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Legal Support Lets Lawyers Do What They Do Best – Practice Law

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Ricardo Meza

The average lawyer in the continental United States spends just 2.5 hours a day on billable work, according to the 2019 Legal Trends Report by Clio, a law firm software provider. Practice time is often lost to administrative work that could be handled more efficiently by staff. With the right support, lawyers are able to boost their productivity and focus on growing their practices. 

With more than 700 lawyers in Amata’s network, Tisha enjoys working on a wide variety of matters. Attorney Ricardo Meza, a former federal prosecutor and owner of Meza Law, is now practicing from Amata’s 161 N. Clark office and has asked Tisha to help on a number of matters.  Ricardo has found Tisha to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the various projects and looks forward to her contributions.   

TISHA DELGADO | AMATA LEGAL SUPPORT TEAM

Tisha Delgado, Amata’s director of legal support services and a senior paralegal, works to ensure that the lawyers in Amata’s Chicago network get the assistance they need. Tisha, who has 24 years of paralegal experience and is president of the Chicago Paralegal Association, said she and her team focus on understanding each individual attorney’s needs and “pain points.” 

Tisha’s efforts often go beyond paralegal work. She has helped lawyers become more technologically savvy—and productive—by teaching them how to take full advantage of software and advanced application capabilities, including the suite of Microsoft Office. Amata’s additional legal support services include receptionists, and administrators who can help with tasks like scanning documents and court filings. “At Amata, you have your own office, and you’re not alone,” Tisha said. 

Terri Brieske, who practices family law from Amata’s 77 West Wacker Drive location, especially appreciates the support of paralegal Diana Garcia, who she works with regularly. Brieske often relies on her to review documents before they go out the door to ensure that there is a fresh review by a reader of the document’s contents. For example, when an opposing counsel put the wrong case number on a court document, Garcia caught it, saving billable time in the event the document was misdirected.

Terri Brieske

This professionalism is evident across the legal support services team. “Paralegals and administrative staff are always available to help—and when I say ‘always’ I mean always,” Brieske said. On a recent Friday, she had a busy day of meetings. By the time she got home and realized that critical client documents she needed to work on over the weekend had not been delivered, it was 9 p.m. 

With apologies, she called Tisha to see if she could help track down the missing package. “This was after hours on a summer Friday and she could not have been more accommodating,” Brieske said. Tisha traced the package—it had been delivered by the messenger to a business located in Brieske’s building—and Brieske was able to promptly focus on her client’s needs and finalize the emergency petition for a Monday hearing. 

When hiring legal support services staff, Tisha said Amata values experience. “Our attorneys don’t have time to train,” she said. “They need people who get it, and we speak their language.” 

Beyond the demand for legal support services, attorneys in Amata’s legal-centric work environment receive valuable services including: scalability, built-in networking, remote work options, customized contracts, legal services partnerships, a personal-requests portal, webinars, and CLEs.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

How to Get Affordable Support for Your Law Firm

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How to Get Affordable Support for Your Law Firm

Hiring more legal support staff is a catch-22 situation for most attorneys. On the one hand, they are overworked, struggling to keep up with never ending tasks and casework. On the other hand, they have a tight budget.

A new employee is not only a time investment – during the hiring process and training – but a risk. Will they be worth the lost money to the firm? Will there be enough work to keep them occupied eight hours a day? Will revenue ever go back up after investing in this new hire, or will the benefit only be in decreased stress?

Then there’s the ultimate question. Which is more stressful: Having more help but less money to run the firm, or having more money but less help?

If you’re reading this you need support for your law firm. We’ve worked with attorneys for a long time, and over the past twenty years they have shown us that there are more options then simply hiring someone new.

Before Hiring a (New) Permanent Employee for Your Law Firm

Offer overtime to an existing employee or employees

If you have an employee who puts in 6-8 hours a day, ask them to work overtime occasionally to clear more tasks off the to-do list. Be careful you don’t push your employees too hard, though, or this method won’t actually benefit your firm. As this study from John Pencavel, of the Department of Economics, Stanford University, shows more hours logged doesn’t mean more hours worked, especially if the employees are already working long-strings of time without significant breaks.

Offer higher-level training to an existing employee

Your law clerk is a hard worker, but you need the expertise of a paralegal more and more. Your legal secretary is wonderful, but office and client management isn’t as important as the casework piling up on your desk. Before you hire that second employee, you could offer your current one more training.

Putting your law clerk through paralegal training can present a significantly lower cost to your firm versus hiring an additional employee. Plus, you’ll receive the added time benefit of avoiding hiring and training processes. Your current employee already knows you, your business, your priorities, and your clients. Invest in them first, and the benefits can be astounding.

Hire on-demand support with virtual paralegal services, virtual CFOs or more

Whether it’s for paralegal support, billing & collections assistance, or even a part-time, case-by-case attorney, hiring exactly who you need for only the time you need them is the most straight-forward way to find affordable legal support. This solution is not always easy, though. On-demand support is cost-effective and provides great benefits to your firm, but this support comes via a contracted employee and therefore they may not always be available. Which means the person you work with could change more often than you’d like.

If you hire on-demand support, find someone with great references, and make sure you inquire about their objectives. Are they doing this because they are trying to pay bills during law school? Because they can’t find full-time work? Or because they like the case-diversity the role provides? This can help you find someone who will provide longevity. A new law school student could be a great hire in a few years, but the contractor who is simply having a hard time in the job market could provide instability once they do land their dream job.

When to Hire a New Employee

At first you think it’s just a “tight period.” A couple months of low resources and high demand. You keep your head down and work hard, knowing that with enough overtime the path will clear, the demands will slow down.

But the tight period does not seem to wane. Because it’s not a tight period. Your practice is doing well and your demand has superseded the quantity of people at your firm (whether it’s a count of one – yourself – or twenty). Now is the time to hire. Your new employee will help not only relieve stress, but take on a size-able portion of the work. They will be worth the money. And because your firm is growing, you will see the return on investment from spending time training this new hire. Take the leap and get the legal support you need and deserve.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Do You Need a CFO for Your Law Firm?

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Do You Need a CFO for Your Law Firm?

Your law firm provides necessary services to your community. And while your focus should be on providing the best legal advice to your clients, sometimes you might feel like you also need to be a tax and human resources expert as well. It is easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is concentrate on your law work.

How can you focus on what you do best and still run a viable firm?

One option includes expanding your workdays into 24/7 marathons as you to try to handle everything by yourself. Or, you can hire individuals with other business specializations to handle all of these different tasks for you, which can get expensive if you’re a small firm.

Consider hiring a virtual CFO.

Administrative help is an important cornerstone of any business, but these administrative tasks take up lots of valuable time that you could spend doing plenty of other important work. If you decide to tackle all of these tasks yourself, you quickly will realize that financial statements, tax planning, forecasting, cash flow, and payroll create far more work than one person can reasonably do. The typical solution for lawyers is to hire both an accountant and an administrative assistant, but adding these salaries to your payroll can place a burden on your growing firm, even if the results are beneficial in the long run.

For a more economical solution, outsource these tasks to a virtual CFO. This is a service that specializes in all the professional knowledge required to handle the business aspect of your law firm. Often, these services charge a reasonable flat annual rate for their high levels of accuracy and professionalism. If you believe this safe and affordable way of obtaining administrative and financial help can enable you to better run your law firm, check out the options for working with a virtual CFO.

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How to “Right-Size” Your Law Firm

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How to "Right-Size" Your Law Firm

Some firms euphemistically call downsizing right-sizing because it enables them to alter their workforce according to the amount of business they’re currently generating. The staff-to-work ratio is deemed “right” and the workforce is the “right size” for the firm, hence the more upbeat lingo.

An even more optimistic interpretation of right-sizing is called “flexible” right-sizing.

Flexible right-sizing means providing alternative work arrangements to associates or support staff rather than laying them off or downsizing during slow periods. This method helps firms scale down or up, depending on the demand for services, without losing valuable employees.

If you’re looking to right-size, but not let anyone go, consider offering support staff the following:

  1. Sabbaticals or furloughs are unpaid time off. They may be offered to staff who would be difficult to replace or they may be suitable for seasonal employees when the firm anticipates that the slowdown in work may be temporary.
  2. Telework allows associates to work from home. Some firms find that by allowing more of their staff to make work-from-home arrangements, they can shift to smaller offices and save on leases and related expenses without sacrificing productivity. In fact, some firms find that productivity goes up. And with specialized Virtual Office phone programs, your workers can still maintain their business lines with their mobile!
  3. Reducing the number of days worked per week may shift some full-time associates and support staff to part-time hours, or it may further decrease part-time hours.
  4. Job sharing arrangements involve two employees who share one available position. Job sharing may coincide with flextime, in which your staff can work flexible hours according to their availability and job needs. This is ideal for people such as paralegals who may work with other lawyers and firms, and are not always available.

Flexible right-sizing isn’t always an option though. If you’re downsizing as you move to your own solo practice, then consider virtual assistants, who can work on-demand and allow you to maintain the right amount of support staff for incoming casework.

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Amata Brings More Opportunities for the Firms of the Future

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Law Firms – How Big is Too Big for Law Office Suites

Over the past five years, the landscape has dramatically changed in terms of what today’s practicing attorneys consider to be viable, and logistical, space for their firm.

Law Offices Changing with the Times

Traditionally speaking, law firms elected to have their own office spaces, which meant signing a non-flexible lease with a building. However, such is not the case these days.

Technology has many attorneys working remotely, greatly reducing the need for an office dedicated to every attorney in the firm.

Eliminating Large Overhead Costs

For instance, Amata has a fourteen-attorney firm here in Chicago where the attorneys reserve the use of our Amata offices in advance. Between them, they share ten offices, and because they are all rarely in the office at the same time, it allows the firm to keep their office costs down while continuing to grow their practice. The firm maintains an ongoing option to add or remove an office as the needs of their firm change.

Coworking Becomes Commonplace

We live in a business environment where coworking has become the norm for small companies and large corporations alike. It seems only natural that attorneys would want to adapt to this new reality and reap the profitable, worthwhile benefits of shared office spaces.

“So while the world around the legal profession is changing dramatically, few lawyers are making changes to the way they practice law.” – Law Practice Today

The old adage says lawyers are slow to change, and that may still be a true statement, but the firms that will lead the way in the future are quickly moving to play by new rules.

Shared Office Space – Not a Foreign Concept

In many ways, solo and small law practices have already been sharing office space with larger firms for years, so the concept is not totally new.

However, this traditional way of sharing space with larger firms can present several very real, very big problems for those smaller practices.

Traditional Law Firm Space May Leave Your Firm Stranded

The biggest problem is that you may get kicked out with short notice when that large firm you’re sharing space with needs more space for their own growth.

Trying to scramble to find a suitable place at an affordable cost that’s still convenient to your current clients as well as your own needs becomes increasingly difficult when you’re juggling a crunched timeframe.

Another downside to this arrangement is that the larger practice is focused on promoting themselves, not you within the space.

Traditional Law Firm Space Poses Problems for Your Firm’s Expansion

Another rather large issue that should be addressed is when a mid-sized firm takes traditional space with plans to grow. Normally, they will sign a long-term lease for more space than the practice currently needs with plans to add attorneys and staff in the future.

But when those plans don’t materialize as quickly as planned, the firm ends up playing the role of landlord, forced to find other tenants to occupy the empty space until they need it for their own firm.

In the real estate world this “empty space” is referred to as “shadow space”.

Playing Landlord Isn’t Using Assets to Your Advantage

Perhaps the worst part of this process is the fact that the attorney leaseholder rarely has the experience and knowledge of the market and therefore ends up charging tenant-attorney rates below cost, covering the balance with income from the law practice.

At the end of the day, are you practicing law to cover the cost of excess space? Isn’t there a better way to utilize this excess income?

Amata Law Office Suites Provides the Solutions

Amata Law Office Suites is office space designed specifically for attorneys, providing the comradery, connections, and atmosphere attorneys enjoy without the overhead for unused space and long-term equipment lease, reducing the risk of operating a law practice.

You Can Grow and Downsize Your Law Firm as Needed with Amata

As your firm grows at Amata you are easily able to add office space, controlling your costs and incidentally, being aware of your exact cost to add an associate or staff member.

If times become hard for your practice and you need to reduce, you have the option of removing office space to keep your costs in line with your revenue.

Amata Offers Perks You Won’t Find in a Traditional Firm Setting

At Amata Law Office Suites, we’ve been supporting attorneys for over twenty years, so we understand the things you and your clients truly want and need. These are just a few of the perks Amata provides that you won’t get in a traditional firm setting:

  • Lead and Referral Generation
    Amata places great importance on providing a road for your firm’s success. We host numerous attorney networking events throughout the year where you can gain high-quality leads that are often pre-qualified.
  • On-Site Paralegals, Ready to Assist
    Not ready to expand your firm’s staff yet but still need some extra hands on deck? The paralegals located at Amata Law Office Suites are incredibly trained and ready when you need them.
  • Professional, Trained Reception
    Our reception at Amata raises the bar for all others. Professional to the core, they greet your clients and screen your calls so you can focus on the casework you need to.
  • Exclusive Marketing Exposure
    Amata loves nothing more than to proudly support and promote our members. We offer opportunities that include getting published in Attorney-At-Law Magazine, guest blogging at Amata, and more!
  • Flexibility for Every Budget
    Why pay for space you don’t need? Add an attorney or staff member, add an office or workstation; lose an attorney or staff member, remove the cost of the space with a one-month notice. Pay for only what you need, when you need it, and increase your profits. Amata Law Office Suites features plans built-to-suit so you can run your firm more efficiently, including virtual and telecommuting packages!

Place your law office where it should be – with Amata Law Office Suites.

For more information, give us a call us at 312-741-1000, or complete the form below.

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You’re a Lawyer, Not an Office Manager

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How many dedicated hours did you spend to become the attorney you are today? My guess is, more than you would like to remember. During those countless hours, were you also studying to become a property manager? No? Why is it then that attorneys continue to find themselves wasting time focusing on filling open law office space in Chicago for the building they’re leasing when they could be working on actual billable hours? For those in pursuit of a law office that allows you the time and financial means needed to focus on what’s important – the work of your firm – there’s a better way.

Consider the pitfalls of purchasing or leasing your own building (apart from the obvious astronomical costs involved):

1. Property Management

More than likely, the space where you house your law office also includes extra space not being used, and that space is eating a hole in your pocket every month. In order to stop losing money with empty space, you’re forced to become a property manager, taking valuable time away from your client work, and adding more to your resume than you have time for.

  • Advertise: More money and time is burned while you advertise your open space for lease.
  • Interview: Finding the right attorney to adjoin with your space can be difficult, especially when they should be someone you can look to for collaboration or sharing referrals.
  • Onboarding: There’s still time, and thus money, spent in onboarding the proper attorney in Chicago.

2. Reception

My guess is, you also didn’t go to school to spend numerous extra hours each week answering phones and taking messages instead of handling your client work and focusing your time on billable hours. If you’re a Chicago attorney in your own law office building, this is another detail you will have to handle.

  • Greet Clients: Someone has to do it, and if you aren’t putting even more of your income towards staff, that someone is you.
  • Field Calls: When you aren’t spending your time answering the phones, you’re spending it checking the messages.
  • Hiring Reception: If you do hire someone, unless you’re paying a sizeable wage, you’re likely to wind up with constant turn-over, causing you to lose even more billable hours in training new staff.

3. Revolving Door

You’ve occupied your empty space and are now, hopefully, at least breaking even on the yearly expenses for your law office space. However, there’s another major downside to leasing out space; no guarantee of your tenants staying. Once they leave, you must begin the process all over again.

The solution: Choose a Coworking Space for Attorneys instead. Aside from the considerable savings, coworking spaces offer:

    1. Pay for What You Need: Having a coworking space for attorneys in Chicago doesn’t have to mean losing your private office. In fact, you still get to enjoy a private office, but you stop wasting money that goes to the extra space you don’t use.
    2. Reception is Included: With Amata Law Office Suites, quality reception is a no-brainer. That’s why we include that service for our clients at no extra charge. Aside from not having to answer incoming calls and take your own messages, you can trust that the reception staff members are staples in our office spaces. We train and pay them well to ensure they stick around, and you and your clients don’t have to worry about turn-over.
    3. Network of Attorneys: It can be hard to find the right fit when looking for one or two other attorneys to fill your law office space in Chicago. Utilizing a coworking space for attorneys through Amata Law Office Suites allows you a large network of attorneys with which to collaborate, and we host regular networking events exclusively for attorneys to offer your firm the best chance of success in this business.

Make the move and start truly investing in your practice. Amata Law Office Suites provides you the ability to never have to worry about property management again, so you can focus on just being an attorney.

While you’re at it, check out why attorneys in Chicago are choosing coworking spaces over traditional private office buildings.

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Telecommute and Open Up Your Options As a Working Attorney

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Telecommute and Open Up Your Options As a Working Attorney

Updated: 2/27/18

“I am breaking away from my big law firm to practice law my own way. But a permanent office is not in my budget.”

“As a solo practicing attorney, I only want to commute to the city when necessary.”

“My family is important and I need to spend more time at home without giving up my practice or taking time off.”

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

Amata Law Offices can provide the solutions you need.

Yes, this is blatant self-promotion for Amata Law Office Suites, but only because we have over two decades of experience working for our attorney clients who in turn have helped us shape our company to better support them.

Providing Chicago Attorneys with Options

Self-promotion aside, I want to start this article by pointing out that the most important aspect of our centers is actually a concept built directly into the structure of all shared office space, ours and our competitor’s alike, and that’s the ability to give attorneys options.

So many options, in fact, that we need to narrow down the conversation just to explain how flexible a shared office space truly is.

Flexibility of Telecommuting

Let’s start where most small practices do and talk, not about renting space, but about telecommuting.

When you break telecommuting down, you have two immediate pros: The days you don’t commute to the office will save you time and money, and when you do commute you have options.

Pros of Telecommuting for Attorneys

Like all choices you make for your business, telecommuting has its pros and cons, but the biggest pro is the amount of choices it provides to burgeoning and established practices alike.

Access to Multiple Locations

Through all of our programs, for instance, our clients have access to every Amata center to work, receptionist services, and to meet with clients and partners, no matter which center they decide is their firm’s mailing address.

Convenience When You Commute

If you are coming into the city solely for a deposition, book a conference room at our 150 South Wacker office, a mere twenty feet from Union Station.

Spending the morning at court but need a small room to meet with a client in the afternoon? We have two locations a block from the Daley Center.

And when the kids have a day off school all of Amata’s offices can provide you a quiet cafe or solitary day office to work in.

Eliminating the Cons of Telecommuting for Attorneys

On the con side, bouncing ideas off fellow attorneys is part of the fun of a law firm practice, and if you are leaving a bigger firm to start your own you may find you miss that daily interaction.

A Large Group of Attorneys To Interact With

For the tenants at our 180 North LaSalle office one of the highlights is ending the day catching up with attorneys over a glass of wine in the Cognac room; brilliant attorney and masterful storyteller, Paul Goodman, makes me laugh every time we grab a drink. Not all clients are able to join in such impromptu weekly rituals and for telecommuting clients this is especially so.

Exclusive Attorney Networking Events

To combat this, we work to create opportunities for all our lawyers to have the community experience by organizing dozens of events throughout the year, from casual attorney socials after work to grander scale river cruises, and we have even gone so far as to build an online community that allows attorneys to network no matter where they choose to be. Whether they prefer working at home in the Chicago suburbs, or even at home in a completely different state.

Telecommuting Options for Locals and Non-Locals Alike

Yes, you read that correctly. Telecommuting is not just an option for new or small law firms. When you have put your years in and finally decide to pursue that isolated cabin in the woods, telecommuting allows you to continue doing the work you love.

A few years ago, one of my best friends moved just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, yet he still maintains his successful law practice in Chicago, which boasts three attorneys and two support staff. He choose to commute 2-3 days each week and spend the rest of the days working at home in Tennessee.

He retained the physical space he needed for its Chicago employees, as well as the shared office space’s built-in manager who deals with all the nitty gritty: the phone system, the copier, office supplies and shredder and any issues that may come up with them all.

But now when the receptionist processes his calls, his clients are transferred to his cellphone even while his coworkers still maintain their physical phones, and we forward and scan his mail wherever he needs, at his request.

Make Telecommuting Work For You

Telecommuting is just one, small example of how Amata Law Office Suites can work for you and your firm. Speaking from many years of experience as a shared office space provider, I can offer a few tips:

As you begin your search you will find that people and writers like to argue about the layout of shared office space — open vs. closed.

As Jacob Morgan points out in his article Five Things You Need To Know About Telecommuting, the debates are absolutely pointless. I will reiterate the fact I opened this article up with: all shared office spaces are built to provide options, it’s implicit in its design.

What you really need to pay attention to when searching for your perfect space are the details.

Does the office atmosphere boost your company image when clients come to visit?

What if your firm were to grow so big taking traditional space was more affordable; would you be able to take your established phone number with you when you leave?

These are questions you must ask before signing any contract.

But if you are just starting out, and haven’t even thought about the details of a contract yet, I have one simple tip: pay attention to who the shared office space chooses as their partners.

If they aren’t partnering with business that are meant to help you and your firm grow, then maybe you should keep looking.

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Ron Bockstahler is the CEO of Amata Holdings, LLC and managing broker for Amata Realty Group. His companies have served the legal community for over 30 years and Ron regularly consults with attorneys on business development and space needs. You can contact Ron at [email protected] or call him at (312) 924-0204.

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The Need for a Virtual Office

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We Are A Full-Service Support Solution For Professionals

Chicago_Virtual_Office_Defined

With today’s rapidly evolving technology, it is increasingly common for businesses to embrace the virtual or work life. Virtual office users range from early stage start-ups looking to grow their presence without overextending their budgets, to established businesses that are gradually expanding. No matter your type of company, a virtual office can provide you with the amenities of a complete office and set you up for a success.

Benefits Of A Virtual Office

Leasing and maintaining an independent office for your business can become costly, depending on the stage of your business and its growth plan. Why strain yourself or your budget when a virtual office reduces overhead cost, increases flexibility for meeting and staffing needs, and provides access to class-A building services when needed. Here are a few benefits a virtual office can provide:

  • Virtual Phone Answering Service: A personalized call answering program promotes work productivity. This cost-effective program allows you to prioritize workflow while never missing an important business or client call. Amata provides a personalized call answering service for your business with an after-hours auto attendant and a designated number for call forwarding.
  • Phone Automation: Automation is an interactive voice response system that interacts with callers. It allows businesses to respond to customers promptly and in an organized manner. Once the appropriate information is given to the customer, a member from your team may reach out in a more personal response. This is a great service for small businesses when competing against larger businesses to create a personalized customer experience.
  • Virtual Access: Virtual access gives your business the opportunity to grow with access to a shared office space, coworking rooms, common areas, cafés, and conference rooms during standard office hours. Amata offers a virtual access package, which is perfect for people who work remotely, such as frequent business travelers andthose with a home-based office who require the professional appearance of a formal office.
  • Prestigious Business Address: A prestigious business address projects a professional image to your clients while you work from home. This is a great option for those whose business is not yet ready to rent an actual office space. Amata gives you the option to choose from one of six prestigious business addresses to impress your clients on paper. As an added bonus, mailing addresses also allow you access to common areas, cafés, and coworking rooms.
  • Conference Rooms: A virtual office gives you discounted access to conference rooms where you can conduct meetings or conference calls. Give your business a professional appearance and some of downtown Chicago’s best views when you have meetings with potential business partners or clients. Amata provides multiple conference rooms in every center. Book your room here.

Work Smarter Not Harder

As large corporations transition employees to remote work positions, the playing field is leveled a bit more for small market businesses and entrepreneurs. Now, both employees of large and small companies can enjoy greater work-life balance through the convenience of a virtual office. Reduce time and money wasted on daily commute. If your business is looking to conserve budget or gain an additional location without entering into a lease, a virtual office space is right for you.

See if a virtual office is right for your business. Contact Amata for information about the virtual office plan.

As your business weighs the importance of the image it projects through its office presentation and location, make sure you take charge of its online reputation. Continue read this helpful article for more insight: Take Control Of Your Online Reputation.

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How To Know When You’ve Outgrown Your Home Office

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How To Know When You’ve Outgrown Your Home Office

Does your kitchen table double as your desk? If you’re having a hard time separating your personal life from your professional life, it could be time to find a new space for your home-based business. While home offices are often a good fit for startups, allowing entrepreneurs to save on rent and other expenses, they present challenges once a company starts to bring on employees and land its first clients, according to this recent article from Mashable.

With everything from barking dogs to crying babies, home offices can be full of distractions, making it difficult for small, start-up businesses to maintain a professional image. A living room isn’t the same as a conference room, and a bedroom isn’t the same as a private office. Home offices also lack the professional exposure of a commercial office with street traffic and, due to their isolated nature, don’t facilitate collaboration with other entrepreneurs. Additionally, heavy foot traffic from employees can be a red flag to homeowners associations and possibly affect your homeowners or renters insurance, creating unnecessary headaches at a time when you’re trying to grow your company, according to the article.

If you aren’t ready to commit to traditional office space, shared office providers like Amata Office Centers are a great, affordable alternative. In addition to offering you private, professional office space, our facilities feature a variety of common areas like state-of-the-art conference rooms and on-site cafés that are ideal for face-to-face meetings with clients, who may be uncomfortable talking about business deals in your family’s dining room. Another less visible perk of shared office suites is the built-in professional network that comes with each center, making it easy for entrepreneurs to work together to solve common problems.

But a shared office suite isn’t the only way to boost your professional image. For those who want to take a smaller step, a virtual office could be a good starting point. Our virtual office solutions provide professional mail and phone answering services that serve as an extension of your brand, allowing you to have a downtown address while continuing to work from home. You can also rent conference space on an as-needed basis. If you ever decide to move to one of Amata’s Chicago office centers, your company address and phone number will stay the same, making the transition from home to office seamless for you and your clients.

Are you a home-based entrepreneur looking for shared office space in Chicago? Head over to our website to find the plan that’s right for your company. And be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook andLinkedIn for updates about Amata and additional tips for growing your business.

Until next time,

Ron Bockstahler,

CEO & Co-founder

Image By: Tammy Strobel

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