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The above answers basically quote the wikipedia page, which if you're asking on Yahoo Answers, I'm sure you've already seen. Basically, there are a ton of virtual office providers, and they all offer roughly the same range of services:virtual office business address, virtual office phone answering, virtual office business centre facilities/meeting rooms, and virtual office assistants. I have a company based in los angeles, and we have used a provider called The Executive Centre to have business addresses, business phone numbers, and meeting room facilities in Asia (good for when I travel to Asia) for the past four years. Getting a virtual office business address means that you can put the virtual office provider's business address on your business card, letterhead, website, etc, and you can receive mail at this address. Most services offer mail forwarding at an additional charge. It's actually really useful if you have a home business, because it gives your business a lot more credibility. When you give your business card to people, or people see your contact info on your email signature, having a name brand business address is much more effective than seeing a residential address-- you might as well have said "I work from home," which is fine, but detracts from your credibility. Another trick you can do to make your business seem bigger is to get Virtual Office addresses and phone numbers in multiple locations. Especially if your home business is any kind of consulting, accounting, or capital management, you can make your small business look like a multinational company with just a few addresses. My company is based in los angeles, but we got addresses through a top virtual office provider in Asia at in Singapore and Shanghai. It's been very useful in dipping into the markets, and some business contacts in Asia definitely appreciate it if you're business is local, or at least has local contact info. Phone Answering-- Most providers also offer some sort of call answering. This will include a receptionist answering your calls in your company's name, and forwarding your calls to you. Once again, it makes your business seem much more professional to have a separate business number, and a secretary. Business Centre Usage-- the bigger providers will also have some sort of business centre usage, which includes time in an office/business lounge, and time to use their meeting rooms. Once again, if you're having a meeting with a client, it just looks much better to meet in a meeting room, rather than in a coffee shop, or even a business lunch at a nice restaurant. The nicer providers have better addresses, and more reliable receptionists (some backroom operations that are just $20 a month are pretty sketch). The biggest advantage of nicer providers, besides removing some of the moral hazard, is that their facilities are really nice. Especially if you plan on using the meeting rooms (really good if you do business travel a lot and need local meeting rooms), then you should get a premium provider with good facilities. Any provider can give you a business address, but the better providers usually are more reliable for secretarial/receptionist services and obviously have better facilities. I also recommend that you google the business address that providers offer-- it may all be the same to you, but if you're dealing with local people who are in the know, so whether or not the address is in the CBD at a good building matters. Finally, I'm going to make a pitch for The Executive Centre, which is what I use. There are a few main providers in Asia, but these guys are pretty good, and the facilities are top notch. Site is www.ExecutiveCentre.com/virtual-office.

by Gus

6 months ago

Asker's Rating: 

i think its like a network i could be COMPLETELY wrong though

by SpillCanvas- 6 months ago

A virtual office or V.O. is typically a managed telephone answering or email response service that receives and routes telephone or email messages on behalf of a small business and may provide some initial scripted response to a query. The business that uses this service typically does not have fixed office premises or employ regular reception or customer contact staff - and so the V.O. provides a means of receiving and passing on calls and messages when not available to deal with a customer inquiry. The prime objective of the V.O. is to assure that customer contact is captured and able to be followed up by whomever the call is relevant or important to.

by Katie G- 6 months ago

A virtual office or V.O. is typically a managed telephone answering or email response service that receives and routes telephone or email messages on behalf of a small business and may provide some initial scripted response to a query. The business that uses this service typically does not have fixed office premises or employ regular reception or customer contact staff - and so the V.O. provides a means of receiving and passing on calls and messages when not available to deal with a customer inquiry. The prime objective of the V.O. is to assure that customer contact is captured and able to be followed up by whomever the call is relevant or important to. It has been argued that Servcorp pioneered the virtual office and serviced office terms and industries in 1978, however Chris Kern claims to have coined the term virtual office for a magazine article published in 1983. Services In some cases the V.O. service may contact the customer as well as receive queries from them (refer "telesales" and "telemarketing"). Virtual office services for small businesses are often provided by a business center, in other words, a building offering furnished offices with several services such as receptionist services, phone services, fax services, web hosting service, and so forth. Certain providers of virtual office services will provide other in-house or outsourced services such as corporate secretarial services, accounting services, or legal services. Professional firms such as law firms and accounting firms often provide registered address services as part of their service offerings. Virtual office companies that focus more on the "executive suite" side of the spectrum are located in major cities due to the high popularity of prestigious-looking business addressed. However, there are growing numbers of providers in industrial parks & science parks around the world, that often attract technology or manufacturing-based companies. And no i have not done it. Good luck.

by Ali Patrik- 6 months ago