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Virtual Offices for Small Businesses

Your virtual office can mean anything from having a phone or fax number for a different city, to getting a company to answer your telephone calls as if they were the receptionist at your business premises through to having actual offices and meeting rooms available to you in prestigious city centre locations anywhere in the world. All the advantages of big business for the small business.

A one man band can look like a large established business and a medium sized business can look like a multinational. You can use the virtual world to create the business profile you want to portray in the real world.

Business Telephone and Fax

There is a huge choice here you are no longer restricted to a number allocated by your telephone company.

You can have a whole host of local area codes to give you a business presence in just about any city you desire. Not only that you can choose from free phone numbers and local call rate numbers too.

The numbers can be forwarded to your office your home or even your mobile wherever you are in the world.

Not available to answer? These numbers can be answered by real people or voice mail messages forwarded to you by e mail.

You don't even need a fax machine to receive faxes any more there are many companies offering fax to e mail services. Again you can pick from a whole host of numbers depending on the image you want to portray. 

In fact the choice out there is enormous so it may be useful to get together a checklist of your requirements to help you sort the wheat from the chaff

Business Telephone Checklist

Do you want to be associated with a particular area?

In that case you need to pick a provider giving that local area code. This may be as simple as going with your local telephone company if you are based in that area. If you are not located in that particular area for instance you want a London number then you need to find a company that provides numbers with London codes

Do you want a low call rate or free phone number for your customers?

Do you trade over a wide area? Do you think customers would be put off ringing you if they have to make a long distance call?

Do you need to forward calls to your mobile or different landline numbers or even abroad?

Consider if you want your business customers to be able to contact you wherever you are. Different companies target different niche markets for the numbers they sell and depending on whether you want the calls to go to your mobile or abroad you will find one offering the best deals for those circumstances.

Do you need voice mail or a telephone answering service?

Consider whether your clients will be happy talking to a machine or whether you will keep their business if they can leave a message with a real person.

Do you need a fax service

If so you might want to use the same company for your fax number so that they run concurrently this always looks more professional.

Do you need a memorable number?

These often cost more but if for instance you have a takeaway or taxi business it may well pay for itself if your customers can remember your number

Serviced Offices

If you can't do all your business by telephone and internet you still don't need to invest in your own staff and premises.

You can have a virtual office that gives you a prestigious mail address. Your mail can be sent there and held or forwarded to you.

Need a face to face meeting on your premises? You can book offices, meeting rooms and conference rooms too. Even video conferencing.

These companies can also provide IT and administrative staff for you to use.