Getting a startup off the ground requires a lot of hard work and budget-conscious decisions. One of the most significant choices you’ll need to make is where to base your business; often, the prospect of renting a physical office space is not logistically viable, which is why many entrepreneurs lean towards working from home or a cafe.

However, even in the early days of launching a startup, having a proper business address and access to professional meeting spaces can work wonders for a new business, both in terms of mindset and client perception.

Rather than renting costly office space, a virtual office for startups in Lexington, Kentucky is a budget-friendly alternative that provides the majority of workplace amenities and services required by small businesses, at a fraction of the price of a full-time office.

What is a Virtual Office?

Here’s our definition of a virtual office:

A virtual office is a combination of people, a place, technologies, and processes that come together to help businesses and individuals work more efficiently, often in a remote way.

A virtual office provides most things a physical office does. It’s a physical building with office suites, meeting rooms, common areas and a staffed reception, where your business can receive mail and have it stored for collection or forwarded to your regular address (eg. your home) as often as you like. You can rent on-site meeting rooms and day offices by the hour, and you can even use your virtual office address for business setup and registration, to apply for credit, and on your business cards and marketing material.

On top of that, you can have a local business phone number and have incoming calls handled by receptionists during the working week.

A virtual office provides pretty much everything you’ll find in a regularly serviced office agreement… minus the actual office space.

Top 5 Benefits of using Virtual Office Tech for Startups

Okay. So How Does it Help Startups?

Now that you know how a virtual office works, let’s take a closer look at how this type of flexible workspace helps business startups:

• Business setup and formation. You can use your virtual office address as your registered company address, which not only looks professional, but also helps protect and separate your home and personal effects from that of your business. If you do this, we advise using a registered agent that can accept important legal business documents and ‘service of process’ mail.
• Apply for credit. It’s not easy to apply for funding as a new business. There are several steps you can take to help improve your creditworthiness, two of which include registering your business to an office address and having a business phone number. Although you may be able to apply for credit under your home address, many lenders won’t approve funding without a commercial address and phone number — so it often pays to get these in place early to start building your credibility as soon as possible.
• On-demand workplace and meeting rooms. Even though it’s known as a ‘virtual’ office, it’s still a real bricks-and-mortar building. Most virtual office buildings have on-site conference rooms and office suites that can be leased by the hour or by the day. It’s flexible, low-cost, and it means you’re not tied to an expensive full-time office lease — but at the same time you get a great place to work and hold meetings when you need it.
• Low-cost support and services. Startup owners have a to-do list as long as their arm. In addition to taking care of various business setup and administrative procedures, you are also busy generating inquiries and dealing with clients. A virtual office helps by providing a live receptionist service, which can usually be added-on to any basic virtual office plan. It’s a live call answering service carried out by professional receptionists who take calls in your company name and deal with inquiries according to your instructions. Some receptionists also provide an appointment scheduling service, arranging meetings and bookings and adding them into your calendar based on your availability.
• Professional appearance. Even the most basic virtual office service gives your business a professional appearance. You can add your commercial address to your website, business cards and marketing material, which shows potential clients that you’re a serious entrepreneur and a trustworthy professional. In the competitive world of startups, this goes a long way towards building your reputation and growing your business.

Whether you’re just starting out in the world of entrepreneurship or you’re ready to take your small business to the next level, a virtual office provides a flexible, budget-friendly workplace solution for businesses at any stage of the growth journey.