Pros and Cons of Using a Virtual Address

Small business startups face many hurdles but a virtual business address and office give you an easy and quick setup. A virtual office offers an affordable substitute to the traditional office. It gives an easy way for any business to expand to new locations.

It is easy to get a virtual business address, but with all its benefits, it still might not be for you. Now you must be wondering if it is an answer to your problems or just an expense. It is the new fad in the business world. It is getting prominent and people are turning towards it. But not every trend is for everybody. To help you understand better, let us consider the pros and cons of a virtual business address.

What is a Virtual business address?

It gives you a physical business address, without you occupying the premises. Mostly, they are at desirable and posh places like business hubs or upscale locations. The best feature of a virtual office is that you get a pre-eminent business at a fragment of the cost of leasing a physical office.

A virtual office can be in any part of the world and can be managed remotely. Since your employees can work remotely, you get to choose from a large talent pool from around the world. You can get cheaper labor as well cutting the operational cost further. Remotely working employees work with ease increasing their productivity.

What do you need to run a Virtual Business?

First and foremost, you need to have a virtual business address. You can get your address from a virtual business address provider. noFollow these steps to set up your account.

• Find a virtual business address solution. There are numerous options to choose from.
• Choose a physical location for your mailing address according to your preference.
• Select and customize the services you want to avail yourself of.
• Make payment to purchase the service.
• Get your postal form if required. In the United States, you need a US postal form from the notary.

Other than this, you need:

• Cloud-based solutions for ease of remote working.
• Software and services for collaboration between the employees. Zoom, Skype, Dropbox, Whatsapp Business are examples of such services.
• Uninterrupted, highspeed, Global internet service that will enable employees from different locations to work together.

Services you can get with a virtual business address:

A virtual business address providers offer a variety of other supportive services as well:

• A physical business address in a prestigious location.
• Front desk services like receptionist, voicemail, and answering machine.
• Receiving mail, scanning, and uploading mail that can’t be emailed.
• Serviced meeting rooms and state-of-the-art conference rooms that are paid for as needed.

Pros of using a virtual office address:

• Overhead expenses are reduced as you don’t have to lease a physical space, furnish it, and maintain it.
• Your virtual address can be preferably used for legal documents and LLC registration.
• You can outsource tasks to virtual assistants at an affordable cost.
• You can hire top talent from around the world adding global diversity to your business. It will also reduce the HR cost further as many regions offer cheaper labor costs.
• Expansion and managing to different regions become easier.
• It is more result-oriented and productive as employees are working remotely and don’t have to commute. This saves a lot of time as well.

Cons of using a virtual office address:

• The lack of physical space is the biggest drawback of a virtual business address. You have to mention physical space in your business plans and not having one can be a problem. If the nature of your business is such that it will eventually need a physical space, then getting a virtual address is not cost-effective. On the contrary, it will be an unnecessary expense.
• Another major drawback is that there will be no team-building or a sense of companionship among the workers. Remote working has its benefits but it creates isolation within the company. There is no face-to-face interaction between the employees and they don’t develop any camaraderie. This can affect productivity as well. Many employees work best under strict discipline that can only be maintained in a traditional office environment.

Conclusion:

The virtual business address is gaining momentum as it gives an easy way out to small businesses. It makes management, operations, and expansion very easy for home-run or small businesses. Like everything else in the world, the virtual address has its pros and cons as well. But if you weigh it according to your business, you will find it beneficial for you.

You might think I am biased but, unless your business requires physical space, a virtual business address caters to all your problems at an affordable cost. The few cons that it has, can be easily managed. In short, I will consider it a total win-win for your business.