Virtual Phone Services
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Local Phones and Local Leads
Virtual phones offer the benefits of a local phone number as well as the convenience of a virtual office. If you own a business and are constantly on the go, a virtual office may work well for you. No matter what business you’re in, if you work with the public you know the importance of being able to communicate. By using a virtual phone system you bring your office to your customers.
One of the benefits of having this type of service is being able to have a local phone number for your customers. For example, as an independent contractor, plumber, insurance salesman, etc., your office may be in one town, but the majority of your clients are in three towns in the next county. Having a local number for each of the towns your customers reside in, eliminates the need for them to make a long distance call when trying to reach you. Having a local phone number is beneficial to your business in numerous ways. Virtual phones enhance the benefits even more.
*Local number = easy access- When customers see a local number, they associate that with your business being close to home and readily available whenever you need them. It gives them a sense of confidence in your company knowing they are just around the corner.
*No long distance numbers for customers- Customers are more likely to choose a company with a phone number that is local to their area. By using virtual phones and the services they offer, you can increase the efficiency of your business by making your business more appealing to clients.
*Convenience- Clients want convenience. With virtual phone services and phone numbers in your client’s areas, the local leads you receive from promotions, advertisements and the yellow pages can increase dramatically in just a few short weeks.
Virtual phones and offices work together you to provide you with all of the tools you need to make your business a complete success. From making appointments to following up after the close of a big deal, these services add convenience as well as professionalism to any business.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Now Virtual Phones Services Are Assisting Realtors in Closing Sales
Being a realtor is an exciting career. You are always on the go, showcasing houses and meeting new clients. The only problem is your desk with all of the tools you need to do your job is in an office miles from wherever you may be. Virtual phone services sets up your office right where you need it. Using the same technology as your cell phone, you will have everything you need at your finger tips. Screen and route calls, customize greetings with a professional flair, record phone calls and meetings and work with buyers and sellers at a moment’s notice with little or no down time.
The benefits of having a full feature phone service at your disposal are numerous. Virtual phone services can make conducting business so easy, you can do it from almost anywhere there is a phone signal.
- Convenience – A virtual phone system allows you to conduct business anywhere you need to be. If you have meetings across town, connect with the virtual service and do what you need to keep your business on track. Make appointments and check the status of a pending contract with the touch of a button.
- Real time communication – Communicate with clients and co-workers on a real time basis. There’s no need to wait to get to the office to review a case and call the client. Connect to the system and do both. Whether you or at the office or on the road to your next showing, everything is within reach.
- Live Virtual Receptionist– Virtual phone services sometimes offer a “virtual receptionist” to assist you in handling your affairs if you are in an important meeting and can’t take a call. They are also available to perform other duties, such as transfer files and make sure you receive important messages.
- Immediate scheduling – Using virtual services allows you to receive a phone call, schedule a meeting and connect with clients all within a few minutes. The versatility of the service allows for fast and efficient communication between all parties.
Using a virtual phone service allows you to take your business with you precious time isn’t loss running and back and forth to the office. With the advanced technology we have at our disposal, we no longer have to remain tethered to an office to conduct business.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
5 Free iPhone Apps for Virtual Businesses
With the advent of technology, it’s easier now than ever to do business with anyone in the world. Communication and connection is key to working remotely, and luckily there are several free iPhone apps that make this as convenient as possible. Now team members can communicate, collaborate, and stay organized. Here are five free apps that can help you manage your team smoothly and effectively.
1. Viber
Viber allows users to call and text anyone in the world–for free. It also allows you to send photos, and it is available in over 30 languages. The interface is simple and easy to use, with great sound quality and, best of all, it is completely cost and ad free!
2. VoxOx
While VoxOx does not provide free worldwide text and calls (though it is cheap), what they do provide is a wider range of services such as real-time 2-way translation into other languages, personalization of caller ID (to reflect you calling from wherever you like), ability to record phone conversations and also other great functions such as the Do Not Disturb mode, which routes all calls directly to voicemail and a call forwarding service to up to five other phone numbers.
3. Free Conference Call
This may be the original conference call app. Started in 2001, they have over three million registered users and 15-20 million connections a month. They have other services such as free conferencing.com that allows for up to 1,000 participants and Start Meeting which features screen sharing of files, spreadsheets, and other content to provide remote presentations to share via email or to be uploaded straight onto the web.
4. Ideapi
Ideapi is a simple to use and well-designed app to give users an organized and efficient way of collaborating on documents and ideas online. It can be used by creative agencies to flesh out ideas on specific projects and get client feedback, or by in-house recruiters to manage job details and candidates. There’s no doubt Ideapi will be a great tool for project management.
5. Vbuzzer
Vbuzzer routes your phone calls through your internet connection instead of your phone line, and can call people regardless of whether they have Vbuzzer or not! It is also a messenger client and is compatible with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ networks as well as having its own network. The call rates are comparable to Skype.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs and small businesses. They entail a prestigious business address in cities across the US, a Virtual Phone Services for answering and forwarding your business calls, courier services and more. Google +
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Do Detectives Use Virtual Offices?
With the advent of smart technology, it’s never been easier to take your work with you wherever you go. For some small business owners and entrepreneurs, having a portable office as well as a bricks and mortar building has always been if not a necessity, then at the very least desirable. Nowadays, virtual offices rather than a fixed location are becoming a conscious choice for many.
Most small businesses going down the virtual office route do so for cost reasons. If paperwork needs are small, it is more efficient to hire experienced secretarial help by the hour from a pool of dedicated workers. The obvious dilemma in the past for small businesses has been the lack of a fixed address. A virtual office could take you from appearing to be an unreliable, fly-by-night operation to having one of the best commercial addresses in town. Providing a mailing address, virtual phone services with a live receptionist to answer your calls, and even meeting and conference room facilities if required, it’s a huge step forward in working smart.
A major consideration for any small business owner or entrepreneur who uses virtual office services is that the privacy of their residential address is immediately protected from their clients. One particular profession that would find this obviously advantageous is anyone working within the private investigation and detective fields.
Since a detective (themselves) is their own biggest business asset and needs to be readily contactable, having a virtual assistant to pick up calls at the end of a phone line is preferable to the frustration your clients might experience at having to leave you a message and wait for a callback. Having calls and messages immediately forwarded to you is very convenient because you can take the calls you want and don’t have to jeopardize the case you’re currently working.
In addition, the occasionally sensitive nature of the work can make virtual offices the ideal solution — customers are reassured by a physical address, and home and work are kept separate.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Is the Recession a Good Time for Startups?
You have a viable business idea, but everyone keeps telling you to wait until the economy turns around before you move on it. A recession may seem like a bad time to start a business, but in reality it may be the perfect time for you to create your dream job. With less competition and lower prices for supplies, now’s the time to get in where you fit in. A startup is risky no matter when you lay the groundwork; success largely depends on the type of person you are, and the clarity of your vision.
In the initial set-up process, you have to be open to re-evaluation of your idea. The key is figuring out how to run your business economically. Those that are afraid of traditional investments, like stocks, will be open to new ventures if they appear economically responsible. You may have to tweak some aspects to satisfy the investors, but it’s worth it.
Technology is a resource that creates an extremely viable environment for a startup company. Utilizing virtual offices cuts major and minor costs. You won’t have to worry about employee health insurance costs when your people telecommute and work from home. Other costs, like utilities, remain affordable without the extra bodies in the brick and mortar office.
Virtual office options like virtual phone services are a great option because they allow you to conduct business from anywhere with call forwarding to cell phones, sending your voicemails to your e-mail, unlimited extensions for high call volume, and a convenient toll free number if you want to go global.
Don’t let the media deter you from pursuing your dream or trying something new. The time is now to execute your vision. Recessions occur within a cycle; once this rebounds, you want to be up and running.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Benefits of Virtual Office Telecommuting
Though, initially, many businesses felt trepidations about the very concept of virtual offices, most have now recognized that the virtual office is likely to become a feature of our 21st century information society. But businesses aren’t simply resigning themselves to this inevitability; instead, they are increasingly coming to acknowledge the benefits of the virtual office and the extremely positive ROI they provide.
A recent survey conducted among six hundred small to medium-sized businesses found that, in general, upper-management thinks the virtual office offers significant benefits. More than half of those businesses surveys reported that they realized a savings of around $10,000 a month by instituting a virtual office.
For most businesses, the costs associated with setting up a business are difficult to meet. To get a choice location in most cities is either impossible of unfeasible. Part of the reason for this is that finding a good location that can fit and support your entire staff is a challenging one. By turning your office into a virtual office, you can either wholly eliminate the need for rent or you can reduce the amount of space you need.
Jack Nilles, president of JALA International, a Los Angeles-based management consulting firm, says that typically companies can expect to save $11,000 per year for each of their employees who telecommutes at least two days a week. Clearly you can expect considerable savings by reducing your space requirements.
An important benefit offered by a virtual office is that it eliminates the need for fulltime administrative employees. This is because companies that provide virtual office services commonly provide live virtual receptionists, virtual office services and a virtual phone system. This makes it easy for your customers to reach you, even if you dont have an administrative support staff. Live virtual receptionists can free you and your team from time-wasting administrative duties.
Finally and this might be the greatest benefit offered a virtual office can create happier, more productive employees. A study by AT&T found that 75 percent of telecommuters felt increased satisfaction with both their personal and professional lives after their employers adopted virtual offices. Happier employees, according to Nations Business, are more efficient, less likely to take extended leave or sick days, and are less likely to leave their positions.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
What Exactly Is a Virtual Office Space?
Several new businesses are now switching to a virtual office space as they realize the benefits that it offers. There are those who are witness to these advantages, but are unsure of what exactly virtual office services are and hence hesitate to switch to it.
A virtual office is a service that is provided to businesses and is very useful for startups. It gives you a prestigious business address where all your mail can be sent, which is then forwarded to you. The advantage of this is that you don’t need a physical office; you can always be on the move. At the same time, you don’t need to give people different addresses or residential addresses in order to reach you. You simply give them the address of your virtual office space (in a prestigious business area) and rest assured that all your mail will reach you.
Virtual phone services area also part of the deal. This means that you have a defined office number and a live virtual receptionist to handle all your calls. All messages are forwarded to you in a timely manner so that you never miss out on anything.
There are also meeting facilities and conference facilities so that you can have all the benefits of a real office without wasting your money on it. And yes, these meeting/conference facilities are state-of-the-art, furnished and are at the same address as your virtual office address. Courier services and fax services can also be added to your package, depending on your requirements.
With this clear picture of a virtual office space, it should become much easier to decide to use one. A good virtual office services provider will always give you the details in an honest and straightforward manner, either on their website or via phone. Make sure you ask all the questions you need to while you make your choice.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
The Best Home Office Design
Some people have false conceptions of people who work from home, thinking that they are not professionals and, because they work home, are not able to stay focused on work. And while the latter is true in that there are more distractions at home, the former is just not true: work at home jobs are in high demand in the technologically driven business world we live in today, and they will only grow in importance in the coming years.
Work at home professionals are able to set their own work schedule and work when they feel like, which requires time management and discipline. They work in a freer environment and thus can design their home office to their exact specifications and liking. They are also able to maintain prior responsibilities, such as watching after their kids, which can save both money and stress.
These positive attributes, however, are also difficulties. Time management, dedicated focus and maintaining an ideal work-personal life balance are all crucial to ensuring optimal productivity while working from home. Many opt for a virtual office to help with their business management and organization, as a virtual office space helps in managing day-to-day business tasks while also providing a professional image for any business. With a prestigious business address, ability to use conference rooms at that address when hosting clients and virtual phone services, where a live virtual receptionist answers and forwards all phone calls and faxes to you no matter where you are in the world, a virtual offices help work at home professionals advance their business interests and ultimately grow their ventures.
When working from home, its essential to design a very comfortable office to really get you motivated. It doesn’t mean that if you are working from your home that you have to compromise with the conditions of the house and with old traditional furniture. You need to spend some money on your home office furniture as you will spend most of your time in that room. From an organized and spacious desk to a very comfortable chair and even customized lighting to fit your eyes and preferences, creating the perfect home office isn’t as hard as you might think. And for the minimal investment both time and money you put into it, your rewards will be even greater.
Choose any furniture that is simple and fits into your budget. You can buy it new or used, or even go on sites like Craigslist to see what people are selling or even giving away. If the furniture you choose looks professional and makes you feel more professional, then you will want to spend more time in working at home without in that room, without any exterior distractions. Make sure its comfortable, looks great and really turns your room into a home office.
You can even opt for custom-made furniture that is ideal for work in terms of style and health. And if you have the option of getting a laptop or a PC, choose the former, as it will enable you to take your business everywhere and not have to continually transfer documents and email between different computers. This is also why a virtual office is great it enables you to manage your business from wherever you are and seamlessly integrate your online business world into your home office business world.
No matter what happens, make sure your home office is designed how you want it to be to ensure your happiness and ultimate productivity.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
How to Make Your Company Virtually Ubiquitous
A lot of business practices have become obsolete in the past ten to twenty years. The exponential advancement of technology in the early 21st Century has made certain practices useless, time consuming and fiscally impractical. One such practice is that of searching for office space in a high demand area.
Offices in downtown Los Angeles and New York are, of course, desirable because they add credibility and an air of sophistication to a company. However, they are also extremely pricy and somewhat inconvenient; employees do not all live in a central metropolitan area, and many specialists and experts prefer to telecommute from remote areas.
A fantastic compromise that blends the ease of telecommuting with the prestige of prime office space is to establish a virtual office in Los Angeles and/or New York. A virtual office gives your small business the address (not a P.O. Box) of a location in Los Angeles and many other cities across the US and access to incredibly cheap, convenient office space and conference rooms;at the same time, it also affords your employees remote access to any media, mailing and the like that you want.
Our virtual offices also can establish a business phone line with an appropriate area code that your clients can call and connect to any of your employees, known as our Virtual Phone Services. With a live virtual receptionist your calls and faxes will be answered and immediately forwarded to you, allowing you to handle your business operations from wherever you are.
Virtual offices in Los Angeles, New York and other big cities are a fast growing trend. We offer a number of packages, from just a business number or just a virtual office address to a full package, based on your small businesses budget, needs, and ability to connect your employees to the virtual office.
Making your company virtually ubiquitous is a great way to connect to more clients and customers; to expand your employee pool to a more selective, better group of candidates; and to add an air of legitimacy and prestige, allowing your small business to expand and grow exponentially.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
We Are Celebrating U.S. Small Businesses This 4th of July the Virtual Way
This 4th of July we at United Virtual Office have decided that we all need to take a step back and really honor what drives are economy: small businesses. Without them, our nation would be nowhere near where we are today and the economic downturn would have held much more grave consequences. Yet, because small businesses drive innovation and spur job creation, we are on the road to recovery and, as a nation, know that we will bounce back.
So what exactly is a ‘small business’ ? They are those businesses that employ less than 100 people. In the US alone, the small business sector employs over 50% of the total country’s workforce. This makes small businesses very importantplayers in the USeconomy. Small businesses are the backbone of creativity and production. With more than 60% of all jobs coming from small businesses, there is no doubt that this sector plays a crucial role in stabilizing and stimulationUS economic growth.
According to the Small Business Association, small businesses hold 10 times more US patents than large businesses. In addition, they claim over a 50% of success rate at the four-year mark, and more than half all small businesses are home-based.
So, if more than half of small businesses are home-based, how do they have such a high success rate? Well, small businesses owe their success to the way they start-up; most do not rely on traditional methods of starting their operations such as setting up offices in exorbitant premium locations. In contrast, many small businesses rely on different means to save capital and be able to invest in other parts of their business, with many now turning to virtual offices for help.
Apart from low cost and flexibility, virtual offices provide numerous benefits that are perfectly catered to entrepreneurs and startups.
- Save on Rent:Virtual offices enable small businesses to establish presence anywhere without having to pay for offices that cost thousands of dollars to set up.
- Reduced Overhead Costs: Small businesses that utilize a virtual office space do not pay for numerous bills associated with physical offices, such as electricity, equipment, cleaning, parking and an Internet connection.
- Live Virtual Assistant and Virtual Phone Service: Administrative support with virtual offices eliminates the need for full time employees becausea live virtual assistant and virtual phone services can handle all of your calls at a fraction of the price.
- More Flexibility Means More Productivity: Virtual offices allow for flexibility and comfort, thereby stimulating productivity and increasing your bottomline.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +