{"id":18015,"date":"2018-09-21T15:59:29","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T12:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialcafe.com\/blog\/?p=18015"},"modified":"2026-04-07T12:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:41:13","slug":"7-important-things-know-virtual-offices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialcafe.com\/blog\/7-important-things-know-virtual-offices\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Important Things to Know About Virtual Offices"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people \u2013 even those of us in the commercial real estate business \u2013 sometimes scratch our heads when trying to explain what virtual offices are.<\/p>\n

Are they an actual place, strictly a service, coworking office space, or something in between? The best answer is a partial \u2018Yes\u2019<\/em> to all four questions. In fact, a virtual office can serve many different purposes depending on the business that you\u2019re in.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here are seven things to know about virtual offices.<\/p>\n

#1 What Are Virtual Offices?<\/h4>\n

Virtual offices are location-based organizations that give businesses and their employees access to a wide range of services via the internet without having to be in that location.<\/p>\n

One of the best things about using a virtual office is that a business can have a presence in an extremely desirable area \u2013 say Midtown Manhattan, for example \u2013 and actually be physically located in another city, state, country, or even a home office.<\/p>\n

Presence<\/em> is the key word here, because a virtual office space in Midtown<\/a> is a fraction of the cost of leasing traditional office space in one of the most expensive office markets in the entire world.<\/p>\n

#2 How Do Virtual Offices Work?<\/h4>\n

In the same way that the internet has allowed companies like Airbnb, Amazon, and Uber to grow and prosper, the world wide web is also largely responsible for helping virtual offices to exist.<\/p>\n

There are three key factors that allow virtual offices to work:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Cloud Solutions \u2013 Virtual desktops and servers combined with an internet connection let organizations and their employees work from anywhere in the world.<\/li>\n
  2. Connected Collaboration \u2013 Software and services such as Skype, Dropbox, Slack, and Trello make it amazingly easy for employees to connect with each other and with clients without having to physically be in the same room \u2013 or even in the same country.<\/li>\n
  3. High Speed Internet \u2013 Once upon a time there was something called \u2018dial up internet\u2019. It was painfully slow, unreliable, and made virtual offices virtually impossible. Today high speed, high bandwidth internet service can be found almost anywhere.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    #3 What Do Virtual Offices Provide?<\/h4>\n

    While services can vary from one company to the next, some of the things that nearly all virtual office providers offer include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • A real business address<\/strong> – this is much more professional than using a home address or a P.O. Box,<\/li>\n
    • Receptionist, answering service, voicemail <\/strong>– clients and employees appreciate being able to speak with a real live person to verify that a package was received or to reserve a time to use a conference room,<\/li>\n
    • Meeting & conference rooms<\/strong>\u00a0– most virtual office providers offer fully equipped, state-of-the-art meeting and conference rooms for getting together face-to-face,<\/li>\n
    • Mail receiving and scanning<\/strong>\u00a0– although snail mail is something that most of us try to avoid, it seems that we still need real, physical mail at times. Virtual offices will open mail, scan it, and upload it or email it to you for your reading convenience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      #4 Who Uses Virtual Offices?<\/h4>\n

      Entrepreneurs, solo freelance workers, and business startups find virtual offices especially attractive.<\/p>\n

      Using virtual office space is also great for people who travel a lot. That\u2019s because many virtual office companies are located in most major cities around the country and even the world. They allow business people to have a home base while traveling \u2013 even if it\u2019s just for a few hours, a day, or a week.<\/p>\n

      Renting a virtual office is also easy on the budget, allows businesses to try out a location before they commit to leasing real office space, and makes it easy to hire virtual assistants and remotely employ top talent from anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

      #5 Do Virtual Offices Make Good Business Sense?<\/h4>\n

      Whether or not using a virtual office space makes sense depends 100% on the type of business you\u2019re in, your clients, and your staff.<\/p>\n

      Renting a virtual office isn\u2019t an all or nothing proposition. Some businesses use virtual office space and coworking office spaces when they need additional temporary space, or to provide staff in a new startup division with a place to think outside of the box.<\/p>\n

      #6 What Are the Good Things About A Virtual Office?<\/h4>\n

      Some of the common advantages to using a virtual office include:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Saving money on overhead, office design and d\u00e9cor, furniture and fixtures<\/li>\n
      • Boosting productivity by minimizing interruptions from the coworker next door<\/li>\n
      • Eliminating commute times and transportation costs going to and from an office building<\/li>\n
      • Getting rid of office headaches such as cleaning the employee break room or managing employee socializing<\/li>\n
      • Access talent and support from around the world, oftentimes for much less than you\u2019d pay somebody locally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        #7 What Are the Cons to Renting A Virtual Office?<\/h4>\n

        Virtual office space can offer a business flexibility, convenience, and a prestigious image at a very affordable price. But renting virtual office space isn\u2019t the best choice for every business.<\/p>\n

        Some potential drawbacks to renting a virtual office include:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Managing a remote staff can be difficult<\/strong> \u2013 ensuring projects will be met on time, working with different time zones around the world, and collaborating meaningfully can be a challenge<\/li>\n
        • Maintaining a company culture can also be troublesome<\/strong> \u2013 even if your staff can be productive working virtually, it\u2019s difficult for people to feel like they\u2019re really part of the team if they can\u2019t meet face-to-face every now and then<\/li>\n
        • Pre-planning is needed to use real space in a virtual office<\/strong> \u2013 booking time to use a conference room or day-use office space means planning in advance to avoid other tenants booking the same space that you need<\/li>\n
        • Virtual office spaces aren\u2019t always accessible 24\/7<\/strong> \u2013 some virtual office companies limit access to their physical space on nights or on weekends, limiting your business flexibility and causing inconvenience<\/li>\n
        • Working from home can be distracting<\/strong> \u2013 many business owners quickly discover that not all of their staff can handle the distractions of working virtually from a home office \u2013 many employees are at their most productive best when they\u2019re in a traditional office space or coworking location<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Many people \u2013 even those of us in the commercial real estate business \u2013 sometimes scratch our heads when trying to explain what virtual offices are. Are they an actual place, strictly a service, coworking office space, or something in between? The best answer is a partial \u2018Yes\u2019 to all four questions. In fact, a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":203,"featured_media":18282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,2256,39,2547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commercial-real-estate-news","category-coworking","category-office","category-resources","wpautop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Important Things to Know About Virtual Offices - CommercialCafe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thinking about a virtual office? 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