5 reasons a virtual office in Newcastle is good for business
Millions of people are now working for themselves in the UK, and the enterprise culture is certainly booming in Newcastle, with new businesses springing up every day in just every type of business you can imagine. In the good old days pre-internet (we know, it's a matter of opinion!), business centres like Clavering House were the obvious starting point for just about anyone who was setting up for themselves - you couldn't really run a 'proper' business without an office, a workshop or a shop!
Well of course we have all of this available for those who need it, but these days lots of start-ups don't bother with a permanent workplace - as long as they have a laptop and a phone they're in business. That's why Clavering House's virtual office in Newcastle is becoming increasingly popular, with well over 100 small businesses already virtually residing with us, offering all types of services from publishers to legal services, photographers and graphic designers to energy consultants.
5 reasons small business owners say the virtual office is good for business ...
1. You can have a prestigious city centre address for your business
With a virtual office in Newcastle you have a city centre address for a fraction of the cost of renting an office. Newcastle Property Developer Jonathan Sykes, who has had a virtual office at Clavering House since October 2013, explains "The virtual office service works for me in particular because it provides an NE1 postcode and 0191 telephone, and I don't have to use the words 'Business Centre' in the address. My business address is Sykes Property Consultants, Clavering House, Clavering Place, Newcastle NE1 3NG - I don't even need to use the words 'Business Centre' in the address.
2. You can keep costs down
Today, working flexibly and keeping costs down can help a business to compete, and be profitable. Having a virtual office ticks both of those boxes. Without needing to add the cost of monthly rent to their prices, small businesses that work 'virtually' have a better chance of survival long term, particularly in the start-up phase;
3. You can avoid using your home address on your website
Let's face it, the amount of mail received by many small businesses has reduced to next to nothing, but you still need a mailing address for just about every aspect of your business transactions - from issuing contracts to registering with suppliers and for the footer and contact page on your website. Having a virtual office address in Newcastle city centre means you don't have to reveal your home address to all in sundry if you run your business from your back bedroom - you just use the virtual office address whenever your business address is needed;
4. You can de-risk business expansion into Newcastle
You can have a 'virtual presence' in Newcastle (in other words it looks as though you work here, even if you don't!) which is great for your business image and market reach. Nicola Crowther runs a family mediation service, Crowther Mediation Services, from 4 permanent office locations across the North East, but was looking to expand further into Newcastle. While she established herself she decided to set up a virtual office address, and became our 100th virtual office customer! As Nicola explains, "the virtual office provides a very easy way to expand and develop my business, giving me an opportunity to test the waters without taking any real risks.".
5. It's so much easier to do business in the city
A virtual office service doesn't just mean mailing address - other services you'd expect to have if you have a fixed office base are available too - you can get just about everything you need from an office, but without the rent bill! Telephone answering services, desk space for hire by the hour, smart affordable meeting rooms for the occasions when the local coffee shop doesn't quite cut the mustard, and even receiving parcel deliveries to avoid interruptions to your workflow at home - you can just collect them from the office when you're ready.
If you'd like to know more about how a virtual office might be able to help you in your small business get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.
We are in good company with our managed office space
It was great to see Clavering House nestled in the 'Managed Office Space' section of BQ magazine today, particularly as we're in great company, featured alongside another listed building, Acklam Hall in Middlesbrough.
It takes all sorts of office space and services to satisfy all sorts of businesses, and here at Clavering House our Georgian building is definitely holding its own against the glass and chrome of the local competition that's developing around the Stephenson Quarter. There's no question that our great location beside Newcastle Central station and "two storeys of English bond brick beneath a Welsh slate roof", as BQ puts it, have a lot to do with that - this really is a charming place to work - but our strong 'customer comes first' service ethic, delivered through a whole range of in-house and virtual services for small businesses, brings soul into the bricks and mortar, and that's what local businesses value most.
If you're interested in local heritage, the BQ article offers an intriguing insight into the history of the Claverings and Clavering House - well worth a quick read here
Time out with Newcastle photographer Sarah Deane
Recently we gave you a quick snapshot behind the scenes at Clavering House with Rachel Bullerwell, and the portrait photo of Rachel that we featured in that story had such a great response (which Rachel was definitely not expecting!) that we thought we'd take some time out to find out more about the photographer behind the photos.
Sarah Deane has been resident at Clavering House since March this year, with her 'cave' studio receiving rave reviews from the customers of her business Sarah Deane Photographic - as well as her great photography, of course! Here's what Sarah had to say about her business and her exciting plans for the future.
First and foremost, you did a great photo recently of our very own Rachel.
What do you think makes a great business profile shot?
"It’s always important to have images that look clean, well lit and professional rather than home shot images or ‘selfies’. People often view profile pictures to learn about someone they haven't yet met and when doing this they will make instinctive judgements about that person.
So in the business arena it's always important to have a well executed, friendly and approachable image that shows a little about that person’s character or career. If a profile image looks like they have taken care with their photograph, then the assumption is they will take care in business too."
How have you found being resident at Clavering House?
It’s a fantastic space in a beautiful part of town. Every client that has come to the studio has said ‘wow’ when entering the cave shaped studio space! It’s often described as ‘quirky’ and therefore is a perfect environment for a creative studio. I am easy to find as Clavering House is so close to Newcastle Central Train Station, and the reception staff are always very welcoming to my clients which is important for my customer experience and brand.
It’s also good to feel part of a community within a busy building, as this offers opportunities for business networking and social interaction which is brilliant when you work for yourself.
Why a studio rather than working mobile?
Whilst I work out on location for various types of shoots, a studio space at my disposal offers more strings to my bow. It gives my business the opportunity to cover more varied styles of photography, for example product photography or profile shots where I can host my clients in a relaxed environment and fit around times that suit their schedules. I host a great range of appointments here for all three areas of my business, from briefing meetings to shoots and image preview sessions for corporate, portraiture and wedding photography.
The studio also allows me to develop the family studio portraiture side of my business offering relaxed and fun sessions with a white backdrop shooting area and comfy sofas for any family spectators!
Your most exciting assignments?
Since moving into the studio my feet haven't touched the ground! Whilst continuing to work with long term clients such as Heineken UK, Komatsu and Jamie’s Ministry of Food NE, I have gained new contracts with a really wide variety of businesses. In March I was excited to begin work with Bebe Clothing shooting for Aldi's clothing range here at the studio. In April I was invited to London to capture a high profile exhibition at the Museum of Childhood for an Alice in Wonderland exhibition, and during the Summer I began working with Newcastle University Business School as they launched their new branding. This Autumn the Nigel Cabourn team hired my studio to shoot the mens Everest Parka range for eccommerce and I captured Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo’s cookery demonstration at a Ministry of Food event in Byker. So it’s been all go and extremely varied!
What next?
The first 12 months at Clavering House have been incredible and I celebrated my 5th birthday in March 2016, having established even more business relationships as I want to continue to build and grow! I have several projects that are in the pipeline, one I am particularly excited about is a contract for Food Newcastle where I get to explore the unusual world of bee keeping on top of a church in central Newcastle. Not many people know about our locally produced Grainger Street Honey!
Find out more about Sarah's work at www.sarahdeanephotography.co.uk or call in for a coffee and a look around Clavering House and we'll make an introduction!
Behind the scenes with Rachel Bullerwell at our Newcastle Business Centre
I can't believe our wonderful Newcastle Business Centre Administrator Rachel Bullerwell has actually been with us here at Clavering House in Newcastle for almost a year already. Rachel's been such a great asset since she arrived, and has made such a difference to our customers and to the day to day flow of running our business.
So I thought it was high time we gave you a little bit more of an insight into the day in the life of Clavering House from Rachel's perspective, and just how Rachel's felt about her first year with us.
Here's what she had to say ...
So what brought you to Newcastle Business Centre, Clavering House?
The main appeal for the job here was that it was something new to me - in the sense that, to be absolutely honest, I wasn't even aware that such a thing as a Newcastle Business Centre existed before I saw the job advertised! Having said that, with my background in retail and hospitality, most recently working in one of the region's most prestigious hotels, I've always worked closely with customers, so I guessed that it couldn't be 'that' much different, and I'm pretty adaptable so was fairly confident that I'd fit in!
I'm usually the first face you will see when you arrive at Clavering House. My role here is greeting customers who come into the Newcastle Business Centre, and answering their enquiries or helping them find where they need to be for a meeting or training course. I also spend a lot of time setting up virtual office services for small business owners that run their businesses from home and just need an office address that gives them a professional edge. What goes with that is making sure they know when post has arrived, and if they also require a telephone answering service I do that too - taking messages and letting them know when people have called.
What's been the biggest change for you at Clavering House, compared with the jobs you've done in the past?
I suppose the biggest change is the diversity of people I meet with every day. I can be talking to an architect who rents an office in the building one minute, or a photographer who is simply coming to collect their post the next. We also have lots of customers hiring our rooms for training courses, so there's a never-ending stream of people attending from all over the UK as well as locally. The office is less than 5 minute's walk from the Central Railway Station in Newcastle, so lots of people choose it as the ideal place to meet when people are travelling from far and wide.
What's great here is that every day is very different, which is quite different to my previous role as a head receptionist which was pretty much the same duties day in, day out. Here at the Clavering House Business Centre no two days are the same, although typically when I arrive I organise the refreshments for any customers we have with us on that day, before checking for any email room bookings or enquiries we may have received overnight. Then I deal with whatever's thrown at me, pretty much!
I also love seeing people's reactions when I show them around the building, if they're thinking about renting an office or a hot-desk, or looking for a meeting or training room to hire. We always get lots of compliments about the quality of the spaces, the great prices, and (of course) the excellent customer service!
A big Clavering House hello to BeaconHouse Events
The team here at Clavering House Business Centre love having the chance to get to know the owners and staff of some really brilliant North East businesses. Some of our customers are based permanently in one of our offices in Newcastle city centre, and others just fly through occasionally to pick up post, work at a hot-desk or hire one of our meeting rooms.
We've been renting out offices here to businesses of all shapes and sizes for a couple of years now, and we're so chuffed to be welcoming our latest tenants Sarah Thackray and Catherine Coulter who run their own events and conference management company, BeaconHouse Events. The highly experienced duo has organised some high profile events here in the North East and internationally, including the Great North Run Pasta Party (can you imagine feeding 22,000 runners!), IT and software conference Dynamo North East which was attended by 300 delegates, and a whole host of annual conferences and away days including the World Conference of Science Journalists in Qatar.
The BeaconHouse Events team is rightly proud of their achievements so far, since setting up the business just a few short years ago, and particularly pride themselves on offering intelligent solutions for events and conferences, making sure clients can avoid the pressure that comes with planning and holding an event, whilst making sure their goals and expectations are exceeded. BeaconHouse Events is involved at every step of the way - from financial and feasibility planning to contingency and logistics planning, managing speakers and all aspects of delivery on the day. You can find out more about the company here.
Their biggest piece of advice on event planning? Expect the unexpected! That's sound advice for us all, is it not. We'll no doubt be calling on Sarah and Catherines' advice for our conference customers here at Clavering House in the future too!
In the meantime, here's a big Clavering House hello to BeaconHouse Events.
Win a sizzling hot desk in Newcastle for the Summer
Enter our free competition and you could win a hot desk in Newcastle for seven whole weeks over the Summer holiday period.
This is the perfect prize for anyone spending some time in the city over the Summer and looking for somewhere that has WiFi and coffee, but that's a more productive place to work than the local Starbucks. Clavering House Business Centre's hot-desk and Coworking space is also ideal if you usually work from home and need a bolt-hole you can escape to during the school holidays.
You can turn up any time you please, take a desk of your choice, plug in and set to work with no disturbances - other than maybe the opportunity to bump into other Newcastle business owners while you work - Coworking is catching on for people who work for themselves, and if you win a hot desk at Clavering House Newcastle you can give it a try for yourself - for free!
Win a sizzling hot desk in Newcastle
Get in touch by Twitter, facebook or email and tell us why winning a sizzling hot desk in Newcastle would be great for you and your business this Summer. A winner from all entries received by Friday 10th July will be chosen at random and if you're the lucky winner you can move in any time from Monday 13th July until Monday 31st August.
Tweet us now @clavering_house , talk to us on facebook claveringhouse or email admin@claveringhouse.co.uk
Good luck!
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Newcastle virtual office for office furniture business
For any small business that operates virtually the opportunity to keep overheads to a minimum by not having to pay for an office can work wonders for the company's profitability, particularly in the first few years. That still leaves the problem of which address to use on your website, and where to have your deliveries sent, to avoid using your home address. Eric Lloyd decided that a Newcastle virtual office would be the ideal solution for his office furniture business back in September 2014, and Clavering House Business Centre has proven to be the perfect place.
Although a lot of Eric's business is done online, he finds that having his phone calls taken by a professional reception team at Clavering House avoids him needing to take calls while he's out and about on his mobile phone, and definitely gives him the edge by helping him build trust with his customers. He also uses the competitively priced meeting rooms at Clavering House Business Centre to meet local suppliers at their convenience in Newcastle city centre, and that gives him the opportunity to collect his post too when he calls in.
Eric said "Clavering House Business Centre is centrally located in Newcastle so they're ideally located for me, and they offer good value for money meeting facilities too which makes a big difference. I think they're one of those businesses that's small enough to care - we feel welcome and at home when we visit to collect post or to meet suppliers - they offer a great personal service."
Delivering contract furniture consultancy through his business MKT Consult Ltd for a living, and selling contract office furniture through his website Desks Direct, Eric hopes that the virtual office market doesn't catch on too much or he'll need to diversify into home office design! Having said that with over 30 years of experience in all aspects of contract furniture selection we're sure he's up to the job!
Persistence pays off for Clavering House client Pete Wilkinson
I have always known persistence was key and have always believed that in order to succeed you have to persist!
Well after much persistence I achieved a major goal last week that has been on my list for a few years.
On Monday 23rd March I travelled to Birmingham for The Chairmans Dinner of The Academy For Chief Executives. I have been delivering my signature workshop ‘The World’s Best One Page Action Plan’ with them for a few months now. I have received excellent feedback and refined my delivery based on that feedback. As we finished dinner the Chief Executive of ACE Andrew Morris addressed everyone and then announced the most influential speakers of 2014. I was delighted to to learn that I had been awarded the “Best New Speaker Award”. This is a great honour and goes to show how far persistence can take you.
On Thursday 26th March I travelled to London for Vistage’s Annual Speaker Award in the lovely Sky Bar right next to St. Paul’s Cathedral. After having a nice Champagne reception (I broke a little rule and drank on a school night) I spent the next hour or so of the evening talking with the other speakers and Chairs in attendance. Then at about 9pm the official speaker awards began. I have been speaking with Vistage for over a year now and absolutely love being a motivational keynote speaker on focus with them. The last awards of the evening was for the few speakers who consistently ‘out-perform’ the expectation and receive scores overall of over 90% in most of their talks and workshops. Vistage awarded 5 such speakers for 2014 and I was amazed to be named as an “Out-Performer 2014.” That was 2 speaking awards in the same week, what a result! To put this in context when I first joined Vistage I attended their awards evening in September 2013. I saw 6 speakers that year win an ‘out-performers’ award and realised they were the top of tree. Again with persistence, and taking on board feedback, my current workbook is version 7.7, I joined those at the top of their profession and became an ‘out-performer’ myself!
I’d like to say that it was a straight road to get here, it wasn’t. I’d like to say that every step was easy, it wasn’t. I’d like to say that everyone I asked to help me did, they didn’t.
The key thing is that if you believe in what you do, genuinely want to help others and be of service and value and you demonstrate persistence you can achieve what you set out to achieve. It is not always easy or straightforward but it is possible.
Remember persistence is key.
Another factor to consider is that you should check the quality of your team. These are the people around you that help you to be your best. I have a great team, everyone is an A player. Plus I have to say that although I am all over the country at present flying into Southampton and Birmingham zooming over to Belfast and then into London its great to have a professional base in which to reflect and work ‘on’ my business. Clavering Business Centre is where I’m based and receive excellent value and support so I can concentrate on being the best motivation keynote speaker on focus that I can be.
Make sure you look at your team and operation and ensure they deliver for you!
Lastly never, ever give up, persistence is key!
Great news from Clavering House client E-Therapeutics
We are so pleased to have read a positive news story in today's Journal newspaper about our long-standing client E-Therapeutics which is a drug development company based in our Newcastle Business Centre.
Progress accelerates at Newcastle drug discovery firm E-Therapeutics as R and D spend increases to £8.5m
"North East drug development company E-Therapeutics beefed up their research and development spend by 60% in the last year to more than £8m, as progress accelerates both clinically and in drug discovery ..."
Read the full story in The Journal here
Image source: The Journal
Photo studio now open at Clavering House
We've quickly developed a reputation here at Clavering House Business Centre for making business space work for pretty much any business, and finding a studio space for our brand new tenant Sarah Deane Photography has been our latest project!
The studio really does have to be seen to be believed. In this Grade II listed building we have so many features and quirky spaces, and Sarah has made an amazing job of creating a basement studio for her Newcastle Photography business in one of them. As well as holding her photo-shoots in the studio, Sarah's also planning to hire it out to amateur and professional photographers too, so get in touch if you'd like to know more.
To read Sarah's take on her move into Clavering House Business Centre, and see some fabulous photographs of her new Clavering House studio that she describes as her "cave", CLICK HERE