Small start-up businesses can project a professional image to prospective clients by making use of IT outsourcing firms.

GoResponse, which provides high-class call handling services, said that outsourcing virtual office spaces can help get start-ups, which often have no need for extensive office space, off the ground.

Spokesperson for Go Response, Geoff Kirby, said: "What [outsourcing] does is give flexibility to the start-up business. They can cope with whatever hits them, especially when someone is starting out, it makes good sense."

He added that as well as expertise outsourcing firms can help start-ups give clients an impression that they have been around longer than they have.

"The main thing for most small start-ups is they don't want to look like a small start-up, they want to present a professional appearance to the outside world and being able to offer, for example a reception service, is a way of doing this," Geoff explained.

A virtual office is a term for shared office services, which can include business addresses, mail services, phone services, fax services, answering services, web-hosting services, and meeting and conference facilities.

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