Are you a home-based attorney looking to boost your professional image? A virtual office NYC may be just what you need.
Working from home is a luxury that very few can afford these days. Maybe it’s a lifestyle choice you’ve wanted your entire working career or something that is a current need.
Having an at-home set up shouldn’t automatically mean you have less credibility, but it does make it more difficult to demand respect in the field as opposed to someone with an office.
While working completely at your home address is comfortable, it doesn’t always look professional and can even impact the outcome of a case or referral relationship.
1. Work at home, but practice from your office address.
Commercial addresses are essential for marketing your business correctly. Not only does it give a sense of being permanent, but it also looks more professional to colleagues and clients.
Shared office providers like Law Firm Suites allow law firms to rent a premium commercial address as a way to boost their professional image and acquire more credibility over time.
Doing this gives the appearance that your work is done from an office building without having to pay such high fees that are associated with a physical office arrangement. You are not at the location all the time, only when you need to meet clients and your mail and packages are sent to the location.
Should you want it to be unknown, a good virtual office provider with keep it a secret so you come off as having a full-time office.
P.S. If you are an urban apartment dweller, changing your home address from “Apartment 17B” to “Suite 17B” fools no one.
Solos: changing your home office address from “Apartment 17B” to “Suite 17B” fools no one Click To Tweet2. Get a business phone number.
A personal, home phone number should never be utilized as a business phone. It will always become a problem. You may not realize this at first, but it’s only a matter of time.
Various nightmare scenarios can arise when you make calls from a home phone. The most obvious is missing a very important call. The other is the possibility of having small children that answer the phone on your behalf. The child could be confused and just hang up.
These scenarios can leave a client wildly confused to the point where they may feel they even called the wrong number. Other times it may just be that they call at random hours, never giving you a sense of peace at home.
3. Never meet a client in your living space.
Professionalism in business is directly linked to one’s image and this matters when meeting clients face-to-face. Building a connection with a prospective client is key in order to successfully practice law. Meeting a client in your own home should never be done and you may end up regretting it.
Having a professional space to meet a prospective client is highly important to the attorney’s image. Meeting in a kitchen or dining room would just be awkward for everyone involved. Renting a temporary space from your virtual office NYC provider may make things easier and less detrimental to your overall image.
Many shared office spaces provide such arrangement of using conference rooms or vacant offices for client meetings. Such agreements can even be as low as $99 a month.
It is important to know the space before utilizing it. This means know how to use the office equipment before your meeting with clients. They will likely think this is your office for all occasions, and knowing it through and through will deter from blowing the illusion you have built.
