Virtual Offices
Virtual Office Spin-Offs Springing Up in Down Economy
Published January 2nd, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
One of the downsides of a virtual office is the distributed workforce. How can you find employees who are self-starting, initiative-takers that you don’t need to baby sit?
It seems the market is answering that question for itself.
In addition to college programs that are training virtual assistants for the real world, I have noticed several announcements lately from virtual assistants looking to set themselves apart from the pack. But an announcement I saw this morning was intriguing for virtual office users and mobile professionals that want support they can trust.
The announcement was from a company called Concierge At Large. It’s based in San Diego and it claims to be the longest operating luxury concierge service in the United States.
I can’t validate that claim, but the company has been around for more than 10 years and has a respected leader. Concierge at Large’s founder, Cynthia Adkins, is past president of the International Concierge and Errand Association.
Concierge At Large serves the luxury lifestyle, travel and corporate worlds and Adkins says her company assists over 100,000 clients all over the world. Now, Adkins is leading the charge into a new revenue stream: providing virtual office services.
Jumping on the Virtual Office Bandwagon
“Now, more than ever, businesses must take action to protect their bottom line,” says Concierge At Large, Inc. President Cynthia Adkins. “As a result, employees who have survived layoffs and office downsizing are taking on a much larger workload. Outsourcing some of the daily administrative operations to our team reduces labor cost and improves productivity.”
What’s interesting, too, is the angle. Concierge At Large is pushing virtual office assistance to help companies improve productivity in today’s challenging economy. I am betting the company’s employees are well-suited to virtual assistance work. I am also betting the company is diversifying its revenue stream because the luxury business is down.
Concierge At Large says the service is especially helpful for executives who no longer wish to maintain a physical office or companies with a mobile workforce. Private-label virtual office support is available nationwide. The company is also playing off its roots, marketing the fact that its service includes full travel and concierge services.
What Do I Really Get?
Virtual office assistance from Concierge At Large, Inc. includes answering phones, relaying messages, managing calendars, arranging travel, and a host of other services. Fees start at $195 per month.
I’d like to know hat that “host of other services” is because what’s listed doesn’t present much value. I went to the company’s website and didn’t get many answers. I think the company is on to something here, but needs to do a much better job spelling out what virtual office services they offer beyond what appears to be the typical scope of their concierge services. I’d like to know what that $195 includes, specifically.
We welcome Ms. Adkins to come to the site and give us more information about what looks to be a timely concept.
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About the Author
Cynthia Adkins January 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Thanks for the comments on Concierge At Large, Inc.’s addition of virtual office support to our portfolio of services, your perspective and feedback is greatly appreciated.
In addition to typical virtual office assistance such as phone messaging and calendar scheduling, we provide full service concierge assistance and travel planning. Other services available include meeting and event planning, custom newsletters, podcasting, website management, and networking support. We are able to customize service programs based on the unique needs of each client.
All virtual office client calls come in directly to our corporate office and are handled by senior staff. Private-label branding is included, as well. Our corporate team is accustomed to working with sophisticated clientele and provide five-star level attention and follow through.
We believe the combination of having a 12 year successful track record supporting high net worth executive clientele, a seasoned hospitality team, flexible services and our extensive network of worldwide resources adds an extra value to traditional virtual office support.
Thanks again for your feedback and the opportunity to respond directly to you and your readers.
Maggie Correta January 5th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Wow. Cynthia offers some great feedback on the article. What she didn’t address about her virtual office services is what you get for the $149 a month, and what are other packages that are available? Reading all of this, I can’t tell how many hours that buys me at what average rate, and if I get a better deal for buying more hours from their virtual assistants. Sounds like a great service.
Elizabeth Sanchez January 5th, 2009 at 7:01 am
This is a great example of a company leveraging its skill set to expand into a new market at a time when diversification is a key to business success. Adding virtual office services to the mix is a natural. The kill sets are complimentary — at least many of them are.
The advantage Concierge At Large has is the established brand. They have so many clients already, it should be easy to gain a foothold into the virtual office services market. Kudos to Cynthia for a winning idea.
Melanie Jones January 6th, 2009 at 4:36 am
They are calling this “private-label virtual office support.” I’m not sure what that means. Are they reselling these services to other companies and taking a percentage of the profits off the top? I’ve never seen a virtual office service model quite like this one. This is atypical and attractive in many ways. I’d love to hear from Cynthia in a few months. She is poised to make a big splash with this division of her concierge company.
Bill Brookshire January 7th, 2009 at 5:52 am
This is a great concept for Concierge At Large. I see an opportunity here for virtual office providers to form a partnership with the firm, or set up some sort of referral system between the two companies. There’s definitely a synergy there as one provides space and the other provides service. It’s a match made in virtual office heaven. Serviced office providers could also get in on this partnership deal. Office rentals could include service packages. You get the idea.
Cynthia Adkins January 8th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Thanks for the continued feedback, I really appreciate the interest in our service. Forming partnerships with other serviced office providers is something we are very interested in pursuing on a regional and national level. What we mean by “private-label virtual office support” is that we are entirely invisible to the callers. Clients forward calls to a dedicated line that we answer in their company name rather than our own, or a generic greeting like, “reception”. Thanks again to all of you.
Marcus Hester January 9th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Does anyone think we’ll see things like strategic alliances, partnerships or the like in the serviced office space this year?
It seems to me there’s non-competitive products and services that might work well together. Or maybe a serviced office gains a competitive advantage through a deal with Verizon to offer great prices on wireless service or with Vodaphone for VoIP service.
I just think there’s untapped opportunities here. Been waiting to see who in the office space arena is going to hit this vein.
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