Is the shopfront office a thing of the past?
As the profession moves towards a more online and hybridised approach to work, does this spell the end of the brick-and-mortar firm?
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We have used a virtual office for over seven years now. Our address is a local business centre who also answer the phones and have meeting rooms that we use for a fixed fee. Apart from allowing us to work from home the the cost is significantly less than we paid for a physical office there.
I wouldn't want to be exclusively home based as we still need to host client meetings. It would be a bit pervy asking a female client to "come up to my spare bedroom". Being exclusively home based would also result in unwanted clients showing up at the door unannounced at all hours.
Going back even further we had a high street office on a very busy road with a 6 metre wide sign and almost no walk in's. I don't think this was particularly effective at driving custom as when we received an enquiry it was predominantly a referral or the result of a Google search.
No
But then I said that last time
Have you asked the big 4 if they are getting rid of their buildings? If they are then the next KPMG article will need a new photo
Yes I think this is as polarising as Brexit as some people love it some will always struggle with it. I guess it depends on what else goes on in your household.
My house is very busy and I find it very difficult to focus for long periods of time if doing something that needs concentration. In the lockdowns I felt I was at my desk for 10/12 hours to produce 8 hours of decent work as there were that many interruptions.
I also found that as there was nothing to do in lockdown, you just ended up doing more work which is not great, it was more "living at work" than "working from home".
I am currently commuting to work 4 days per week and work from home on a Friday but looking at renting an office in Northumberland and will maybe come to Durham 1 day per week for any meetings and work from Northumberland the rest of the time. I would always keep my Durham office as a virtual address as works well for SEO.
That's quite a trek Glenn, equivalent of one working day a week in the car. Good opportunity to make those irritating phone calls. Unless you're setting off at 6 in the morning.
Yes its far from ideal, I guess I am a little worried after 30 years operating in Durham that referrals may drop off if I am no longer present, but that might be just over thinking. I am still testing the water on it.
The office I have found in Alnwick is not available until the Autumn as it has a bat problem apperently such is the real world problems that come with country living.
We must catch up for that pint sometime in town one night maybe go to Above, where can you try your "Do you wanna go upstairs line"
"Surprisingly, the responses were largely in favour of having a physical workplace outside of the home office"
I must confess that I wasn't surprised in the least.
Nor me
But Aweb tend to be driven by cloud providers promising MTD and digital combined saving £17,000 per year, digital nomads and WFH is the new normal.
We both deal with real life people not future fantasies
If anything I would say that high streets will increasingly have fewer shops and more offices. My firm moved into former bank premises a few years ago when the branch shut and I know of a number of other professional firms that have done similar - there seems to be few other takers for high street property. WFH is fine, but as I see it the main reasons you need a physical office is (i) clients get comfort knowing you are established and have a tangible presence somewhere, and so you are more likely to attract bigger clients (ii) if you are training staff, WFH is not feasible. We get very, very few walk-ins.
What I get is walk bys. Potential client then uses email or telephone to make contact.
I usually ask clients why me and it is prodominantly referral, followed by 'I have walked/driven past', with website so far behind as to be trivial.
My website is a PracticeWEB one, a part of the same group as Aweb
We get plenty of website referrals, so maybe have a look at your website to see if it is optimised for your target audience?
We get zero "walk ins" and only a very few "driven past" type benefits.
Work comes first from client referrals and then from our direct contact with prospects.
Word of mouth is very powerful, so we have to turn away some work....
We have a shopfront office, clear views inside along with a shared office space in the centre of town and a web presence.
All 3 work really well and without a shopfront office we would not have about 35% of our clients. Its also good for local businesses to know they have a place they can pop into and meet the team to discuss any queries. It also feels more real for clients to see a physical venue rather than a home office..
It not a solution for everyone I admit - we are in a low commercial rent area but get plenty of walk ins and are noticed by people driving past.
I would actively look for vacated bank buildings in our local area in the future as we expand.
I'm not trying to be flippant or condescending but do you not find the quality of client you pick up from walk ins is a lower class, higher maintenance client. You may be based in a more affluent town centre but every other, possibly more, shops in the nearest town centre to me is a takeaway or bargain basement business. These businesses typically expect you to work for peanuts and want you to drop everything the minute they shout. There used to be 3 accountants within 1/4 of a mile of each other here and they have all disappeared now. I've thought about a shopfront office a few times but decided the costs involved, the clients it would attract and the additional irritation it would lumber me with are not worth it.
I have been a partner then a sole practitioner for 40 years now. Almost all my decent new business has come from referrals from existing clients. The very few walk-ins have been a waste of time. I have not advertised for years.
I have a very small, inconspicuous high street office. I keep it for three main reasons: to separate home from work; insufficient space to work at home; and I don't want to work alone.
That is spot on.
I am in the same position for the same reason.
Working from home during the pandemic was a bit like a jail sentence - fantastic when you get out and can speak to people face to face again.
Not, I should add, that I speak from personal experience in respect of the jail sentence!!
That is spot on.
I am in the same position for the same reason.
Working from home during the pandemic was a bit like a jail sentence - fantastic when you get out and can speak to people face to face again.
Not, I should add, that I speak from personal experience in respect of the jail sentence!!
Good to see this article Will, since it is close to my heart.
Also, I am finding the response helpful.
It is still wait and see for me, on which way I will go.