Virtual Offices increase in popularity
Officebroker.com have today published an article about the increase in enquiries for virtual offices. Given the current economic outlook and the increased demand for flexible office space, this is hardly surprising. It does seem to indicate that the marketing message is getting across, however I imagine there is still some way to go before most people would be able to explain what a virtual office is. There could be some problems for the industry however. What if more people are set on choosing a virtual office, will that mean less will take a serviced office? If this was the case then providers and brokers would both lose out you could argue. Or if there were no virtual offices, would people not bother to seek workspace and therefore not start their business as they perceive it as too expensive? Hypothetical questions, but remember that it would be hard to maintain a growing business or more than 2/3 people virtually.
Once you have secured a new virtual office tenant, you can slowly introduce them the benefits of a serviced office. The utopian view of working from home rarely lives up to what you might imagine when “stuck in an office”. There are numerous potential distractions, as well as the drawback of not having face to face communication. Moreover serviced offices are becoming even more affordable than they were before the recession. With capital values and rental prices falling, now is a perfect time to choose new office accommodation. Although they mean less revenue than generated from a full serviced office, they are the perfect staarting point for companies who can then be lured into renting a full office.