While the whole idea of using a virtual office is so that you can cut costs and pump in more money to your business, it should not be a philosophy that is allowed to get out of hand. You are dealing with a company, money and real people who make up your clients base and there is a huge difference in being cost-effective and being cheap. Being cheap means you are allowing the issue of quality and quality control to run away from you, being cheap means you are compromising the image of your company just to save a few thousand dollars a year. In business image in everything and trust is not build on the foundations of the inexpensive and shoddy. When looking for a virtual office you must avoid the dangers of using a cheap virtual office, because it is something that can hurt your business.



Would you wear a t shirt and shorts to a big presentation? You would come of looking ridiculous and immediately there would be mistrust in your capabilities. If you look rich, you feel confident and that confidence comes through, especially when you talk to your clients; trying to convince them to buy the product or service that you are touting. This theory has the same applications in business – skimp and you will get returns with figures that closely match your rent. Trust is built not from the overly expensive but quality helps.

I wont mince my words about it, the biggest MNC's and corporations all bank on image when it comes to business. A large boardroom with amenities impress – and this is something you need to do when you are dealing with money and a purchasing decision. Cheap virtual offices usually offer services that are fly by night – untrained receptionists, a systemless way of managing incoming faxes and important mailed in documents. You also get addresses which are questionable – this happens when companies try to save as much as possible when tailoring a shoe string budget for their clients.

You cannot compromise on certain things. A badly trained receptionist is not only one that can kill your sensibilities, it can also kill your business. Imagine if you are out on a meeting and simply cant take an important call. The call is automatically routed to the central virtual office number and is picked up by a rude, uninformed and impatient receptionist. Guess what, you just lost a big account and here's the other thing – in the B2B world of clients and transaction –word of mouth and ba reputations stink to high heaven. Do everything in your power to avoid these types of situations and have full control of your virtual office operations.

Make sure it has every facility you need and that quality checks are maintained. The dangers of using a cheap virtual office are ones that are real and very tangible and they are hurting thousands of business every year. So don't be a victim and spend just a little more – you wont regret it.