractors, or internet based companies to increase business and exposure and limiting costs.

In recent years, virtual offices have been increasing in popularity because they cost less money than renting a real office. Especially if you want to work from home, most of the time, a virtual office can become an attractive option. It can save entrepreneurs money, and if you choose a Beverly Hills virtual office, you will have all the prestige of owning an office in a highly regarded part of town. Your clients will not know the difference!

Why Use A Virtual Office?

You have a large selection of reasons for why people would want a virtual office. One reason being that people want an affordable office space to meet with clients, but they do not want to pay the price for a full-time office.

Who Uses A Virtual Office?

Some of the people who commonly use a virtual office include high-paid lawyers, work-from-home business owners, as well as sales and marketing representatives.

How Does Virtual Office Mail Forwarding Work?

The method that you will find used with your Beverly Hills work space would be having the mail privately stored for you until you decide to pick it up. You can also have someone come to retrieve the mail for you, or for a small fee, we can have the mail forwarded to you.

Is There A Space Where I Can Come Work Or Meet Clients?

You can host a meeting at a Beverly Hills conference room for an hourly rate. The advantage of this is that you will have one of the most beautiful views of the Beverly Hills neighborhood. If you decide to throw a meeting here, you can be guaranteed that this will impress your clients or business partners.

These are some of the reasons that you would want to consider a virtual office space. It makes sense in the way that you will save money, and you will be able to afford a far more impressive office at a more reasonable price than what you will find elsewhere.

In Beverly Hills, image is everything. You can give your business the image you want at a very reasonable price. You can rent Beverly Hills virtual office space with a very desirable address for far less than the cost of a traditional Beverly Hills office.

These virtual offices in Beverly Hills are not just a place to receive mail, you can rent well-equipped conference rooms to meet clients and have access to a support center on-site. If you only use a conference room once or twice a month, don’t spend all your profits renting and maintaining the space every day just to have an impressive Beverly Hills address for your business. Pay for office and meeting space as you need it and keep more of your profits for yourself.

Imagine how a prestigious Beverly Hills address will look on your business cards and on your company website. If you do most of your business from a home office, online or on the road, a virtual office with an impressive address makes perfect sense.

If clients do visit your office to drop off documents, they will be met by a professional greeter in the lobby. No one will know you are not paying a premium price for office space. Your business will appear professional and prosperous; just the image you want to project in image-conscious Beverly Hills.

When you need prime office space with an address that will impress your clients, a virtual office may be just the thing for your business needs. Virtual offices in Beverly Hills offer office space you rent for the address and location without actually having a traditional brick-and-mortar office in the building. You’re paying for the address in essence, and this is the new standard for many businesses.

And the location is not the only benefit of having virtual offices in Beverly Hills. By renting the virtual space, you’re also getting mail and package delivery and receipt, as well as a business support center and an onsite office greeter to meet any potential clients who may visit the address. Considering that the cost is drastically cheaper than having a traditional office space it’s a no-brainer.

Whether you are looking for a prime address, a place to send and receive packages with friendly business support, or renting conference rooms on a by-need basis, then you need to look no further. Virtual offices in Beverly Hills will provide all the convenience and benefits of a traditional office space without the cost and overhead so that you can focus on what’s most important for your business which is increasing your revenue.