Opening a Business in London
As a world-renowned center of business and finance, the city of London has been a global hotspot for entrepreneurs looking to open up a presence. In recent years, London has been targeted by startups for its favorability to businesses and the various networking opportunities among the city’s diversified industries. Those who are looking to start a business have stiff competition, but also unparalleled opportunity. Nearly 80% of the enterprises in London are considered “micro-businesses,” or those with up to 9 employees, that have taken a lean approach to gaining access to the city’s vast wealth and trade. And of those businesses, the survival rate has been also high, with nearly 40% of businesses operating still doing business years later.
Of course, if you’re a foreign national looking to establish a business presence in London, you should know that Brexit has caused more stringent regulations to be imposed — with an outlook that has been perceived as both positive and negative to the city. This has caused uncertainty for many entrepreneurs looking to establish a physical presence in London, which has some of the highest real estate prices in the world. Furthermore, even if your business is approved and you’re ready to open the doors to new clients, the truth is that your business has to incur significant costs (and risk) before making a single profit.
Is there another alternative?
The answer is yes. Let’s take a look at an even more cost-effective approach than traditional methods that more modern businesses are choosing, UK virtual phone numbers.
A New Method of Opening a Business in London: Virtual Phone Numbers
With new technology enabling businesses to gain customers solely through the Internet, foreign startups and small businesses are turning towards virtual means to gain a foothold in markets like London. The functionality of virtual offices empowers businesses with the ability to avoid a physical presence, as virtual means take care of customer inquiries, transactions, customer support, and many other functions that had necessitated an in-person visit.
Instead, a fully-integrated website serves as “digital real estate,” where customers can get what they want, whether it is a product or service, simply by calling a business or following the steps outlined on a web page. Of course, the key component is virtual phone numbers, which enable businesses and customers to reach your business by phone, no matter where they’re located in the world.
Virtual phone numbers work by routing inbound calls to another phone number seamlessly while retaining the look and functionality of “normal” domestic phone numbers that those in London are used to. For instance, if your business is based in Toronto, you can use UK virtual phone numbers to reach customers in London that choose to call you without the caller receiving long distance charges — or being blocked outright by the restrictions of their service provider. It’s by this process that your Toronto-based business can gain a presence in London while circumventing the high rents, endless congestion, and barriers to entry that make London a frustrating endeavor for foreign nationals.
Further, virtual phone numbers are powered by VoIP and cloud-computing technology, which means that they can add new levels of functionality to how your business operates in London. For instance, your Toronto-based business may only operate during business hours of 9 AM – 5 PM. London is 5 hours ahead, which means that there are only a few hours where your business hours overlap. To rectify this, your business can use “time of day routing,” a popular add-on that allows calls to be routed to another call center during certain hours (i.e. 5 PM – 9 AM) to handle customer inquiries and process transactions. Similarly, if your business is in the fintech or investment industries, you may be required to record calls, which can be done by “call recording,” using an add-on that allows you to record inbound and outbound calls to be compliant with international regulatory organizations.
Of course, not all virtual phone numbers offer the same wide range of services. That’s where using a proven telecommunications provider (for instance, Global Call Forwarding) can bridge the gap and allow your foreign business to operate in London without a physical presence. By using virtual phone numbers in the UK, your business can gain access to London with ease.
Author’s Bio: As a former resident of Finsbury Park and Camden Town, Tom Senkus seeks to share his knowledge of how to navigate the sometimes-confusing streets of London. For more information about his published content and an extensive list of writing services, visit www.tomsenkuswriter.com
