In today’s business landscape, freelancers, entrepreneurs, small business owners and even established enterprises need to find cost-cutting solutions.

Regardless of your budget, virtual office space provides businesses of all sizes with several key benefits.

Official Business Address

Virtual office providers allow businesses to use their building address as your official business address which you can advertise on your website, stationery and other marketing materials.

If the company has a post scanning and forwarding service, you can also receive business post at the address of your virtual office provider, including official documentation from Companies House and HMRC, and get them sent to your mobile device or home address.

Adopting an official company registered address is an ideal solution for businesses that will benefit from projecting a professional image and creating the impression that you own office premises.

It is also possible for business owners who live overseas to register a business in the UK. Furthermore, company directors who do not want the address of their private residence made available to the public should take advantage of using a virtual office address as your official director’s service address.

Access To Fully-Functioning Office

Although a virtual office is often used by business owners who want to create the appearance of an own office, there will be times when you may need to take advantage of physical office facilities.

Some virtual office providers also offer shared office spaces and provide you with access to equipment which may not be readily available to you at home. Office facilities include printers, scanners, AV equipment, fax machines and meeting rooms.

Dedicated Telephone Line and Receptionist

Adopting the receptionist of a virtual office is one of the biggest cost-savings you can make as a small business or start-up. Annual salaries for receptionists in the UK are typically upwards of £18,000.

What’s more, you can also set up a dedicated landline which will be answered by a professional receptionist under your business name. A telephone answering service means you will never miss a call, and when you are unavailable to speak with a client, the receptionist will be able to answer simple questions and take a message for you.

More Flexibility

Whether you’re an established company with existing employees, a start-up needing to avoid hefty costs or an entrepreneur that needs access to office facilities, renting co-working desks in flexible workspaces provide you with both short and long-term flexibility.

Hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices and meeting rooms can be rented for as little as one hour, an entire day, a week, month or even a year. Companies that need long-term residency are often rewarded with attractive discounts.

Unlike most flexible workspace providers, BluDesks.com offers a pay-as-you-use membership so you are not tied into long-term contracts.  This gives you the freedom to work from multiple offices without committing yourself to one location or losing your money if you are not able to attend.

For more advice about our huge selection of virtual offices and the additional services offered by our global partners, get in touch today and speak with a member of our friendly team.

Starting a new business often requires capital. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to a sufficient amount of cash and with banks reluctant to offer small business loans some great ideas don’t even make it to first base.

The alternative is protect your capital by looking for cost-cutting solutions. It makes smart business sense to budget wisely and free up cashflow that enables you to get your business off the ground.

Navigating the start-up stage into the growth stage is the trickiest period for start-ups. According to statistics, 20% of small business fail within the first year and 60% go under after three years.

One of the first targets start-ups should aim for is keeping overheads as low as possible. The suggestions below provide you with solutions that can make a significant difference.

Virtual Office Space

Other than employee salaries, renting office space from a private landlord is evidently the most expensive cost start-ups encounter. Whilst having a physical location to run your business from can return dividends, the cost is a drain of resources.

Renting virtual office space provides a solution for business that attract customer through online channels. You can use the address of the virtual office on your website, stationery and other marketing materials to project the impression you have your own offices.

What’s more, virtual office service providers offer other useful services such as telephone answering services, receptionists and post forwarding, all of which create the impression of a fully-functioning office even if you actually work from a coffee shop, or your garage – hey, that’s how Apple and Microsoft started!

Co-working Spaces

 If you need some physical office space to work, but cannot afford hefty rents and long lease tie-ups, co-working spaces present an alternative solution. You can expect the majority of flexible workspace providers to offer access to typical facilities you would expect to find in an office.

Most Coworking spaces operate as a fully-functioning office. If you need access to printers, photocopiers, scanners and AV equipment, it is all available. And if you like the buzz of an office environment, co-working spaces are a great opportunity to network, make new friends and potentially acquire business.

Hot-Desks, Fixed Desks and Virtual Meeting Rooms

Another potential benefit of co-working spaces is they give you access to hot desks and meeting rooms. If you don’t need office space full-time, a hotdesk is a cost-effective solution.

On the other hand, if you have a team that need to work closely together, fixed desks or private offices mean you can keep your team together and establish a company culture and team bonding.

Meeting rooms on the premises also make it easier to hold team meetings in private and host clients. Some co-working spaces will even let you hang business signs on the wall which gives the appearance you own the space.

Virtual Receptionist

Whilst a receptionist is a nice-to-have feature which helps promote your business and manage calls, the annual salary of a receptionist is money you can spend in other areas.

If you do need someone to field your calls and project a professional image for your front-end, a virtual receptionist provides the answers. Co-working spaces also employ receptionists you can adopt for your own business.

You will be given a dedicated land line number which clients and prospects can reach you on and the receptionist will answer calls to that line in your business name.

Virtual offices and co-working space facilities are the best cost-cutting options available to small businesses because they help you function as a business without the hefty bills.