Virtual Offices
Lakeland Virtual Office Market Heats Up
Published January 5th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Despite the growing prevalence of telecommuting and home-based companies, it’s still not always possible to do business in your bathrobe.
That’s the attention-getting lede of an article in the Polk County Business Journal about serviced offices.
The article is about a Lakeland, Fla.-based broker who is diversifying his business. Instead of focusing solely on the high-risk venture of renting office space he’s turning to virtual offices to earn a buck.
Baron Realty is the latest to try to lure home-based workers and mobile professionals to the benefits of virtual offices. Baron’s virtual office operation offers mail and phone service – and access to meeting rooms and office equipment – for as little as $59 a month.
Leveraging the Downturn
Cory Petcoff, president of Baron Realty, told the Polk County Business Journal that virtual offices give folks “the ability to have an office presence without the high overhead.”
Like many in the virtual office space and serviced office sector, Baron is pointing to the down economy as a driver for this niche within commercial real estate. While Petcoff doesn’t claim to be reinventing the wheel, he is offering a service that is not so common in Lakeland.
Baron’s virtual office headquarters is located in a 2,500-square-foot space next to his real estate offices at 1661 Williamsburg Square in Lakeland. He’s convinced that the pros outweigh the cons of virtual offices for lawyers and service industry professionals that travel frequently.
While the monthly pickup/drop off and phone services come at a price tag of $59, though, Baron does charge an hourly fee for the conference room.
A $99 package gets you a local phone number and a receptionist, as well as two hours of conference room time built in. Office amenities include high-speed Internet, a scanner and access to a copy machine.
Lakeland’s Virtual Office Competition
While Lakeland isn’t “overbuilt,” so to speak, with virtual offices, Baron is not the sole competitor. Easton Professional Services has been operating in Polk County for three years. It offers a mailbox service for $40 a month, and conference room rentals for $30 to $40 an hour.
Baron did not publish its conference room rental rates. Check back soon to get more information on that front.
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Marcus Hester January 6th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Interesting. I know Lakeland. It’s a small city between Tampa and Orlando that’s growing. Baron is going in with a virtual office service that competes directly with an established player there. Is there room for both in the virtual office space market? I guess that remains to be seen. Clearly, Baron must see an opportunity. It’s not clear to me how much different or alike their services are on a deeper level. The news article from the local paper didn’t get into that aspect, either.
Elizabeth Sanchez January 6th, 2009 at 5:20 am
The Florida office market seems pretty healthy overall, at least compared to its residential sector. The office vacancy rates were beginning to rise a bit in the South, but the north seemed steadier.
Baron is in a prime position to see the trends in his Central Florida office rental market, though, and he clearly sees the need to diversify. His move begs the question: how many more realtors will we see venture into serviced office space or virtual office space projects?
It may turn out to be a scenario that says, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
Rob Zeus January 6th, 2009 at 5:59 am
I like that thought Elizabeth started to express about commercial realtors getting into the virtual office game. I think the virtual office is the first logical step for commercial realtors looking to ultimately end up in the serviced office space. Just like with small businesses, one is a bridge to another.
If commercial realtors can succeed with virtual office space and meeting rooms, it could open a door to larger projects. I could see brokers partnering with developers to convert buildings for executive office suite projects.
Virtual Offices Generate Media Buzz | aBetterOffice January 6th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
[...] I wrote about a real estate broker in Lakeland, Fla. who was venturing into the virtual office business to [...]
Melanie Jones January 7th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I’d love to hear back from Baron in about six months to see (1) how many virtual office subscribers he has and (2) how often they actually use the office space.
He’s made an investment in the office space and I wonder if he’ll end up converting it to some other purpose for this Lakeland market. I suppose the risk for Baron is relatively low since he looks to be using his existing staff.
I am also interested in the impact of the competition on the existing virtual office provider. It could be that a new provider raises awareness of the services and the demand is large enough to benefit all.
Maggie Correta January 8th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Lakeland, Fla. is a pretty small town, so if it can sustain two virtual office providers that would say a lot for the concept’s ability to scale to any city.
I think Baron has a solid chance of running a successful virtual office. He clearly knows the market. He probably surveyed some of his clients before he launched this alternative office space option. The price is right and the staff is experienced in real estate.
I, too, would love to hear an update on this one.
Cory Petcoff May 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Many of you wanted some feedback six months from the date of this publication, so I’ll do my best to update all of you. I didn’t really get the phone system set up and the offices ready until Feburary. Since then the response to this product has been OK. I have had 5 users adopt the “full service” executive suites and only 7 users take on the virtual office style of lease. I really expected to have more virtual office users and fewer executive suite users. The property is, however, producing more rent than it was as a traditional office space and in this market I’m thankful for those results. I still need to ramp up the marketing effort on the virtual offices. I wanted my staff to get a little more comfortable using the new phone system before I challenged them with the task of answering phones for 20 or 30 additional businesses. The few users that are in place have been using the facility sparingly. I’ll try to give another update in a few months. I am hopeful that I can add another 10 users in the second half of this year.
-Cory Petcoff
President
Baron Realty, Inc.
Cory Petcoff October 6th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Here is another update on the virtual office market. The popularity of this product has grown tremendously and I have 10 full service executive office users in the building now. I am 1 office away from 100% occupancy. The virtual subscribers lean more toward the “Virtual Office Basic” which offers only a physical address and access to the conference room. We’ve added a 47″ TV that has a VGA plug at the head of the conference table so users no longer have to bring their own projectors. Many customers have found this feature quite helpful.
This property type has fared quite well in Lakeland and I am now considering expanding it to other properties in the area.