The Hidden Benefit of a Virtual Office

A lot of people sing the praises of trading in a traditional office space for a cloud based office. The two big benefits that are usually pointed out are cost savings and accessing needed files, etc. from multiple devices. I’m here to tell you that while both are huge benefits of a cloud or virtual office, there is another, equally as beneficial reason to move to the cloud. Freedom.

A few months ago it became obvious that it was time for me to move back to Maine where I could be closer to my aging Mom, my growing granddaughter and the rest of my family. Moving is stressful. Moving a traditional business with a traditional office space at the same time? Some would call that crazy. And I’m sure that plenty of business owners with a desire to move have felt they could never do so due to trying to relocate their business at the same time. Luckily my office is virtual. It exists wherever my computer and I happen to be.

My virtual office gives me the freedom to move wherever I want without disrupting business.

In fact, I’ll have moved three times since starting my business 7 years ago. This latest move comes with a lot of soul searching and realizations about my need to be closer to my family for various reasons. Yet it was extremely freeing not to have to worry even once about what kind of effect this move would have on my business. I knew that other than a couple of travel or packing days, it would remain business as usual for my clients.

Right now, as I sit at my desk writing this post, I am surrounded by boxes with just one week left before I make the long drive north. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle of preparing for the move, the relocation of my business hasn’t added any stress. That said, there are a few items even a virtual office needs to address during a relocation.

1. Change of Address- Not only will you need to request a change of address for yourself at the post office you’ll want to fill one out for your business as well. Don’t forget to change your address on all of your services, credit cards and websites associated with your business as well.
2. Check virtual home business requirements of your town or city that you’re moving to. Some locations require nothing more than registering your business name, others will require business registration and/or fees.
3. Check for internet availability and reliability. In most cases this will pretty much be a non-issue, but if you’re moving somewhere very remote or rural you might need to make arrangements for connectivity. Your current home might have cable internet but moving to a more rural location might mean looking into a satellite connection. Do your homework before the move and make sure that you schedule installation as quickly as possible post move in day.

If you’ve been leaning toward moving your office to the ‘cloud’ and just needed one more perk to convince you, just think about the freedom a virtual office can give you. Whether it’s moving closer to family, to a warmer climate or getting in an RV and exploring the country, you can take your business with you.