Why A Sole Trader Should Consider A Virtual Office

At the beginning of 2019, it was calculated that there were a staggering 5.9 million SMEs in the UK, and out of these, 59% were sole traders. With a continued rise in home-based businesses, and many people deciding to start up their own businesses due to the pandemic, the office administration sector is only going to continue booming.

Sole traders have to wear so many different hats when starting up a business. It isn’t just about focusing on the product or service you are selling, you will find yourself bookkeeping, carrying out general administrative tasks, marketing, HR and more. There is going to be an increase in demand for outsourcing administrative functions as more people see the advantages of outsourcing those time-consuming tasks.

Virtual office services provide the perfect solution. They offer administrative services which many sole traders and small company owners struggle to find the time to carry out. This means they can continue to maintain their high professional standards, whilst keeping both overheads and time constraints to a minimum.

Benefits of a Virtual Office service

Here at Venture Offices, we provide valuable support for sole traders with our call answering, mail handling, mail forwarding and message forwarding services. It is a much more cost-effective service than renting a premises and hiring staff to carry out these mundane tasks. Here are our top reasons why a sole trader should consider a virtual office:

1. Reputation

Your professional reputation does not have to be limited by the location of your business. With virtual office services, you can easily enhance the image of your business and compete with other, larger organisations. The only difference is that you won’t have an army of staff, it will just appear on the outside that you do!

2. Reduced administration

When you are trying to run a business single-handedly it can be very difficult to maintain a work-life balance. By investing in some help with the administrative tasks, you can then turn your focus to creating your products and growing your business. 

3. Reduced overheads 

Starting a business is no easy task, and keeping your costs low in the early stages is really important. You do need to ensure this is balanced with providing a first-class customer service though. It is not always worth scrimping on things like accountants, for example, in the early stages of running a business. Having a dedicated business address and call answering services could be a really beneficial expense that is worth the initial outlay.

4. Personal privacy

We talk about this a lot, because it is important. If you work from home your privacy is fairly compromised. Unlike with limited companies, a sole trader’s details are not publicly listed on Companies House. However, most businesses do still need to add contact details to their website, emails and stationery. The best way to protect your personal privacy is to use a virtual office address. 

5. Avoid unanswered calls

Every business owner wants to be busy, but customer service is a very important aspect when you are starting up. You need to strike a balance between answering every call but still carrying out your work to the highest standard. This is why professional call handling services were introduced. Why not let a highly-trained receptionist look after your calls for you, answering them in your business name.

We hope you have found this blog useful, and if you have any questions about the virtual office packages that we provide here at Venture Offices please call us on 01205 809222.