The Pros and Cons of a Dedicated Office Space
21 June 2010
A dedicated office space in the Internet world could be referred to as a virtual office. Simply put, a virtual office is an offsite location where a professional staff steps in and provides services for your business that a real office would. This allows you to maintain a strong sense of professionalism in the business world, even without having a large company. Dedicated offices offer your business the advantages of telephone messaging and address services. By leasing out virtual space from a reputable company, you have the features of a real office at a price that could be merely a fraction of a real estate lease. Like anything in business, however, there's an upside and a downside to a dedicated office space. Going over the pros and cons of a dedicated office will help you to make an informed decision before proceeding.
ProsFirst and foremost, a dedicated office means that you will not have to spend as much money on real office services. You gain the benefit of professionals handling your calls. You'll receive a dedicated phone number, tight security and even have access to meeting rooms at the location of your dedicated office space. Other benefits of a dedicated office include fax numbers, a postal service address set up for you, and even some
marketing services.
ConsThere's no real guarantee that any dedicated office space you select will come off as legitimate to investors, customers, etc. The idea when leasing virtual office space is to appear professional while working from another location like from home. You could be found out and frowned upon for leasing virtual space. Prices are also climbing to outrageous heights for what a dedicated office offers in reality. You can purchase smaller packages that won't cost so much, but a lot of the best packages for dedicated offices cost nearly as much as leasing property. You don't have much creative control in terms of hiring or personalized messages. You could be trapped in what the dedicated office server is offering, so this could make things difficult if they have problems on their end. Either way you choose to go here, you're going to have some problems. Nothing in the world is without its problems, and while you'll save some money and gain some recognition from leasing a dedicated office, you also run the risk of losing credibility and control of your business.
