A virtual office is an office without the boss.
That’s the simple description that I learned from Kellie Andrews the CEO and Founder of The Huntsville Hub, a virtual office in the area.
Many people are new to the concept of a virtual office so I asked her to explain it to me as If she were talking to a 9-year-old.
“A virtual office is an office without the boss,” she said. “We have a physical office and it’s available to you, but you don’t have to spend your day at the physical location to make sure that all of the things that would normally happen in an office, happen.”
The phones get answered, there’s always someone to sign for your package, the coffee is made fresh every morning whether you show up or not.
Ad4! Group met with Kellie in order to break down the mystery behind a virtual office space and detail the flexibility of Huntsville Hub’s services.
She explained how this is the most cost-effective solution for workers who spend most of their work days on the go.
“And there is office space for you to go to if you are here, but most of the time you’re not here. You’re out on the road selling.”
Many of the Huntsville Hub’s virtual clients spend their days in the car or in another state, even. And that’s ok, because the office runs right along whether rain or shine, boss or no boss.
“It’s ridiculous to have to maintain an office facility when you’re going to be there just one day a month or two hours every few weeks or something,” said Kellie.
Kellie explained that many other virtual clients work from home because home is already paid for; however, a residential address isn’t always picture-perfect for an up-and-coming corporate entity.
“You don’t really want to bring your customers there,” she said. “You really don’t want packages landing on your door step all the time. You don’t want to answer the phone while the dog is barking and the kids are crying or whatever.
So we create a layer of protection almost, around you, so that you have a corporate business location that is operational in a professional way that makes you look good. But you save the vast majority of your overhead for building business instead of paying for infrastructure.”
Figures published by metrowork.com suggest that on average virtual offices cost 40% less than normal corporate offices.
Her role besides hiring, sales, employee training and various other administrative jobs is to provide vision and “keep us in the right culture.”
She sets the tone for the office that provides services that she says can help keep a business going during those first key ventures.
“Sometimes it’s the difference; the make-it-or-break-it difference,” said Kellie. “Just keeping things super lean in the beginning until your sales build up can give you that few extra months you need to make that big sale.”
She explained that sometimes, in her position, losing clients is the ultimate success.
“We’ve had quite a few companies that start virtual and work their way into us and they grow and then they work their way out.
So in a sense, that’s what it looks like to incubate with us.
We just had a client do that two weeks ago. They bought their own building. They went from a virtual, to one office, up to four offices and now their on their own.”
She agrees that a nurturing environment is what she wants to portray and maintain throughout her business.
“I want the company to be a support structure for small companies and for business professionals.”
However, that’s not the only thing Kellie looks to accomplish with the Hub.
“The other side of it is that this company was placed under my care by God, to achieve a certain goal. To the best of my knowledge, the goal is to encourage other companies to use their influence to make a difference for Christ.
We see people all day, everyday that may never darken the door of a church. They may never really encounter what it means to be saved or what it means to live a Christian life. We’ve got an opportunity to impact those people that might choose to avoid a Christian in another instance.”
Ad4! thanks our valued Client, The Huntsville Hub and Kellie Andrews for giving us an insider’s view of a unique office experience that is open to business owners.