With the increased growth of modern-day ventures in the startup arena, it is becoming a challenge to find an office space within an affordable budget. The land prices are already hitting the roof across all the metropolitan cities in India. In such a scenario, the trend of adopting the virtual office is gaining rapid momentum amongst the startup entrepreneurs, solopreneur and freelancers.
If you are one of those ambitious entrepreneurs with big plans but limited resources, then signing up for a virtual office space certainly makes sense. Getting a virtual office address is just the beginning as there are several things that need to be taken care of after you opt for a virtual office space in India for reaping the best benefits. So, if you have opted for a virtual office for the first time, then the following tips may help you largely in operating your business in the right direction for achieving the desired success.
Tip 1- Using an email address with your company’s domain and not Gmail
You should always make it a point to use an email address for your business along with your company’s domain and not Gmail. If you continue using a Yahoo, AOL or Gmail address for interacting with your clients and other stakeholders, then you would be certainly tagged as an amateur or unprofessional. This goes without any doubt that the perceptions play a great role in creating reality and this starts right from the very first impression and this can sometimes be your business email address.
Tip 2- Meeting clients at the virtual office address and not elsewhere like in a cafe
When you have a meeting with a client, you should ideally rent a day in the office in order to conduct the meeting. You can bring in few flowers and pictures to rightly set the day office so that it appears to be your permanent office. You can also opt to set up the furniture in such a manner so that the expected guest feels comfortable. Conducting a meeting in some café can seem to be unprofessional to most of the people. When you are choosing your virtual office services, you should necessarily check whether they offer flexible arrangements of meeting rooms and day offices.
Tip 3- Investing in developing an informative as well as crisp website
A great online presence is a necessity for every business no matter which industry your business belongs to. Whether your product or service is catering to B2B segment or targeting general consumers, finding resources or purchasing online works really well in 2018 when the usage of the digital platforms is peaking high in India. If you represent your business strongly on the digital platforms, you do not need to worry even if you are operating from a virtual office. By building a professional website, you can easily reach out to millions of prospective customers not only in India but across the globe. Your professional business website can generate numerous business leads online resulting in increased chances of success for your business.
Tip 4- Setting up the office hours
When you opt for a virtual office, you have the liberty of operating from home or part-time but you should surely communicate your business hours for your clients for presenting a professional approach. You should necessarily display the decided office hours on all your listing and also on your website. Needless to say, you also have to stick to the announced timings. This would help you in establishing the credibility and dependability of your business.
Tip 5- Trying to use a landline number instead of your cell phone
Trying to use a landline phone which you mention on your business cards and website can help in adding professionalism in your business approach. While you are choosing the best virtual office in a reputed business centre for your business, you should look for the one which offers the call-forwarding facility. So, the virtual office administrators would take care of taking all your important business calls and forwarding them to you.
Tip 6- Be in the office physically sometimes
Lastly, even if you prefer to work remotely or from home, it is a great idea for showing up at the business locations and then work from the coworking centre or lounge area. Setting up a schedule to work from the office at least once a week can make a difference. This will provide you with the networking opportunity with other professionals and different businesses from various sectors which operate from the virtual offices. Also, by adopting a virtual office, you will always learn something every day from the announcements and bulletin board whenever you opt to work on-site. So, working on-site at regular intervals will keep you in the loop of the things.
So, after you have opted for a virtual office, you should necessarily follow the above tips in order to make use of your virtual office optimally. iKeva is one of the best virtual office providers and provides all the necessary facilities that an ideal virtual office is supposed to provide. For any queries or suggestions, feel free to write to us in the comment box below.