Unpopular Opinion: Skip the Middleman and Watch Your Virtual Office Profits Soar
Virtual Offices can unlock big profits — but only if you cut out the middleman. Learn how we doubled industry margins by going direct.
- Carolina Nieves
- June 6, 2025
Let’s be honest—Virtual Offices are one of the best ways to grow your coworking space without adding square footage. But here’s something most people don’t tell you:
If you want to make real money with Virtual Offices, skip the middleman.
We’ve tested it ourselves. At PilotoMail, we built a thriving Virtual Office business using our Freedom from Square Feet™ method, and in the process, we reached twice the average profit margins of the coworking industry. But none of that would have been possible if we had stayed signed up with all the Virtual Office aggregators out there.
Why We Chose to Go Direct
Yes, having leads handed to you sounds great. But what we learned early on is that relying on platforms to send you clients actually slows you down and chips away at your bottom line.
Here’s what we experienced—and why we decided to take control:
1. Too Much Work, Not Enough Money
Every platform came with its own way of doing things, and we had to keep adjusting our internal processes to fit theirs. Worse? Many were taking 50–70% of the revenue. That math just didn’t work.
2. Prices Got Too Low
When everyone’s trying to be the cheapest, nobody wins. Aggregators slashed prices across the board, and suddenly, we were in a race to the bottom. That’s not the game we wanted to play.
3. Our Brand Took the Hit
When something went wrong (and it often did), customers blamed us—even though they weren’t really our clients. We had no control over their experience, but it still hurt our reputation. Not worth it.
4. Clients Didn’t Stick Around
Leads from platforms weren’t as loyal. They came in fast, but churned fast too. When we brought in our own clients, we noticed they stayed longer and spent more.
5. Compliance Became a Headache
Even though the clients came through a platform, we were still on the hook for compliance. If you’re not careful (or if your tech isn’t up to speed), it’s easy to fall out of alignment with USPS requirements—and that can cost you big time.
It’s Not as Hard as You Think
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of going after Virtual Office clients on your own, you’re not alone. It’s a different sales process than renting desks or offices—but it’s 100% worth learning.
And if you’re ready to give it a shot but aren’t sure where to begin, we’ve got you.
Email us and we’ll send you everything we’ve learned over the last 11 years: our process, our tools, and how we built a high-margin, high-growth VO business from scratch.
About PilotoMail
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PilotoMail is a mail management platform that creates recurring revenue streams for mailrooms through postal mail handling automation, and virtual mailboxes for the remote workforce. Property managers, coworking spaces, mail centers & registered agents can handle large volumes of mail efficiently, comply with all postal regulations, and increase revenue from their existing footprint effortlessly.