The worth of a virtual office in these economic times

Are you tired of having to meet people in a Starbucks or having your business mail sent to your house? Any start-up entrepreneur knows the value of a professional office space where you can meet and impress clients and have a stronger business presence. Virtual offices are becoming more popular as business owners seek to lower overhead cost.

Many recent college grads are opting for entrepreneurship over secure corporate jobs. Because of this, you see the emergence of incubator space and a higher demand for the limited use of professional office space and office supplies. Virtual offices seem to be a real solution both for building owners and entrepreneurs. Long gone are the days when building owners will just let their offices remain empty until the next tenant willing to sign a 1-year lease comes around. Given this economic climate long-term tenants are not as easy to come by. Instead owners and leasing managers have adapted to increase monthly revenue by renting out space and the use of their mailing address--which has no cost to them.

Long gone are the days where a serious start up entrepreneur must meet a business lead in a coffee shop or have to contend with a P.O. Box, which does not have the "business leader" connotation. Today, business professionals and entrepreneurs have options.

For the Atlanta area, the options are the following: 

Peachtree Professional Center offers this service at a cost of $125/ month and includes access to meeting space, a telephone line, and a mailing address. A mail forwarding service is also available. This state of the art environment is due to impress clients and support. You can call them at 404-918-4427.

For the Decatur area, Regis is a company that provides a number of virtual office services. If you do not need meeting space, it offers its clients a mailing address for $79/month. For the $200 range, you can get an address and 2 days of office space per month (according to a supervisor). You can call them at 404-494-7738 to learn more.

Regis also provides services in the Cummings area at similar prices, and can be reached at 404-341-5100 for their area office. Moreover, Regis seems to dominate the market when it comes to the virtual office business in Atlanta and elsewhere. They have hundreds of locations across the country and around the world.

 Do you know of any other virtual offices around Atlanta or do you have any experience with virtual offices? Please share in the comments section.