Travel and Leisure

Some people work from home, some also use cafes, hotels and client sites and some are constantly on the move. However, if you feel your business needs an office space, then a serviced or virtual office will give you many benefits.

Flexibility

Your local business centre will provide very flexible terms: facilities are available for an hour, a day, month or year; you can grow and contract as business demands; and you do not need to commit further into the future than you can realistically see.

This is great for your business as you can react easily to economic or other environmental circumstances, you need never pay for facilities you are not using and your growth plans can be accommodated without moving buildings.

Costs are manageable

There is a wide variety of services to choose from to meet your budget and requirements, including a virtual office, hot-desks, co-working space and dedicated office suites. You can use these on an ad-hoc basis or on a more regular footing, temporarily or permanently - it's up to you.

Whether you work from home, but want more professional space occasionally; or you are working on a specific project or contract; or if you want to test an office environment to see if it's right for you, there will always be an option to exactly suit your needs at a business centre.

Sharing resources

You share services like leased-line broadband, telecoms and utilities with the building as a whole, saving you money and significantly reducing your time spent in procurement.

You do not have large in-going or exit costs; plus, the costs you do have are - or should be - all inclusive, so you know exactly what you are paying each and every month.

Another benefit is that of saving space (which also saves money) because you rent ancillary space like meeting rooms and hot-desks only when you need them and because the other shared resources (like reception, secretarial support, photocopier, fax, etc.) mean less staff.

Professional reception

Telephone management is also a huge help in saving time. Calls are answered even when you are unavailable so you never miss an important client or prospect contact. Unwanted calls are fielded so you don't waste time getting rid of sales and other irrelevant calls.

Central reception is also there to meet and greet visitors, clients and prospects, whether you are a tenant or simply using a meeting room at the centre.

Improving your profile

Even if you are only using virtual services you are still adding credibility and a higher profile to your business. You can choose an address that suits you - maybe city centre or out-of-town - and gives your business a little extra prestige.

You can be where your customers are or in among the competition; and you can appear in relevant directories and listings without having to publish your home address; and, if you need to, you can use the centre address as your registered address.

Business support

Many business centres will provide their clients with a wide range of support, which might include networking opportunities with other tenants, other events, seminars or training, meeting rooms, IT support, free consultations with business advisors, marketing opportunities, discounted third party services, start-up advice and more.

So, wherever and however you work, you will find that serviced offices provide a range of products and services that are helpful to your business. Some you may be aware of, others less so, but if there is anything here that interests you, why not get in touch with your local business centre?

You will be amazed at the benefits it could bring to your business.