If you’re a regular reader of the blog you know that we here at Grasshopper are big proponents of working in a virtual office. It can be a smart and cost-efficient way to start a business and we’ve given tips on everything from “Setting up your virtual office” to “Balancing life in a virtual office”. Well we’ve got one more.
With over 300,000 apps available in 2010 and more being created every day, there are a number of really great apps…especially for those working in a virtual office! So here we go:
Chat
At Grasshopper Group, we have team members in Boston, Austin, San Francisco, North Carolina, Oregon and even Brazil. It’s important that everyone is on the same page and we’re able to reach one another when necessary. A couple of apps we keep handy for chat:
Campfire is an online collaboration & chat tool put out by 37 Signals. It’s “like instant messaging, but designed exclusively for groups”. They currently have an iPhone version for mobile but have yet to come out with one for Android or Blackberry.
Most everyone is familiar with Skype and for good reason. Skype is an excellent way to communicate with one another on the fly. Plus, with Skype mobile you can stay connected on the go (just like Grasshopper of course).
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Tips & Tricks | Tagged virtual office | 7 Comments
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
Posted in Small Business, Tips & Tricks | Tagged virtual office | 7 Comments
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.
Posted in Marketing & Brands, Small Business, Tips & Tricks, Toll Free & Local Numbers | Tagged tips, virtual office, virtual phone system | Leave a comment
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.
Posted in Tips & Tricks | Tagged virtual office | 1 Comment
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.
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Startup | Tagged Small Business, technology, tips, virtual office, virtual phone number | 1 Comment ← Older posts
