Portraying a professional image to your clients is fundamental in growing your business. Have you ever considered moving your office to a location outside your own home?  It may not be as difficult as you think.

Picture the office in your own home. Now picture your family making noise in the background while you are in that office. The phone rings. Children are running around in the background.  It’s that important client you have been waiting to hear back from to close your big deal. STOP.

Now picture that office in an executive office center. A professional receptionist answers the phone for you and greets your important client.  “Yes, he is… Let me transfer you to his office”. You are now in your quiet office in the executive center.  The phone rings.

This is forefront of your business, and the way you interact with people doing business with you. An executive office suite offers a convenient way for you to portray the image of professionalism.

Taking it one step further, your client would like to stop by on short notice for a brief meeting on his way out of town.  Coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels are the typical last minute available options for a meeting to distance the client from your “home office”; but are these really the best options available to you?

When it comes to the tri-valley area of Northern California, there are several options for moving your business outside of your home without breaking the bank. Many small businesses take advantage of virtual offices to portray a professional image while working on a budget. A virtual office provides you with a professional address for your business, as an alternative to your home, and an optional phone line with a live professional phone answering service. These packages are typically held with executive office centers that often will have places available for hourly office and conference room rentals.  Expect price ranges of $150-$300/month for services similar to these.

For the individual on a slightly larger budget and a consistent need for an office and meeting room space, an executive office suite may be the better option. This is a full time, plug-and-play office that you rent out on a monthly basis.  Most executive suites give you shared access to the building’s conference room for professional meetings with clients. If you are lucky, you can find some places that give you access to the conference room without an additional charge.

A quick web search for virtual offices or executive offices in the desired area will come up with some basic brokers who have contracts with executive centers all over the country. Typical brokers for virtual and executive offices my include companies like Divinci, CloudVO, and Opus. If you already know the specific executive center location you would like to go with, it may be easiest to bypass the brokers and work directly with the center of your choosing.

If your business keeps you on the road, one of the best innovations of our time is a company called Liquid Space.  Download the app for your phone to find day offices and meeting rooms available for you on a moments notice within close proximity to you.

Regardless of the size of your business, there are plenty of options available when it comes to finding office space and improving your professional image. Know what is available in your area before you buy, keep an eye out for good deals, and look for cost effective ways to enhance your business image and customer experience.