There’s been plenty of popular trends in our industry over the years, but very few have grown in popularity as rapidly as co-working. Did you know the first official co-working space was opened back in 2005 in America?

The virtual office is on the rise. More and more small business owners and freelancers are opting to invest in a virtual office space rather than a ‘real’ one.

The reason for this is simple: many micro business owners, especially solopreneurs, have almost everything they need in their home-based office. Choosing virtual office provision can give them the extras they require without having to forgo what they see as the financial and personal benefits of working from home.

If you’re thinking of choosing a virtual office, here’s everything you need to know on the advantages of a virtual office.

(1) Virtual offices aren’t all created equal

The first thing you need to know about virtual offices is that they’re not all the same! Different providers will offer a very different level of service, so it’s important to be clear right from the beginning what you and your business needs.

(2) A virtual office can make you look more professional

Home-based businesses often reach the stage where they want the professionalism of a corporate office but aren’t quite ready to make the necessary investment.

A virtual office gives you the right to use a dedicated business virtual address and use the services of secretaries and PAs. This means your business can appear bigger and more professional, all without moving from your present set up.

(3) A virtual office helps keep on top of communication

Answering the phone, dealing with emails and handling post can all be time-consuming. This is especially true if you don’t have a member of staff that it makes sense to delegate these tasks to.

The team behind your virtual office would be able to manage all these communication channels on your behalf, making it much easier for you to focus your time on important work.

(4) A virtual office space offer ‘real’ space when you need it

Working from home can be great… until it’s the school holidays, you’re having building work done or you have an important meeting.

When you choose a virtual office, look for one that offers ad hoc work space when you need it. It can be invaluable to have a backup workspace and to have a professional base to meet clients.

(5) A virtual office will give you greater privacy

Many business owners don’t feel comfortable using their home address on business documents such as business cards, invoices or contracts.

A virtual business address would enable you to keep your home address private… and would mean clients get a very different picture when they look you up on Google Street View!

(6) A virtual office comes with SEO benefits

If you work from home, you probably don’t want to take advantage of services such as Google Local or Yell that allow you to ‘plot’ your business on the map. Missing out on these, however, can mean that it’s more difficult for customers to find you through search engines.

A virtual address can allow you to make use of these services and improve your SEO without having to compromise perceived professionalism or privacy.

(7) A virtual office can help get you started in a new location

Virtual offices aren’t just for small businesses! We know many larger businesses who make use of services like ours to create a base in a new area.

Having a local office, even if it’s a virtual one, can help you to reach out to a whole new geographical group of customers.

Could a virtual office be right for you? Take a look at our Leeds virtual offices packages and pricing options.

• Ask Me Anything: 10 Answers to Your Questions about Leeds business address

  We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, outside London Leeds is the largest business and financial hub in the UK. Given Leeds’ enviable status as being the ‘London of the North’, a vibrant, well-connected city, in which students and professionals flock to in their droves, it stands to reason having a business address in buoyant and thriving Leeds is going to paint your business in an admirable light. 

  If you are thinking of taking the plunge and getting an ultra-exclusive Leeds business address, either by renting office space in Leeds or having a virtual office in the city or its surroundings, take a look at the answers to the following ten important questions related to business addresses in Leeds?

From the ‘big cheese’ in his/her office having little to do with the humble workforce, to the ladies swooning over the latest hunky recruit in the sales departments, offices by their very nature are full of clichés, jokes and puns. As flexible office space continues to snowball in prominence and popularity, so too do the jokes and jibes about this modern form of office space. Carrwood Park takes a look at 13 of the ‘punniest’ flexible office space puns you can find.

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As companies strive to adopt telework initiatives, teleconferencing has increased rapidly in recent years. The primary advantage of teleconferencing is clear – it enables business to conduct meetings with clients, colleagues and partners that are geographically dispersed. Whilst teleconferencing continues to gain momentum, meeting and making decisions over the phone is not always the answer.

Rolling out of bed at 8.50am. Blearily making yourself a coffee and starting work at 9.00am still in your pyjamas! Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? But is the lure of homeworking as productive, convenient and appealing as it seems? Let us answer the question: Do I need office Space?

New Years resolutions are often made without much thought and are then forgotten about come February. Dont fall into this trap in 2015.