An Office with Support Staff Enhances Your Image

Article submitted by: , President

Full-time or Virtual Offices Give Startups a Real Presence in the Business Community.

Nothing suggests stability and substance in the business world like an office with a prestigious address and a staff to support your enterprise. So what is a new business to do when they use a home office as their launch pad?

Fortunately there are very simple solutions to this problem. One of the quickest ways to look large is by utilizing executive office suites or its newest offering, the virtual office.

Executive suites provide turnkey office solutions. At Executive Suites of Minnesota, our tenants and virtual office clients are provided with their own individual phone number. Because we manage the telephone and Internet systems, someone can walk in and be set up at once with phone, voice mail, Internet and even a shared high-speed copier/printer. Offices can be provided furnished or unfurnished.

One way of looking large is through the amenities that executive suites offer. Our suites come with a furnished reception area with a receptionist, furnished conference rooms, kitchen/break rooms and other amenities. This means you can walk in with your laptop and start working. All of this can be done with a very small up-front cash investment.

The newest trend in the executive suite industry currently is the Virtual Office. You have access to all the services of the executive suite while maintaining your office at home, at the cabin, or on the road, including 16 hours of conference room time per month.

Executive office suites give your small business the appearance of being large. This is more than an impression, in fact you aren’t alone.

Our clients feel it is important to have a mailing address that is at a business location. Having staff on site also means you can receive packages from clients or delivery services so you don’t have to worry about missing them. Executive suites, including ours, also have support staff to help with photocopying, mass mailings, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheet and word processing work, bookkeeping, and dictation, etc.

Our receptionists both answer calls and greet your visitors. Having a live receptionist instead of voice mail or automated system gives your business the appearance of being large. When your clients call, our staff answers with a personalized greeting. We can take messages, put your calls into voice mail, and even schedule appointments for you.

When your clients arrive, the receptionist welcomes them to have a seat in our furnished lobby. We will then inform you that your guests have arrived. If you use conference rooms, they will be set up with coffee and water ahead of your arrival. Our conference rooms can handle meetings of various sizes. Equipment such as LCD projectors, conference phones, or videoconference equipment are available.

Most executive suite operations have multiple locations. This allows you to schedule a conference room at a place that is most convenient for your client, or you can work out of another location between appointments if you’re on the other side of town. For example, we have five locations in the Twin Cities -- Downtown Minneapolis in the IDS Center, Bloomington, Edina, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury.

Multiple locations are especially popular with our attorney clients, such as Michael Weber at our IDS Center suite. He began his practice with a virtual office that fit his needs and budget. As he gained clients, he moved in to a full-time office. He notes that having an office at the IDS Center immediately added credibility to his new law practice. Since then, he has watched his revenue increase substantially.

Virtual clients enjoy the professional image an executive suite can provide for their business. They prefer meeting in an office location rather than in a coffee shop or restaurant. This is especially the case when confidentiality is involved.

Another client, Kevin Sale, principal of Sailor Financial LLC, says his virtual office gives him a competitive advantage: low overhead, and a professional experience for his clients. He does all his number crunching at home, and meets with his clients at one of our offices. He says it sets him apart from someone working solely out of their home.

New businesses that have unpredictable growth patterns appreciate the flexible terms of executive office suites. Clients can rent offices by the month or by the year.

The Internet, cell phones and computers have joined forces to blur the lines between office and home. Where you meet people and where you actually do the work become personal choices for the entrepreneur. Welcome to the world of executive office suites.

Wayne Freeman is President of Executive Suites of Minnesota, which operates executive office suites and virtual office suites in five Twin Cities locations: Downtown Minneapolis at the IDS Center, Bloomington, Edina, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury.

Executive Suites of Minnesota
952-851-5555