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Formations companies have seen a steady growth in the level of sole-trader or micro-entrepreneur economy over the past few years in the UK. Something that a study conducted by insurance firm RSA confirms and claims that UK businesses are increasingly "micro" in size – and is something that is having a large impact on the economy.The UK has a very high level of registered SMEs in operation, however the RSA research has found that micro-sized companies are the only business category to have significantly grown their proportions of business stock by a notable 1.4 million, or 45%, since the year 2000.The new generation of micropreneurs, or zero-employee firms, have grown by 21.4 % since the recession hit, making them the fastest growing business sector analysed. It is thought that the recession heavily impacted on SMEs with the result that many companies are now intentionally forming as smaller micro-businesses.The growth in the micro-business sector is still happening despite HMRC trying to tighten the rules over the past few years on people running hobby businesses in their spare time from home. People working a business on the side have been encouraged to register their businesses even if they are are only trading on a very small scale using online selling sites such eBay, AirBnB and Etsy.In an effort to track down online micro-businesses, HMRC have been approaching online marketplaces for data so they can check to see if sellers have registered their businesses for a tax code with the HMRC. While most online hobby business owners are happy to pay tax on their profits, there are some people who either don't think it is fair to be treated in the same way as larger businesses, or they are simply unaware that they are supposed to pay tax on their profits.For those really small online sellers who may only be selling on their creative hobby creations, such as home-made crafts or home-baked cakes to generate a bit of spare spending money, the government has now announced that it will be introducing a new trading allowance from April 2017. This new allowance will mean that individuals operating very small online hobby businesses will not be required to pay tax on their profits up to the allowance limit of £1,000.With the rapid increase of the digital micropreneur, HMRC would be hard pressed to be able to track and monitor every single one of them, especially since the government are reducing the number of staff working for HMRC. The cost of the manpower and resources they would need to keep on top of everyone who dabbles in a profitable hobby on the side would far outweigh the amount of tax that could be recouped. Plus the fact that quite a lot of hobby business owners find the rules on tax to be a little overwhelming.So from April 2017, individuals with property income or trading income below the £1,000 allowance will no longer need to declare or pay tax on that income. This new allowance will also be of benefit for those micro-traders who earn over the allowance because they will be able to deduct the allowance amount from their profits instead of having to work out their exact expenses.This has seen a shift in attitude from HMRC where they will no longer be going after the online micro-trader to squeeze every penny from them, to instead be seen as a boost for small businesses such as hobby crafters and online marketplace traders. This will also encourage more entrepreneurs online because it gives them an opportunity to test out their new ideas on a small scale alongside working at their full-time jobs without having to worry about registering each business and paying tax on top.The allowance may seem small to some people, but if it allows the occasional trader and hobby crafter to cover their overheads while they get started in their business, then it will be a welcome relief for many future online entrepreneurs.As long as an individuals profits do not exceed the new trading allowance, any micro-business operators will not need to register their business with HMRC. But if the business takes off and starts to generate profits over the £1,000 limit, then they will be required to register their business with HMRC – usually as a sole-trader if it is an individual. However, once the business start to grow and employ others, then registering as a limited company would make more sense as it adds a layer of protection to everyone running the company.

When you are just starting out in business, it can often be difficult to project the right image to your peers and customers. Of course you want to be taken seriously, and you want to convey a feeling of trust and reliability to your customers and other businesses in your sector. But how do you go about it if you have no track record, or you are a very small company with only a handful of employees?The virtual office concept is worth considering when you are looking to establish a professional corporate image for your start-up. The great thing about this is that you can go down this route without breaking the bank!

Less hassle than the real thing

With a virtual office you don't need to lease or purchase any real office space. There is no need to worry about negotiating leaseholds or arranging insurance, no concerns about upgrading IT infrastructures or hiring fit-out contractors to remodel your working environment, and no large utility bills to pay at the end of each month.A virtual office can give your company that essential professional corporate feel without you having to do any of the legwork yourself!

Improve your image

Your customers or business clients will have a perception that a company needs its own office, live phone support, and all the usual trappings of a legitimate business operation. However, we all know that the costs involved in running a physical office can soon eat into your budget, and diving into this sort of set-up is often too much of a commitment for a new start-up business.However, the option of a virtual office you can have all the luxuries of a serious business operation without any of the ongoing costs of running a physical office. What's more, a virtual office provides a cost-effective way for new start-up business to gain credibility in their sector, as well looking just like a reliable major corporation to their customers.

Is a virtual office real?

A virtual office is not something that is invisible or doesn't actually exist in the real world. These are real, functioning offices staffed with live humans that will work for your company. For a very reasonable price, you can get a dedicated business line with a live assistant that will answer all you incoming telephone calls. You will get a professional business postal address, dedicated fax line and personalised voice-mail services for outside standard office hours.For a new start-up business or entrepreneur, a virtual office can offer them a way to grow and develop their business while at the same time keeping their overheads low, and cultivating a professional image and reputation for their business. The money saved on running a physical office can be reinvested back into the business, helping the company bottom line and improving their chances to acquire financing for future growth.

The benefits of a virtual office

Here are some pointers about how a virtual office can benefit your business:

1. A dedicated phone line with your own business number
2. Your own live receptionist to take your calls
3. A professional business address
4. Mail forwarding services
5. Personalised after hours voice mail service
6. Modern Business Meeting Rooms and Venues In Central London
7. Registered Office Address services

Many virtual office services will also offer you the use of business meeting rooms for meeting clients and conducting presentations etc. Your Virtual Office for example offers high quality unbranded air-conditioned meeting room spaces in central London that are fully functional and equipped with full rapid speed fibre optic Wi-Fi and cabled Internet solutions. These are great options for one-off or regular client interactions, and all bookings include complimentary refreshments including water, tea and coffee.Hiring a meeting room as and when you need it can be a useful way to stay in control of your budget, while still being able to impress important clients and business people that you are considering partnering up with. The virtual office staff will give the impression that these are your permanent offices, and you will get full use of all the facilities provided, including fibre broadband, secure phone and conferences call facilities, and a professional receptionist to meet and greet your clients in your absence should you be delayed for any reason.As you can see from the above information, hiring virtual office support can offer a great alternative for new businesses to establish their reputation, convey a feeling of professional trust to their clients or customers and save themselves a small fortune in having to take a leasehold on their own physical property.It doesn't matter what size of business you run, from a single person working from home, to a growing business without a permanent base, a virtual office can help you keep to your tight budget while looking and operating like a large corporation.

Advice on how to start a business when a Loan is not an option

Starting a business requires the owner to have the capital available to sustain the business for at least one year. While this is likely the case with most startups, having a way to access additional funding without seeking a bank loan is ideal. Even without investors and doing most of the work yourself, you can still start a business without applying for a single loan.

Maintain a Primary Job

One way to ensure that you can take care of your household expenses and have some available to put into your new business is to maintain a primary job. In other words, don’t quit your day job. Have management personnel in place to handle the business while you work to make sure the doors stay open.

Consider Hiring Friends and Family

Friends and family may volunteer some of their time to help you out with your new business. As a startup, they are likely to work for free. Once you are able to put them on payroll, it is ideal to do so. Friends and family make great employees when they are appreciated and their hours at your business do not interfere with their regular jobs and/or family schedules.It is important to hire those that you can trust with your business. If something with the business were to go sour, or your relationship in general, it could jeopardize the business and the relationship. It is tricky to ask friends and family to work for you when you cannot offer pay, but in most cases, they will be happy to help out. Make sure that their kindness is not taken advantage of.

Maintain Low Overhead Costs

Try to keep your overhead costs low. Use services that bundle rather than individual services for everything your business needs. A prime example of this is combining your Internet and phone services, with voicemail service. Work as much at the business as you can yourself. Not having a big payroll right out of the gate is ideal as it will allow for more revenue to go back into the business.Blend ServicesConsider offering consulting services along with your main product or service. This shows other business owners that you are an expert in the industry and have something to offer them that can help their business goals at the same time. What this does is creates income for your business and develops working relationships. There will be times when other businesses in the industry will need what yours offers, and when you are in good standing with them, your business will be their first choice as a vendor.

Liquidate Unnecessary Possessions

Sell everything you do not need. Take these funds and create a business savings account that earns interest. This will become the starting point for the business’ emergency fund if a major financial hit occurs or business does not take off as quickly as planned. This is a responsible measure to take to prevent taking out a loan and paying back one and a half times (on average) the amount you borrowed.You may only have one opportunity in life to start a business. You will have multiple opportunities to buy “things” in your life.

Approach Investors

Don’t be afraid to seek out investors. Investors do not really have any say in what decisions you make for the business; they just provide the money to keep you going. Of course, they are going to expect a return on their investment. This is typically an additional percentage of their investment in a set period of time.

Reinvest Profits

Reinvest your business’ profits back into it. This way, you literally are funding the business yourself, without the help of investors or banks. It also helps during tax time to account for the profits that are not reflected in a bank account balance.

Closing Thoughts

As you write up your business plan and prepare to put the wheels in motion, create a list of business goals. These should be small milestones for your first year, with one large goal to achieve by the end of your first year in business. This helps keep you, as the business owner, motivated to market the business and expand with new products and services over time.

Working from home comes with ample opportunities for distractions and loss of motivation. It all starts with doing something you truly love to do. If you are unhappy in your career, even working from home is not going to make you more productive. You must have a solid work ethic and the desire to succeed in order to remain productive while working from home.

Design your own Workspace

Create a workspace in your home that is separate from the sleeping and common areas. It should be on the opposite side of the home from the bedroom, when possible. Design the space with things that make you happy. Use prints of inspirational, motivational and productivity building quotations from your favorite people.The happier you are to enter your workspace, the more productive you will be. Keep the space organized as clutter leads to tension and being out of sorts. Clutter kills productivity quicker than a cloudy day.

Put a Value on your Time

Your time is not free. It is important to establish your worth and make sure that you are receiving your value (pay) for the time you give to an employer. The more value (pay) you receive for your time, the more productive you are likely to be. Low wages often cause at-home workers to stray from work duties and lose interest in performing those duties.Compare your average hourly earnings and make sure that it matches the dollar amount that you have placed as the value of an hour of your time. If your numbers are not matching up, it is ideal to examine your work situation and make adjustments accordingly whether it is to complete more tasks in an hour’s time or take on additional clientele.

Collect Past Due Balances Diligently

If you are working as a freelancer, from home, it is up to you to collect on past due invoices. All of your clients should have signed contracts and in those contracts it should state that legal recourse will be taken for all unpaid balances. This allows you to send collection notices and demands for payment to clients with the intent of filing in small claims court.When freelancing, it may be a good idea to require payment in advance for brand new clients for a period of time to develop a working relationship. This ensures payment, you just have to be sure to deliver what the client has paid for. Once trust is established, invoicing can occur for services rendered.

Prevent Distractions

Extensions exist for browsers to block you from accessing specific websites, such as Facebook and Craigslist as examples, during set hours. Preventing yourself from accessing distractions during work hours promotes productivity and helps you develop a stronger work ethic.

Get Dressed Everyday

Even if you only have to walk 10 steps to your home office, get dressed for work. Looking the part, even at home, promotes productivity and makes you want to work harder to get back into your street clothes. Make sure that you keep a business-appropriate wardrobe available as you never know when a client may request a formal video conference call. In those instances, you will at least need to be dressed the part from the waist up, so it does not matter if your bottoms are sweats. You are, however, more likely to perform better in conference calls when you are fully dressed in the appropriate attire.

Keep a Schedule

Even if you aren’t leaving the house and don’t have specific due times for projects, keep a schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night. Set your alarm and get up at the same time every morning. Keeping a schedule, with hours created to your preferences, helps you stay productive while working from home. It is also a block of time that you will tell friends and family is off-limits for work purposes and is a timeframe given to clients for contact.

Closing Thoughts

With a bit of discipline, you can be productive when working from home. Allow yourself to listen to music for motivation. Set timers for tasks and make productivity a game to keep improving the number of tasks completed per day. The more you challenge yourself and keep working from your home office interesting, the more you will want to work.

Business insight specialists are predicting the rise in demand from customers for improved customer-centric services as well as more flexibility in the workplace for employees. Business owners are now listening more to the needs of their customers and workers to help generate greater success and improved possibilities for the future.

The rise of the CCEO

A greater focus on customer experience is a big trend this year. Customer-centric businesses are now becoming more profitable than those who don't focus on customer services, so more companies are now looking to recruit Chief Customer Experience Officers (CCEO) to their boards.Forrester Research have revealed that loyal customer bases spend on average around 13% more per transaction than single speculative customers who buy once and are never seen again. Many businesses will work their sales and marketing techniques from their staff downwards, but it is the job of a CCEO to work from the customer upwards. CCEOs understand what customers want and will work within the team to streamline product and service developments, and make them more tailored to better suit their customer demands.The main aim of bringing a CCEO on board is to build the business around the customer, and then everything from there upwards will be about delivering the best value to the customer and building a culture within the business that prioritises customer care. It is all about delivering a frictionless customer experience with a personal human touch.

The demand for Same-day delivery

Market leaders such as Amazon have been at the cutting edge of customer service technologies since their inception. They have been looking at ways to develop a same day delivery service for a while now, and their drone delivery service is still being tested.Customer fulfilment is a high priority for all major businesses, so offering the fastest delivery service possible will always be a lucrative revenue channel. While same day delivery is still the domain of the local fast food industry in most areas, new companies such as Deliveroo are taking this a step further. By partnering up with restaurants that do not offer a delivery service, Deliveroo are now bringing more revenue in for different restaurant owners without the need to employ their own delivery staff.This trend has now spilled over into the retail market where people may order goods online to pick up themselves or book a delivery service to pick up for them. Same day courier services are now offering a service to customers to book a pick-up or delivery at a cheaper rate than some overnight carriers, and through an app the customer can keep track of their goods on every step of the journey.The demand from customers for more convenience means that in most cases they are willing to pay for it. This has opened up a niche for a fast delivery service for perishable items as well as urgently needed items for work or home.

Increasing SME and micro-business exports

Business analysts are predicting a further rise in micro-businesses this year. Micro-businesses are essentially companies that employ no more than ten staff, and a lot of these are expected to be very small-scale businesses where people are turning their passions and hobbies in to a moneymaking enterprise.With the rise of the internet opening up worldwide trade opportunities, the creation of the micropreneur has seen an increase of more than 55% in micro-businesses in the UK since the year 2000. It is now thought that there are over 8.4 million people employed in 5.2 million registered micro-businesses across the UK.A key growth in exports is predicted this year for smaller traders. With the market opening up to trade in China and India, there are more opportunities for SMEs to trade abroad amongst new growing economies. There is a lot of potential for small business owners to expand their reach further this year, especially if they produce something unique that other countries will provide a demand for.

Growth of flexible working and the freelance market

With an ever shifting and changing workforce, there is expected to be a boom in freelance and flexible working options for employees. Along with a rise in commercial rents, many new businesses will be looking to share office space and workshops to keep costs down, which will also include the use of virtual offices.Even in smaller towns across the country, shared workspaces are on the increase allowing entrepreneurs and sole-traders to come together to share facilities and overheads, as well as opening up the potential for skill-sharing across the wider community.Freelancers are also taking on much more specialist work than ever before. This means that they can no longer rely upon a quiet corner of a coffee shop to get their work done. With an increase in freelance workers wanting flexible hours to fit their lifestyle, many are choosing to work from home or use a local hub that can offer secure and reliable internet connectivity.Many freelancers working from home like to get out of the house and interact with other like minded people to share ideas and collaborate together on larger jobs. The ability to join forces with other freelancers as well as providing regular social interaction in a creative atmosphere can be very beneficial for both worker and client.

Conclusion

The main trend for this year will be for businesses to get to know their customers inside and out. New businesses just setting up will be more likely to succeed if they can take the time to engage with their customers in new ways.

We all know what a media stir Jeremy Corbyn caused last year during his rise to become the leader of the Labour Party. Whether you follow politics or not, his sudden rise to fame from the ranks of near obscurity can offer the small business owner a lot of important lessons.What makes JC stand out from the bland rank and file politicians we see every day on our newsfeed is that he stands for change. He is noticed because he is very different to the navy-blue suits that litter the halls of Parliament, both in his beliefs and in his appearance. Despite the PM suggesting during Prime Ministers Question Time that he should 'put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem', Mr Corbyn refuses to let himself blend in with the crowd.The public are led to believe that Corbyn really doesn't buy into the whole spin-doctor, PR machine, styling or image marketing that the other leading politicians tend to favour, and that has been trendy since Tony Blair started it all back in 1997. But instead JC forges his own path – which to me is pure marketing genius by itself!

What lessons can Jeremy Corbyn can teach us in business?

Image is important

Your image counts for a lot in business, but it doesn't mean that you have to look exactly the same as everyone else. Corbyn doesn't look like your average politician - he doesn't like to wear a tie, has a bit of a scruffy beard, and he rarely wears a suit, but it still didn't stop his image going viral on the run up to the party elections.So although you want your company image to look professional so you can be taken seriously, it can actually help raise your company awareness by being a little bit different to the crowd. Do you really want to look just like everyone else in the club, or would you rather have an image that sets you apart from others and gets you noticed?It is up for debate whether Corbyn intentionally crafted his brand image to be able to connect and engage with an audience that has become tired of the same old generic PR machine manufactured politician. However, contrived or not, it seems to be working very well.

What makes us different, sets us apart.

When we look at Corbyn and Cameron we can see that they both stand for very different political ideals. In the marketing world, we are often told to mimic our most successful competitors because what works for them may also work for us, right? But what really happens is that the marketplace becomes too similar.Corbyn himself was heard to quote, ‘I think one of the problems in the election was there was not enough difference between the parties' – Jeremy Corbyn on why Labour didn’t win. In recent years it has to be said that both the Labour and Conservative parties has developed blurred lines where they both meet. But by having a completely different strategy, Corbyn has been able to rise to from the ranks of obscurity to take the leadership title.We can apply this logic to our business-related activities too. If you are in a business sector with a lot of competition, what makes people choose your product or service over another that at first glance is just the same? Quite often it boils down to how you package your product or service. If your brand stands for something that your customers can relate to, then they will be more likely to buy from you rather than from one of your competitors.This is exactly what Corbyn has done – he has found a niche audience that are looking for something different. He got people to vote for him that wanted to see change in politics.Separating yourself from your competitors rather than imitating them can help you to align with a whole new audience that will connect with you. Attracting a different audience that share your views is a whole lot easier than competing for the same customers who already buy from your opposition.I bet you never thought you would be picking up business tips from Jeremy Corbyn – but don't forget that politics is also a business. Each party are vying for the ultimate prize of winning our vote and running our country – they do this through engaging a large enough audience to win them that power. It is just the same as a small business winning customers to help their company thrive.Our London based virtual office service and help improve your image and set you apart from the competition!

When you want to make your business official, it can be much easier than you think to register your own company – you can now do this quite quickly and simply online through a formations service, such as Capital Office, and you can be up and running within the day!We can take care of all the official notification work for you, such as registering your company with the registrar of companies at Companies House. All you have to is to decide what structure your company is going to take, and then follow our simple step by step process online to get registered.Here in the UK we have a choice of different legal structures that your company can take. Which one you choose for your company will depend on how you wish to operate. By far the most popular types of business formations are companies limited by shares, and sole traders. However, these two options carry some rules and regulations that need to be adhered to that you should be made aware of.For your information we have listed below the primary differences between these two structures, so you can see which one would be more suited to your type of business.

Limited Liability

For your greater protection it would make sense to register your business as a company limited by shares. This is because if the worst should happen, each shareholder or member of the company would only ever be liable to pay what their individual shares are worth. For example, if you and three friends or family members where shareholders in your company, and you each owned a share at just £1.00 each, then you would only be liable to pay £1.00 each should your company go bust. Their personal finances will remain unaffected and protected.This is not the case for a sole trader however. Because there is no distinction between a sole trader and their business, they would be held entirely liable for all debts run up by their business. So if the worst should happen and the business went bust, the sole trader would have to pay out costs from their own pocket. This can often be catastrophic as the sole trader would have to use their own personal finances to cover costs, and this can impact greatly on an individuals ability to keep up with their mortgage payments, bank overdrafts and credit card repayments.So you can see from the two examples listed above why it makes perfect sense to register your company with Your Company Formations and the process is very easy to complete. In fact, all you will need for your company formation process are the following details:

Your Company Name

What you choose to officially name your own company is down to personal choice, however under The Business Names Act 1985, you must make sure that the name you choose is not already owned by another UK registered company. It is worth doing an internet search to see if your preferred company name pops up as already being used by someone else.There are also some words that you cannot use within your company name without express permission, and obviously names that contain sensitive words such as swear words or profanities will not be acceptable by Companies House. Also use of words like “association”, “group”, “federation” and similar words within your company name is prohibited.If you are really confused about coming up with a suitable name for your company, then one of our friendly customer service team members will be on hand to help and guide you.

Registered Office – Your Company’s Official Address

This address will be your main company office base, and can be any UK address that you use. Most small businesses will operate and trade from just one address, but your company does not need to trade from the address you choose as your registered office.The address you choose to register should be an address that is staffed frequently so that all important and essential mail coming from HMRC and Companies House will be attended to right away. This address will also appear on the public register, so anyone looking for your company address will see your registered office address on display. Because your registered office address will be on display to the public, like many other company directors, you may prefer not to register your home address as your registered office.Capital Office offers a registered address service where you can have your registered office listed, and our mail-forwarding service will ensure that any mail sent to you at this address is sent on to an address of your choice promptly. You can find out more information about our registered address service on our website.

Your Company Directors

When you form your company, you can register as many directors as you wish, but you need at least one person to be appointed as a director at the time of formation. The directors are the people who run your company, so if you want to form a company and run it with three of your friends for example, you can register yourself and your three friends as company directors. This does not mean that you cannot add any more directors further down the line, so in the future you can appoint more directors if you want to.To appoint a director you need the following information from them: Their full name, their occupation, date of birth, nationality, home address, and their service address. The service address is the official address that is listed on the public register, in a similar way to the registered office. Again, many directors may not want their home address appearing on the public register, so they may choose to register their service address as the business address.

Your Shareholder details

Shareholders are the people who actually own the company through their shares. When you first form your company, you can form it with just one single shareholder if you so choose. The shareholder can also be a company director, so you can form your own company with just one person who takes on the role of director and shareholder.To register your shareholder(s) you will need the following information from them: Full name, service address, town of birth, eye colour, phone number, number of shares to be held, currency of shares, value of shares

The Memorandum and Articles of Association

Put simply, these documents outline how you will be running your company. There are many templates you can use to draw up your documents, and Capital Office can provide free support and advice via telephone, email and our website chat portal to help you with this if you need it.All companies are formed at Companies House through the UK’s registrar of companies. You can register your business online directly with them for a £15 fee. Many people new to company formations find it much easier to register through a formation company such as ourselves, and our formations packages start from as little as £10.99 – including the fee from Companies House!So you can see from the information above just how quick and easy it is to register your own company. The process is so easy that you can be up and running after a few short hours.

Teleworking, also known as telecommuting or teleworking, has revolutionised the way companies hire workers and achieve their objectives.For those who are not familiar with the term, telework is an agreement that allows employees to work remotely or from the location they consider most appropriate (from home, office co-working in a library, etc.)Although the concept is not new - the expressions telecommuting and telework were devised by Jack Nilles in 1973, it was not until the nineties that teleworking began to experience a major boom, mainly in the United States. The reasons that led to the adoption of teleworking can be summarised as:1) The technological advances that have allowed the reduction in the price of computers and mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc., and reduced costs of information storage.2) The ubiquity of the Internet and advances in communication that facilitate the collaboration of people through email, chat, VOIP, video conferencing, cloud services, etc.3) A growing culture of freelance work or self-employment - working arrangements which can offer flexible work arrangements to teleworkers.

Benefits

Additionally, more and more companies adopt telework to achieve their financial objectives and social responsibility, as this form of employment helps to:1) Increase productivity and efficiency in operations2) Access to high-level professionals located anywhere in the world3) Save in infrastructure and energy costs4) Helping the environment5) Have a more motivated workforce, where employees have a more balanced work-personal life6) Minimise absenteeism7) Reduce staff turnover due to better job satisfaction rates

Challenges

Although the benefits of teleworking are clear, many companies have not yet adopted this way of working. The three main reasons why this has happened are:1) Employers want an efficient way to monitor the work of their employees. The perception of most traditional bosses is that this is only possible by direct observation, in which case the worker must be physically in the office.2) The traditional companies still measure the contribution of its employees in terms of hours spent and not necessarily achieved objectives or results delivered. When you hire a telecommuter, these companies can lose visibility on the number of actual hours worked.3) Employers fear losing control over confidential data shared with teleworkers.

The Future of Teleworking

All these challenges are very real, and that is why, although telework offers benefits to both companies and workers, the level of adoption of this way of working is not as high as it could or possibly should be.Countries like the United States and here in the UK are more advanced in this regard. Teleworkers in the United States account for approximately 15% of the workforce, while in Spain and France, this drops to only 8%. Likewise, in the UK, it is expected during the next three years that teleworking will show large increases of between 33% -65%.But not only companies are realising the benefits of remote working - governments and communities too: in a study conducted by Telework Exchange, it was estimated that if 53% of office workers worked remotely two days a week, this could save together about around £20 billion a year in petrol. And this is only one part of the story; you also have to consider increasing productivity by reducing the congestion of the streets and environmental benefits that would be achieved if more people teleworked.Because of all these reasons (new technologies, economic benefits, environmental benefits, benefits for workers, etc.), it is believed that telecommuting will increase considerably in the next decade. The governments around Europe, for example, have plans to actively promote telework. However, in there is still need for multiple successful platforms that allow companies to jump into the world of telecommuting and give them the necessary visibility to efficiently manage projects and make payments remotely.

Thanks to globalisation and cutting edge technologies, more and more businesses are opening a new breed of offices.Alongside this, more and more workers are working in a different point in the central office. In fact, more than 65 percent of people in large companies are in a venue away from the main building. This happens more and more as businesses increase in number worldwide. Although these sites are sometimes called remote offices in the world of networking, they should not be considered "remote". Instead, each should operate as its own separate headquarters. So how is it best to go about implementing a successful remote office?

Communication

Communication with employees should happen in a transparent manner as if they were actually just next door, and the information should be passed reliably and accurately, regardless of where the office is located. Therefore, this leads to all offices being connected to the central office in an efficient and stable manner. If there is a poor interconnection between headquarters and these remote offices, information will be poor and with many technical problems. An example would be if each office had different types of software and hardware, or if the tools are not properly updated. This could cause problems of having a greater maintenance cost, as well as lost productivity, due to the incompatibility of the computers and network problems.

Technology

If the technology is not optimally integrated, a company may also have trouble recovering from system failures that can pose big difficulties for the remote host. Many of these remote offices do not have their own technical support team, which could take care of these problems. Fortunately there are many tools to help the integration of these remote offices to a central location, no matter how big the businesses are.Every company has its own technical needs. These needs make a big difference on exactly what it takes to integrate these remote offices. There are some universal steps that any business can continue during the process: Assess needs, seek help from IT experts, update and improve technology based on expert recommendations, and ultimately ensure security and centralised data storage. When you are assessing the needs of the company, first ask employees that have problems accessing this. This will help identify the specific problems of the remote site. Once you have the general idea of ​​improvement, it is time to enlist the help of a technical consultation or IT support that will show the strengths and weaknesses in the integration plan.

Upgrade

With this information in mind, you can begin to upgrade and improve systems, allowing the business to operate more smoothly. Updating and optimising the network will be one of the points in the process. You can also consider adding new technologies like VoIP systems and video conferencing to bring even more communication to your remote office. The voIP or voice over IP, can make and receive calls from anywhere within the company. For example, a receptionist at a remote site can receive a call and transfer it to another person, even to someone who is in another office or at home. This is done transparently to all, which makes this conversation perfect for a new or growing company. The same goes for video conferencing, which delivers good visibility between sites.

Data Check

The last step to integrating a remote office is to ensure all data is stored correctly. Maybe one of the biggest mistakes a company can make when it deploys remote offices is to allow the data to propagate unchecked by all the offices, rather than centralise it, where it can be shared, stored and insured by backups. In the worst case, the propagated data is unchecked, potentially leading to a problem for the business in case of a large glitch. Instead of keeping important data stored in computers and servers in each of the offices, a more integrated solution is to group and store the data on a central server in a given site.Servers do not have to be in the same building where the main office is, but perhaps in other facilities. The important part is that technical support group need only ensure, maintain and create backups to a single location. Employees working in the same building, can access their own data using the LAN locally or via Wi-Fi. In remote offices, employees can access their data through systems like Terminal Server, which allows users to connect remotely to other systems as if they were in the same place. Another important tool is the use of VPN, which allows employees to access and retrieve data from outside the office while the communication between the computer and the central server remains safe.

The virtual office service continues to grow worldwide.

According to the latest survey by Staples, 56% of entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses are using virtual office technology, spending less time in shifts or working from their conventional desktop.Technological development today manages communication platforms where entrepreneurs from virtually anywhere in the world are connected to their staff and retain a core that keeps in touch with customers and suppliers at any time without losing a single contact. A virtual office can help business with key areas of their operation, which can include mail forwarding addresses to professional telephone answering services.Thanks to the technological potential of intelligent mobile phone users, live virtual office services can literally connect to their customers and suppliers. They can also easily link them to provide these devices which allow them to have permanent access to the network. Through a professional virtual office service, it also provides them with fully adequate physical spaces to attend their meetings and appointments as if it were their own office depending on their needs.

Stay Connected

Through virtual office services, people not only have the ability to better manage their professional time, but additionally may also devote more time to their family. According to a Staples survey, 52% of employers feel calmer taking a holiday, because they know they can stay connected to their business.As for the impact on mobility, the amount of displacement of an employer from a physical office and their home is practically reduced by 95%. This allows users of this service to take the time spent commuting to instead conducting entrepreneurial activities during working hours and a better quality of life in their free time.

Cut the Carbon Footprint

By managing their professional services from home, virtual workers not only optimise their time, but further substantially reduce their carbon footprint, minimising their environmental impact as a result not only of displacement but by reducing the consumption of energy and water.The power savings by incorporating a virtual office service is close to 90%, as employers eliminate all costs associated with the adaptation and equipment of a conventional office, which also has a positive impact on the environment in terms of reduction in the consumption of furniture and architectural finishes; much of the carbon footprint generated on the planet is directly related to the processes of construction and remodelling, according to figures from the World Resources Institute.All these advantages make the virtual office of today, ideal for companies and entrepreneurs from all sectors with flexible work schemes, while having a positive impact on the environment and office productivity.The ability to link electronically means virtual office workers have new possibilities in the way they carry out their work. This ability has even made it unnecessary for the office work to be performed in an office. Instead, it can be achieved at any place where the worker is located, provided that they can be networked and communicate electronically.

Among the advantages of the virtual office:

• Lower installation cost. Companies do not have to have an office with as much space. This is because some workers are elsewhere, other than at the main office. This reduces the cost of rent and/or the expansion of a common office.
• Lower cost of equipment. The companies, instead of providing office equipment to each employee, can share much of the equipment. This is similar to how LAN users share their resources with those who are doing their job ‘away’.
• Prestigious Location for your business. Build client trust and brand reputation by showing a central London office address for your business.
• Formal network of communication. Due to the need to stay informed and receive instructions, companies are giving more attention to having a communication network, thereby leading to the development of better communication among workers.
• Fewer work stoppages. When storms, rain, flooding or other inconveniences hit, including diseases, preventing workers from moving to the workplace, the virtual office makes it feasible to continue with work activities, by both the individual and the company.
• Social contribution. The virtual office allows companies to hire workers who otherwise would have no job opportunities, whether they are disabled, elderly or parents with young children. This also includes high-value employees geographically located away from the offices of the company.

But virtual offices also have some disadvantages that must be considered, among which are:

• Sense of isolation. With no regular contact with other company employees, they lose the feeling of being part of a job
• Fear of job loss
• Decay in the mood
• Family tension

All these disadvantages of the virtual office are related to motivational and psychological aspects, which is why companies should pay special attention to both the stage of selecting candidates to work as teleworkers ( workers in virtual offices ), and the activities of support, feedback, motivation and communication.In an increasingly competitive environment, the virtual office offers the possibility to expand the scale of activities with a less than proportional increase in cost that growth usually entails. The virtual office provides benefits not only for companies in the field of services but also to manufacturing companies throughout, with regards to office work.