When the UK voted to leave the European Union back in June 2016, the business world was thrown into turmoil. No one could say with any great certainty what the future would hold for UK businesses, no matter what their size and trading position with Europe. With some experts speculating that the British economy will take hit, many business owners are now looking at ways that they can tighten their belts and make their business more ‘Brexit-proof’.
As we still don’t know what will happen for the vast majority of businesses because the Brexit negotiations have only just begun, what actions you take to ensure the future survival of your business is largely up to you. However, examining your budgets, cutting your expenses and looking for more affordable and flexible solutions is going to be a top priority moving forward. One area where a lot of money can potentially be saved is from within your own work-space infrastructure.
Just about every business owner wants to see their business thrive and expand, but while budget constrains and uncertainty about the future are hanging so prominently in the air, the last thing you want to do is to enter into long and expensive property leases that could be difficult to get out of. The solution to this of course is to look at setting up a flexible way to cover your expanding office and administration needs without actually having the expense or commitment needed to take on full-time members of staff and provide them with office accommodation.
There are already well-established and reliable services in place that you can take advantage of to meet your growing business needs while the country is going through Brexit. From using a simple call answering service to a comprehensive London-based Virtual Office Package where you can combine a virtual PA, mail sorting and forwarding services, and have the use of a modern business meeting room in a prestigious part of London city to meet and greet your clients.
Regardless of the outcomes from Brexit, London will still remain as one of the greatest cities in the world to operate a business from. Although working environments are changing rapidly, especially with the advancement of technology, there is nothing like having a prestigious London based address to work from. No matter where your company is based, you can benefit from using a Virtual Office that is based in the heart of London.
Flexibility is a major factor
While we go through the Brexit process, business owners are going to be faced with market fluctuations on an almost daily basis. Having the built-in flexibility of a Virtual Office service can help you transition between pre and post-Brexit smoothly without worrying about committing your business assets, or tying your business up in long and complicated contracts that could prove very costly in the long-run.
Having the flexibility that a Virtual Office and flexible meeting rooms can offer with mean you have the agility to scale up or down your requirements as you need them. You will be able to meet the demands of a sudden boost in your business without worrying that you have overstretched your budgets. Should market changes and fluctuations mean your need to downsize quickly, then you are not stuck with an unsustainable contract for business premises or face having to lay off staff.
No matter how rough a ride Brexit will give UK businesses, it will still be important for companies to present a strong and steady front if they are to remain competitive in the future. Your image and how people interpret your company still hinges on you offering a bespoke and reliable service. Using a well-established and experienced Virtual Office service can give your company the boost it needs to continue to exude an air of professionalism and trust, no matter what stage we are at with our divorce from the EU.
For entrepreneurs and small businesses
A Virtual Office package is an ideal alternative solution for small business owners or entrepreneurs with restricted budgets. Many small businesses don’t actually need a full-time, fully staffed office. Having a Virtual Office package in place will allow you all the benefits of a regular office but at the fraction of the price of setting up and maintaining one yourself.
Many business owners start off with just mail forwarding and telephone call answering services until they are in a position to afford to set up and run a permanent office. However, very many of them go on to continue using these services or take on a Virtual Office because it is a lot less of a hassle and costs far less than committing to a full time on-site office. With the possibility that physical office space rental may rise sharply post-Brexit, it makes more financial sense to stick with a Virtual Office package where prices will remain stable over the long-term.
It also makes sense that business owners shouldn’t have to pay out to keep a meeting room space that is vastly underused onsite. Using a modern, well-maintained and fully serviced meeting room in the heart of the London business district to meet and greet your clients is going to impress. Hiring an unbranded meeting room allows you to conduct important business meetings in a profession environment where your clients will be totally unaware that you don’t own the building. You get the help of professional admin staff to greet your clients and service your meeting room without the added commitment of having to employ any permanent staff yourself.
A bright future post-Brexit
Flexible work-space hire has grown by 67% in London in the past decade alone and with the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, experts are predicting another sharp rise in these figures over the next few years while the economic marketplace starts to settle down once again. Regardless of Brexit, flexible office space and Virtual Office solutions are not going to disappear overnight. With over 30 years of growth within London, this way of working is looking increasingly more appealing to smart business owners who want to ride the rough waves of Brexit and appear on the other side as a much stronger competitor in their marketplace.
Take a look at our Virtual Office package to see how you can benefit from our professional services.
We can also help you with the following services to assist your business growth and to make your business run more efficiently:
