Why a virtual office makes great business sense
If you’re starting up this year, or looking to grow your current business, it’s worth considering a virtual office address for a professional image with the flexibility of working wherever suits you best.
It’s tempting to work from home as a start-up, keeping overheads low and benefiting from the tax breaks that come with using your home as your office, and there’s no reason why you can’t continue that way. But for minimal investment, there are lots of benefits to having a virtual business address.
Start with a mailbox at one of the Mail Boxes Etc Business Centres in the Thames Valley
A mailbox lets you separate your business life from your personal life. Using your mailbox address as your director’s service address protects your privacy by keeping your home details off the public register.
You can also register your company at our address, and we can help with company formation – we currently support over 14,000 business professionals around the UK with company registration and virtual office services.
When you set up your own business, it’s important to start as you mean to go on: a professional address makes the right impression on your customers and contacts from day one.
At Mail Boxes Etc. we have hundreds of prestigious business locations to choose from – just decide where you want to base your business and use our address as yours. It’s also a great way to expand your geographical reach without investing in business premises in new locations.
A professional address works hard for you online as well as offline. Google likes business addresses, so why not help boost your Google rankings and ensure you come close to the top in any relevant searches?
Add the services you need
Meanwhile in the real bricks-and-mortar world, your virtual address can be your best friend when it comes to business back-up.
If you haven’t got a print room, a post room, a parcel despatch bay, an export team or access to a graphic designer, look no further than the team at your local Mail Boxes Etc.
We also offer mapping services, and you can buy your packaging materials, business supplies and stationery from us too. And if you’re fed up with missing calls when you’re out on the road, many of our stores also offer a telephone answering service.
As part of our business mailbox service, we’ll accept all your mail and any signed-for packages, so you never need miss another delivery.
You’ll have 24-hour secure access* to a real, physical mailbox, and you can phone or email us to check for deliveries to avoid any wasted journeys, or we’ll forward your mail at your request – anywhere in the world. We’ll also receive faxes on your behalf and put them in your mailbox or forward them as required.
Wait a minute Mr Postman
One thing you’ll notice once you’re up and running is that you tend to use postal services a bit more – and sometimes a lot more, depending on the nature of your business.
It’s a pain to run out of stamps, so it’s good to know you can buy them direct from us when you pop in to collect your mail. Need Special or Signed For deliveries? We offer a range of Royal Mail services to UK and international destinations.
We also specialise in parcel services from a range of leading carriers, and expert packing if you need it. Perfect for businesses, our post and parcel services let you avoid the queues and save your precious time.
If you need more from a business mailing service, ask us about franking (drop off your outgoing mail to us at the end of each day and we’ll do the rest), regular postal collections from your premises, bulk mailing (including printing if required) and fulfilment services.
We’re here for you
We understand that it can sometimes get a little lonely when you work for yourself – especially in the early days.
Most of our stores are owned and run by independent businesspeople just like you, so we understand the pressures and the challenges.
That’s why we pride ourselves on offering a personal service – if there’s anything you want to know, just ask. And we’ll always try to turn things around at very short notice when you need a little extra help.
Here’s to your best business year yet.