Why You Don’t Need An Office

Office space may seem like a necessity to many budding business owners, but actually there’s very little need to rent/own an office in 2020. Forgoing an office can have many benefits. Here are just some of the reasons why you don’t need an office.

The rise of the virtual office

Everything that once belonged on an office desk has now been digitized. Modern businesses can be run entirely from a computer – and with the advent of laptops, tablets and smartphones, this gives business owners the option to work from pretty much anywhere.

Many businesses have gone paperless, so there’s no need for a place to store physical documents and contracts, nor any need for a printer. Most information can simply be shared electronically using email or the cloud. It’s even possible to sign documents electronically.

Hiring virtual employees

The recent pandemic has shown that many businesses are able to operate using remote employees. Many businesses were already letting employees work from home before the pandemic – in fact, there are some large businesses with entirely virtual workforces.

All documents can be shared on the cloud. Tools like email, instant messaging, phone and video calls can meanwhile be used to communicate as a team.

An office does offer the advantage of being able to collaborate more quickly and efficiently. When it comes to meetings, some companies get around this by hiring out meeting space for a day. If you’re doing this infrequently, it will save you a lot of money compared to renting an office.

Making use of outsourcing

On top of outsourcing meeting space, there are things that you can outsource in order to run a virtual office efficiently.

You may be able to outsource virtual receptionists to handle phone calls rather than having to answer all calls yourself or delegate the job to employees. There are many phone answering companies that are able to take all your phone calls, relaying only the most important information and callers to you.

You can even outsource your address if you’re concerned that not having an office could mean not having an official business address. An office address for home business allows you to maintain credibility without the need for a physical office. All mail is sent to this address and you can then choose to redirect it to your home address or read your mail online.

The benefits of a virtual office

Virtual offices have many benefits over physical offices. Here are just some of the major benefits:

•         It can reduce running costs significantly – you don’t have to worry about office rent, energy bills, equipment, insurance etc.
•         You and your employees could be more motivated and more productive. No office means no distractions. Employees that work from home also take less sick days.
•         The freedom to work from any location means that you can hire talent from across the world rather than being limited to local talent.
•         Freedom to work from any location also means no commute! You and your employees can save huge amounts of time spent travelling to and from work by working from home or from any location you desire (some people are able to work while travelling).

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