Ruth Simone is familiar with flexible workspaces. In her previous experience as owner of a wealth management firm, she used a flexible office space to run a low-overhead and worry free business. Once she made the move to being owner of Luminare Coaching and Consulting, she knew that she would need a virtual office solution.
“When you’re an entrepreneur, you always work from a virtual concept in some aspects – like handling business from the road or visiting clients in their offices,” said Simone, “I was really comfortable with the idea but didn’t have the systems in place to do it more often.”
Simone was introduced to the CloudVO services as a flexible office space client, and the virtual concept made a lot of sense.
“The more I heard about CloudVO, the more I realized it fit perfectly,” she said. “I was able to run my business from wherever I needed to be – from my PDA, my home office, my client’s office – wherever I needed to be.”
She also appreciated the option of working in an office if need be. She noted that although working from a home office is growing more common, there are many people out there that may not be comfortable as a work-from-home professional.
“Having the physical presence at an office really helps with clients who need to see that environment,” said Simone, “Seeing the physical presence can imply stability for them, so it’s great to have that when it is needed.” All in all, Simone estimates she spends about 10 hours per month in the Palo Alto virtual office site, as well as a few others in the area.
“It’s terrific because I can go from location to location as I need to,” she said, “It gives me the freedom I need to keep my business flexible. With the phone forwarding and mail reception, I also have a sense of stability with my business. It doesn’t matter where I go – I’m not tied down to a physical office and don’t have to be encumbered with corporate baggage. I can be very nimble and flexible – I can go wherever the situation needs me to be and still be where I need to be – it’s the best of both worlds!”
