Virtual Office Resource

The virtual office is still a fairly new concept even among mature markets and developed nations. It's catching on just about everywhere, though, as exemplified by Savvy Instant Offices, a  company that made the move to bring virtual offices somewhere unexpected: Nigeria.

For most people, thinking of Nigeria brings to mind the wilds of Africa, or in some cases, princes closely connected to email scams. For Savvy Instant Offices, however, it's opportunity. The company recently introduced a new virtual office service package line designed to reduce both costs and burden associated with setting up offices in the region. The virtual office service comes with mail handling and call forwarding services, as well as reception and administrative service, a business address and a lobby listing. Essentially, it's all the standard functions of a basic office without having to actually rent a complete office; the company's executive director Ayo Lawal calls it “an office in thin air,” where users have everything that comes with an office, but aren't actually in the office.

It's even part of a larger trend, in which users embark on “co-working” arrangements by sharing office space with other businesses. It's catching on in the region, if somewhat slowly, so there's a clear value in what Savvy Instant Offices has to offer. Throw in easy connectivity between its prime location and the other major hub operations and there's a particular value on hand.

There are times when an office, or at least an office address, can be valuable. It improves perception among customers and projects a more professional image. The idea of going to a downtown office space to, say, consult an attorney carries a lot more weight than consulting an attorney operating out of a spare bedroom in his house. Matthew McConaughey performances aside, the notion of a lawyer operating out of the back of a Lincoln Continental isn't all that professionally appealing. How many potential customers would such a lawyer lose to those with actual office space? Renting office space can be expensive, and may often seem unnecessary in this age of mobile workforce operations. The idea of a virtual office; one that isn't just limited to the Web but to a physical location that merely looks like an office, is therefore likely appealing to many potential users.

Physical presences and physical appearances may not seem all that necessary in these increasingly virtual times, but sometimes having an office space can mean the difference between clients won and clients lost to competitors. Virtual offices like those offered by Savvy Instant Offices might well make that difference land on the best side for a business.