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From Jeff Landers, as seen on CNN Headline News, in the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times
"Five Revenue-Decreasing Pitfalls for Home-Based Entrepreneurs - and a Simple Way to Avoid Them"
Home-Based Entrepreneurs Use the Affordable, Innovative 'Virtual Office' to Appear Larger - Attract Great Clients, Gain a Competitive Edge, and Increase their Bottom Line.
New York, New York - March 7, 2010
Working at home isn't for everyone, but for many home-based entrepreneurs it is a conscious choice. If you’re one of them, you likely love the lifestyle, even though it blurs the division between your work and personal life. Being close to your family is just too important. You gladly trade the stress and long commute for the freedom to be in your robe and slippers while taking an important business call - even if your salary isn’t the same as it was when you were a corporate employee.
As enjoyable as it may be, the hard truth is that working from home can really affect your bottom line and even your safety. Why is this the case? Let’s take a look at the reasons - and some simple & affordable things that entrepreneurs like you are doing to face these challenges head on!
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1. You Get No Respect - And You Get Paid Less, too!
It can be tough to get respect from potential clients - and even your own family. They just might not see your business as a "real" one, no matter how successful it may be. When clients know you work from home, they’ll likely want to pay less. Why? They’ll think you have low overhead, and they’ll want you to pass that ‘savings’ along to them.
2. You Have 'Less Than Ideal' Meetings
Sometimes you have clients that need to meet with you, and even if you do thrive in your home office environment, it just isn't professional to bring them to your home with a baby crying or a dog barking uncontrollably next door.
If you're like other home-based entrepreneurs, you dread these meetings. You make excuses: your office is being ‘remodeled’, you are ‘on their side of town’ so you’ll meet them somewhere over there - you'll say anything to avoid bringing them to your home - and you should - because your appearance really matters to clients, especially new ones.
3. Your Meetings Lack Necessary Resources and Cost Precious Time
So what's your typical solution? You end up meeting them at Starbucks, but you worry about your confidential conversations being overheard ... or drowned out by the noise of the crowded table next to you. Internet access is 'spotty' if provided at all - and forget about having access to a copy machine or fax.
Yes, it's true that you don’t have a long commute to work, but you waste precious time driving back and forth to your 'second home' (also known as Starbucks) spending money on over-priced lattes and sugar-drenched muffins that you don't need.
The worst is that because you don't have a better place to meet, you’ve lost potential clients to your more established competitors. Maybe you can't prove it - maybe you don’t even know it, but you have.
4. You Struggle With Image - and it Hurts Your Bottom Line
High-quality, great paying clients, give their business to companies that inspire trust. They avoid the fly-by-night operators altogether. They want solid, stable, successful companies that are going to be around for years to come. And until they get to know you and the quality of your work, potential clients can only judge you by "what they see".
They'll notice your office, how you dress, your confidence level, and how organized you are. And no matter how you stack it, meeting in your living room or Starbucks doesn't scream out that your company is best of breed.
5. Safety Concerns and Inconvenience - Clients Show Up at All Hours
When you work from home, unless you live in a gated neighborhood with your own personal security guard, there's really not much you can do to keep clients from showing up during your "off hours". That means you may find your doorbell ringing even before you're done with your breakfast cereal - or during your family dinner. And even if you don't mind the inconvenient interruptions (you'll be in a small minority), your professional image can suffer when you’re not prepared for such an encounter.
Worse than that, there are safety concerns when any stranger shows up at your door during odd hours, whether it's a prospective client or not. I'm sure you learned this in kindergarten, but it's worth repeating here: it's just not smart to let people into your home that you don't know, and you shouldn't risk your personal safety - no amount of money is worth your family's safety. Think about it.
Smart Home-Based Entrepreneurs are Changing This Dreadful Situation - Here's How!
Working at home doesn't have to cause you unnecessary headaches. It shouldn't mean less pay, lower quality clients, or less respect than you deserve. Smart and successful home-based entrepreneurs work as hard as anyone else - and they shouldn't have to settle for less. And now, with the alternatives offered by a Virtual Office Space, you no longer have to!
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Benefits of A Virtual Office
- Prestigious Mailing Address - Appearance REALLY Matters to New Clients - Attract the Best Clients with your polished, professional appearance.
- Appear as Large and as Successful as Your Competition - While Still Enjoying the Benefits of Working at Home!
- Safety - Mompreneurs: You'll Never have to Worry About Strangers Showing up at Your Home Unannounced.
- Convenience - Never Worry About Clients Showing up While You’re Still in Your Pajamas or During Dinner Ever Again!
- Get Out of Starbucks - Hold Your Meetings in a Professional Conference Room or Office
- Affordable Menu of a la Carte Services - Get Only What You Need, Only When You Need It:
- Mail forwarding
- Telephone answering
- Conference room or Office Use for Client Meetings
- Get the Respect You Deserve - Be Seen as a 'Real' Business
- Nationwide Services - Our Virtual Office Spaces are available throughout the U.S. and Canada (and soon in the UK and parts of Europe too)
- Get Paid More for Your Work - Clients Won't Know You Work at Home, So They Won't Think You Have No Overhead & Won't Try to Take Advantage of You.
- Keep a Competitive Edge in Your Market
- Lots of Flexiblity for a Growing Business
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With a Virtual Office, you can keep up with the competition while still enjoying the benefits of working at home.
Here's how it works: For less than you might think, you can rent the services of an office suite without actually renting an office! Sounds crazy, right? Imagine working from your suburban home outside New York City, for example, but having a prestigious Manhattan address and phone number (or any of our other amazing locations).
When a client calls you at your Manhattan phone number (the call is automatically forwarded to your home office or cell phone) or when they messenger a package over, they'll have no idea that you are not really in a big office building in midtown.
Be sure to check out our full range of virtual offices available in the United States and Canada (and soon in the UK and parts of Europe too). You're sure to find exactly what your business needs.
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You Can Rent a Prestigious "Fifth Avenue" Address for Your Business and Never Leave Your Bedroom or Get Out of Your Pajamas!
And that office of yours in midtown Manhattan (or Anywhere, USA)? It can also collect your mail, forward it to your home and if you choose, a very professional receptionist can answer your calls and take your messages.
You choose exactly which services are best for your business - you only pay for what you need.
If you need a conference room a few hours a month to do presentations using state-of-the-art technology, well, we've got those, too. And again, you only pay for what you need. If you need a few hours, you'll only pay for a few hours. Some clients may need 10 hours a month for giving presentations or having meetings, others may need more or less than that. It's entirely up to you.
Look Like a 'Real' Business and Compete With Your More Established Competitors - Without the High Cost and Commitment of an Office Space
You no longer need to go out and sign a three-year office lease to compete with your better-established competition in the ritzy office building downtown.
The Virtual Office gives home-based entrepreneurs a chance to affordably attain some of the perks of having a real office. You can look just as established and successful without all of the high costs and commitment associated with a traditional long-term lease. With the flexibility of a virtual office, you'll likely have less overhead than your competition, too. And imagine what that can do for your bottom line.
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Start With a Great First Impression and Land the Best Clients
As I mentioned before, high-quality, great paying clients, give their business to companies that inspire trust. Potential clients can only judge you by "what they see". Meeting in your living room or Starbucks doesn't scream out that your company is best of breed. But with a Virtual Office, you'll have plenty of options. You may not win them all, but with your company's polished, professional appearance, you're sure to land some of the top, best paying clients in your market.
Get Out of Starbucks
With a virtual office, you'll have the opportunity to hold that important meeting with your client in the professional atmosphere of a conference room or private office. You'll no longer have to worry about someone at the next table overhearing your confidential information. Your clients will thank you for it. And the cost of your virtual office could be less than what you used to spend on lattes every month, too! (Go ahead, tally it up.)
Flexibility - Your Choices Can Change with Your Growing Business
No business is stagnant. Home-based entrepreneurs know this better than anyone, as demand for your services can grow and shrink from year to year - even from season to season. With a virtual office space, you won't find a lengthy contract or lease. And the options you choose can change when your business’s needs change.
You'll pay "a la carte" for a prestigious mailing address, telephone answering service, or occasional use of a conference room or private office. Your overhead will remain low, but your clients won’t know the difference - and they won't be sitting in your overcrowded living room on a lawn chair anymore, either.
One Company for All Your Office Needs
When your office needs change, we'll be there to help. Whether you grow beyond your current business model and need a second virtual location or if you downsize and simply need a prestigious mailing address to keep clients from visiting you at your home unannounced, you'll have the convenience of using one company that you can trust.
So what are you waiting for?
Go ahead and start your search for a virtual office space right now by clicking below.
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Jeff Landers is a serial entrepreneur who has worked in commercial real estate and has advised small businesses for more than three decades. His company, Home Office Success, Inc., has helped thousands of home-based businesses become more professional, more productive and more profitable. You can reach him at Landers@GetAVirtualOffice.com.
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