Every business wants to grow, to have more customers and to increase its revenue. We have heard extra stories where companies have grown from being a 2-employee, garage-based start-up to a multi-million dollar enterprise, with offices and customers all over the world. Google, founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is just one of the many examples.

Business growth is all about hard work, smart strategic decisions, investment and of course, a dash of luck. But is it possible for companies to get a helping hand in its quest for improvement and expansion? Can companies leapfrog over competition, without dreaded huge investments and risk? Read on to find out how you can grow your business with minimal investment and effort.

The Problem of Business Growth

Small companies face certain bottlenecks when they seek to increase their capacity and markets. They want to take on more projects for which bigger facilities are needed and more people need to be hired.

The problem may be:
The huge investment needed to buy expensive office space and set up the physical infrastructure;
The war for talent - there is a shortage of technical manpower;
If companies want to set up an office in other low-cost, unfamiliar locations, they don't know their way around;
Businesses want to move beyond traditional outsourcing models to retain control over processes and increase presence.


Set up a Virtual Office!
A Virtual Office can be a simple solution to these problems.

Virtual Office or a Virtual captive is a remote office of a company, which is set up and run by a service provider.
A Virtual Office (virtual captive) is a hybrid type of outsourcing, where a company has all the advantages of having its own additional office and yet utilises the services of a service provider. So it's the best of both worlds!

In a Virtual captive or Virtual office arrangement,
The Virtual Office service vendor provides the infrastructure such as office space, facilities, workstations, Internet and phone connections, printers and other peripherals.
The Virtual Office provider hires human resources according to specifications. The hired resources will be dedicated, virtual employees of the client company.
A company can manage and monitor the office remotely through various communication technologies such as email, chat, phone, video-conferencing.
A company can also entrust the management and administration of the Virtual Office to the service provider.
The client company retains control over processes.
The entire Virtual Office runs as an extension of the company, under its brand name. So it is an additional office.


Hiring Virtual Employees
Companies can participate in the candidate interviews through web cams or teleconferencing.
They can also conduct online assessment tests during screening. The employees hired are dedicated, Virtual Employees and part of the company workforce.
To learn more about managing virtual employees, read Effective management of Virtual Teams. Get a head start with Virtual Offices
Here's how Virtual Offices can enable a company to get a head start in growing its business:
No overheads and investment on office infrastructure.
Ability to set up offices in low-cost locations, to tap cost-effective local talent and become globally competitive.
Access to a wide base of best-of-breed local professionals, who become virtual, dedicated employees.
Access to the domain expertise and best practices of the Virtual Office service provider.
Control over processes, with entire office operations running as part of Client Company.
Remote management of office via Internet and other communication technologies or option of provider management.
Ability to scale up or down operations quickly according to need.
Minimal risk.
Quick operationalisation.

No Pain, Only Gain


Virtual Offices are great for small businesses taking their first step towards setting up new offices and also for individual consultants who want to handle more projects, all with least effort and investment. Virtual Offices enable business growth with least effort and investment.