Is a Virtual Office a Real Office?

 

                       

I like the definition of the word, "virtual" in the Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary. It defines it as "very close to being something without actually being it." That, in essence, is the definition of a virtual office. A virtual office is something very close to being an office, without actually being one.

It's not something ethereal or intangible like the concept of virtual reality. We don't put you to sleep and plant a subliminal notion in your mind that you have an office, where you can hang out at the water cooler with gorgeous members of the opposite sex. There are things that are real and there are things belong in the realm of fantasy. We're talking about something real, functional, and utterly practical.

At the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows, located in Queens NY, a virtual office is an office that you can use on on as-need basis. It's not an office that you can move in to and decorate. The offices are already decorated. You can bring a picture of your family, and place it on the desk while you work, if you like. You can use one of our offices for an hour, for a day, for a week - whatever you need - and pay for it by the hour. Prospective tenants of the Executive Office Center have a range of virtual office service packages to choose from, as well. You can see them online at: http://executiveofficefm.com/virtual.htm.

Most of our tenants use our office suites as a place to meet clients. These rooms are usually used for meetings with individuals or two to three people. If you need to meet with a larger group,  you can use the Executive Conference Room, which seats twelve around the table. We have about forty attorneys who regularly use our offices, and nearly ten psychotherapists, as well. The other tenants of the Executive Office Center are mostly small businesses and non-profit organizations. All of our tenants are featured on our consumer website:  http://everythingunder1roof.com/

Can you use the Executive Office Center as a regular business address? Of course. A listing of your business is placed in the lobby, along with other tenants and virtual tenants of the office building. You can use the address on your stationary, and as a reference location for Google and other search engines.

Can you use the office to receive mail? Yes. At the Executive Office Center, you get your own secure mailbox. Even better than that, we'll receive your packages, Fed Ex envelopes, and even call you if it looks like something important.

Having a virtual office (or a serviced office suite) at the Executive Office Center is better than having a regular office in a lot of ways. You don't have the burdensome fixed costs associated with a traditional office space. You also don't pay for for internet service or telephone use. At the Executive Office Center, it's on the house.

And there are other significant benefits as well. We have a receptionist who can provide you with personalized telephone answering. You have to pay for it, of course - but not much. One thing for certain is that it's much less expensive than hiring a personal receptionist. Our receptionist also courteously greets your clients when they come into the office building.

Additionally, there is a beautiful cafeteria, where you can have lunch, watch TV, grab a cup of coffee, or enjoy a snack or a can of soda from one of the vending machines.

And let me add one more thing about the aforementioned Executive Conference Room. It is equipped with a 46" wide screen HDTV, ideal for videoconferencing and/or business presentations.  

So, is a virtual office a real office? It's real, alright.  In many ways, it's better than a real office. And it's a real deal for anyone who comprehends its exceptional value.

Virtual Offices are Unfair to Commercial Building Owners

The Executive Office Center Discourse on Business invites blog post contributions from members of the business community.  This anonymous writer has a grievance against virtual office services.

I’m not a person who likes to complain, but I think that virtual office centers like this new company, the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows are unfair to commercial landlords.  I own an office building around the corner.  It’s always been full.  Now I have a 30% vacancy rate because of these guys.

Why?  What did they do to you?

It’s not what they did.  It’s what they do.

These guys give you everything.

They give you furniture.

They give you telephone service.

They give you internet service.

They pay for your gas and electric.

They pay for your cleaning.

They pay for everything!

I mean they even have a secretary who answers your phones.

Now, how can I compete with that?  I got a regular office building.

Well, it’s not their fault, really.  That’s the type of building it is.  That’s how they operate.

You think having a cafeteria in their building is fair?  You think it’s fair to have a beautiful conference room for all the tenants to use?

Do you know that you can rent Queens office space in here on a part-time basis?  You think that helps me?  I mean, you don’t even have to sign a long term lease with these guys.  They just let you use an office whenever you want one. 

Now is that fair?  I’m asking you.  That’s why I am protesting against this injustice to regular commercial building owners.http://www.executiveofficefm.com/

NYC: What Counts Here is the Not the Color of Your Skin but the Quality of Your Work

I recently made the acquaintance of a tutor, who is a native of Trinidad.  He told me that he had relocated to Atlanta some years ago, but found it hard to make a living there.  “The first thing people would ask me,” he said, “is where do you worship?” The answer to that question often determined whether or not he got the job he was seeking.  After struggling for a few years, he moved back to New York.  “Here people don’t care about the color of your skin, or what religion you practice,” he told me.  “They care about the quality of your work.”

The other day, I sought to help one of the tenants of the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows, who is Muslim, with a personal referral.  I am a yarmulke (skull cap) wearing orthodox Jew.  He told me of the work he had done for the late Rabbi Wolf of the Great Neck Synagogue, and of other Jewish organizations that had engaged his services.  He said to me, “It’s too bad that everybody can’t come to New York for a lesson in how to live and work with people of all faiths.” 

Mr. Singh, my telecommunications consultant for over twenty-five years is a Sikh.  He wears a turban.   Since arriving in the United States at the age of 17, he has always lived and worked in New York.  He doesn’t advertise and has never advertised because his reputation precedes him.   He also believes that New York offers a level playing field for all races, creeds and colors. “No one is out of place in New York,” he said.  Then, he added, with a laugh, “except possibly the descendents of the original colonists.”  The only time he ever felt threatened by prejudice was just after 9/11.  “People were scared.  They looked at me, and all they saw was my turban,” he said.  “It didn’t last long,” he added, “and it didn’t cost me any work.  People always judged me on the basis of my ability and expertise.” 

I, too, remember my days as the co-owner of First Choice Real Estate, Inc.  First Choice was a microcosm of the borough of Queens, which, with its population of 2.3 million people is the most culturally diverse county in the Untied States.  The agents included such disparate nationalities as Chinese, Koreans, Russians, Irish, Greeks, Indians, Israelis, and spoke a cumulative total of twenty-one different languages.   There was often bickering among the agents, but it was like the bickering of my children. What I remember most about them was not the differences between them, but the family they constituted.