Companies We Love
GH in the news- @Grasshopper
- Interested in getting an 855 number? We're taking reservations now - http://bit.ly/ailETt
- RT @chrisgeyer: excited i get to talk with more of our @grasshopper customers today as well
- RT @melilitts: I use @grasshopper as the main means of communication within my business, since our team is spread all over the US!
virtual office Archive
How To: Set Up Your Virtual Office in Under an Hour
Back in May, we wrote about why you should pick a virtual office over a physical one. In that article, we demonstrated why virtual phone systems, virtual assistants and professional addresses save time and money versus traditional, in-house personnel and office space. For cost-conscious small to medium-sized businesses, there is simply no comparison.
Today, we will assume that you support the idea of a virtual office, need no further convincing and would like to get up and running immediately. Here’s how to set up your very own virtual office in under an hour:
Map Out Your Strategy
Not everyone’s virtual office will look exactly the same. Perhaps you do have a physical office, but would like to complement it with virtual assistants. Or, maybe you truly are starting with nothing and want to go 100% virtual from the beginning. No matter what your ultimate goals are, it helps to map out your strategy before diving in.
Possible elements of a virtual office include:
-
Virtual receptionists
-
Virtual assistants
-
Virtual phone systems or answering services
-
Virtual call centers
Using Grasshopper for Your Real Estate Company
In today’s society, people are working less in the office and therefore the need for a virtual phone system is growing. One industry where this is especially true is Real Estate. Based on feedback from customers in the real estate business, here are a few ways Grasshopper can help:
1) Informational Extensions
You can give your clients information they need without even talking to them! When a client calls an 800 number listed outside a property they’re interested in, they can hear specific information about the property, including housing details, address, and contact information.
2) Call Routing Extensions
In any industry involving sales, it’s important that customers never hear a busy signal or wait on hold too long. It’s also important in Real Estate that your employees get an equal number of incoming sales calls. Call Routing Extensions make this happen. Call routing extensions can help ensure that all of the agents in the office get an equal number of calls and your customers don’t become frustrated by your phone service.
Setting Up a Virtual Office: Best Posts from Around the Web
Working from a virtual office can be difficult, especially when that virtual office is your home. Maybe you don’t have a separate office space, your kids are running around, the dog wants to go out, you’re hungry, etc.
We’ve put together a few posts over the past couple of months to help you create a successful virtual office but we thought we’d share some other great posts from around the web that can help you not only create a virtual office but get your work done. Check them out!
-
Virtual Office is What You Make It
Well known blogger Penelope Trunk writes a great post on Boston.com about the rise of the virtual office and how it can not only save you money but increase productivity.
-
How to Set Up a Productive Virtual Workspace
Web Worker Daily covers three main needs of a virtual office and offers a ton of solutions to help solve these needs.
Why You Should Pick a Virtual Office
Opening and maintaining an office is one of the costliest moves a new business can make. The obvious expense is the monthly rent, but the financial investment in running an office far exceeds the rent. At minimum, you will need desks and chairs. Most companies eventually want filing cabinets and a water cooler (plus scheduled delivery.) Of course, an office also needs its own Internet connection.
All these costs (and others) are why veteran entrepreneurs advise going without an office early on. That said, some businesses objectively need things like a professional mailing address, a business phone system and meeting areas.
Virtual Receptionists & Assistants
Entrepreneurs frequently take on loaded schedules and find themselves shoving repetitive tasks to the back burner. Traditionally, the solution has been hiring assistants whose sole jobs are to complete those tasks. However, it is actually not necessary for an assistant to physically work beside you in an office. A growing number of entrepreneurs are hiring virtual assistants instead.
Save $$$ with a Virtual Office
A virtual office can be a great asset for any small business. It can be even more valuable for an entrepreneur just getting a company up and running. With the economy still struggling and everyone working hard to stay profitable, cost-cutting measures are vital.
A virtual office can help you save money in three main areas:
-
Office Space
Whether you are working from home, a coffee shop or a co-working space, you can save a lot of money by not leasing out a big office. There are no costs for rent, furniture, office equipment or utilities.
Even more importantly, if you find yourself traveling a lot, working from home or just not spending much time in the office, you are not locked into a lease.
-
Travel Expenses
With the average cost of commuting ranging from $110-$648 a month, traveling to work can be expensive. You have gas, maintenance and for some, tolls.
Featured Entrepreneur: Allan Branch of LessAccounting
This week we are featuring Allan Branch. He’s the co-founder of LessAccounting and also a Grasshopper customer.
Could you explain the philosophy of Less?
We believe business software should easy. It should get out of your way, allowing you to get back to work and make money. Being a business owner is hard enough without having your software make it harder.
I’d love to hear more about your path to entrepreneurship. What were you guys doing before you started Less?
I was a freelance designer and Steve was a contractor doing software engineering. We both were looking for each other we just didn’t realize it at the time.
I’d like to focus on LessAccounting for a second. In college, I had to take this awful accounting class where we learned Peachtree accounting software. After this experience, I vowed to stay as far away from accounting as I could. How does LessAccounting help a guy like me (who can barely add)?
We like to say all bookkeeping software sucks we just suck the least. Bookkeeping should be easy, after all it’s really just adding and subtracting. LessAccounting keeps things simple, organizing your data, showing you where you’re at, who owes you money, who you owe money to, and then having a variety of reports that make it easy to understand your business. We also have bookkeepers on staff ready to help you if you have questions and even help balance your books for you. Ask Intuit or Peachtree to help you do a bank reconciliation.
Six Feet of Snow? No Problem with a Virtual PBX
As the half the United States becomes inundated with snow today, offices across the country become empty and productivity is lost.
With today’s technology, many people can work from home using a computer and VPN with no problem but what about those important phone calls? Support, sales, etc.
Can you really afford to miss one, two, five days because of weather?
The nice thing about a virtual PBX is that you can forward calls to ANY number on ANY phone. We say it all the time but it really is a great feature for any business.
An employee simply has to log into your Grashopper account and change their call forwarding number to their home or cell phone. All those calls you could potentially be missing are avoided and the employee doesn’t have to worry about giving clients their personal phone number.
As a business, being able to ensure your customers can reach you and no important calls are missed, despite what is happening with mother nature, is a great feeling.
Balancing Life & Work in a Virtual Office
Many of the customers who use our Virtual PBX service are entrepreneurs starting out in a 1-2 person operation, working out of their homes or even their cars. They have created a virtual office for their business.
There are plenty of articles out there on creating a virtual office but there are not very many on what to do once you have done so. Working in the place you live can lead to unhappiness, burnout and tension at home. However, it can be an ideal situation if you properly balance life & work responsibilities.
Here are three tips for creating a work/life balance in your virtual office:
#1 – Create Boundaries
Set Up an Area Specifically for Work
Having a dedicated area will help you remember that there needs to be a separation between work and the rest of your life. Whether it’s an office in the house, a spare bedroom or a certain corner of the kitchen table, make sure that spot is where work takes place and nothing else.
