Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
What is a virtual office and mailbox?
Popular with everyone from start-ups to multinationals, a virtual office provides a service in which people rent a fixed office address away from where they actually do their work.
The idea of the virtual office has been around for a long time – it was initially realised by entrepreneur Ralph Gregoryback in 1995, but since then, virtual offices have been put into action by businesses across the globe.
What are the benefits of a virtual office?
Virtual offices offer lots of benefits for companies and entrepreneurs alike, but here are the most common attractions:
https://mailbox.photo.blog/2021/11/09/five-reasons-to-consider-a-virtual-office-and-mailbox/
A virtual business mailing address
In the early days of running a business, many owners will work from home. However, to attract the best clients, they might need a more prestigious address – the problem is they simply can’t afford one.
This is where a virtual office comes in. You pay for a virtual mailing address at an attention-grabbing city location, and then you can use that address on your correspondence and marketing to potential customers.
A mailing service
As we’ve mentioned above, if you’re paying for a virtual office company address that adds extra gravitas to your offering, you’ll use it in your emails and promotional material. But what if people start trying to contact you at that address?
It’s for this reason that most virtual offices will also provide a mailing service as part of the package. They’ll forward your business post on to your home address, or open and scan your letters before emailing the scans over to you.
A trained receptionist
A letter-forwarding service is great for written correspondence, but what if clients and customers start calling your virtual office to set up meetings?
Most virtual office packages will include a fully-trained receptionist who’ll be able to handle calls and book meetings on your behalf. So, even though you’re not located at that office, your customers will still enjoy a totally professional experience.
Meeting rooms
Your virtual receptionist has taken a call from a potential client, and they’ve requested a meeting at your city centre virtual office location. But you’re not using that address as your workplace, so what do you do?
Fortunately, many virtual office packages will also offer meeting rooms as part of the service. So, even though you’re not there from day to day, when it’s time to make an impression in person you can accommodate clients and customers on site.
Do you need a virtual company address?
Renting an office in a prestigious part of a big city is most likely out of the question for most start-ups and small businesses. Early in the lifecycle of your business, finances will be tight and you need to be careful about every expense. Sinking your budget into a flashy office in a central location is hard to justify, because it’s massively expensive and for much of your daily activity you don’t really need it.
That said, you need to be able to display an air of professionalism and a random address in the suburbs won’t really cut it. So, a virtual office address at a much smaller cost is the ideal answer. A virtual office address in a central city location means you still get all the kudos at a fraction of the cost, reassuring potential customers that you’re a serious, professional proposition and making them more willing to do business with you.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
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