Archive for July, 2010
The Globe and Mail is running an interesting story today on virtual offices and web gadgets. The story chronicles several professionals who are no longer tied to traditional offices. Steve Hampton is one of those professionals.
As the Globe and Mail reports, Hampton is a marketing specialist at BIGLocal.ca, a search engine advertising agency in Ottawa. He runs a virtual office and communicates with his employees and vendors off site. As the story goes, Hampton loves using Skype while on the road. And I’m sure he uses it from his virtual office space as well.
Professionals in many industries use virtual offices and web gadgets hand in hand so they can stay connected with clients while they are on the road, or even on vacation. Virtual office space gives you a permanent, prestigious address, whether in Toronto, Montreal, or Manhattan. Virtual office space also comes with a local or 800 phone number that can follow you anywhere you go in the world.
It’s not just high-tech companies that use virtual offices. Law firms are tapping into the convenience of virtual office space. Small medical practices more and more are turning to virtual receptionists. Even large enterprises are renting virtual office space as they expand into new territories. But combining virtual office space with web gadgets like Google Docs, Skype and Cisco’s WebEx offers the ultimate flexibility.
The Globe and Mail story also offers the example of Rich Hayman, president of Just Moulding Franchising, who now uses a Motorola Droid instead of a laptop or netbook as he travels. Meanwhile, the story reports, Lee Deas of Obviouslee Marketing in Charleston, uses Google Apps to share documents with fellow workers.
The number of virtual technologies and web gadgets are growing. It’s no longer necessary to stay chained to a traditional office space. By combining virtual offices and virtual technologies, you can get more done in less time from wherever you are.
Check out this video on how Google Apps can be a complement to your virtual office space.
Can surfing the web help you lose weight? It’s possible, according to new research from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (KPCHR).
It’s been said that working from home can be detrimental to your weight loss efforts because it’s too easy to get to the kitchen for a snack. But virtual offices facilitate weight loss if Kaiser’s research bears out.
KPCHR designed a web site that blends accountability with sociability. Users in the study logged in once a week to share their weight and how much they exercised. If they didn’t log in, they were politely reminded by e-mail and then an automated phone call. Users could support each other though Internet chat in a Facebook-like setting.
Of the 1,600 overweight or obese users, 350 lost about 19 pounds in the first six months. At the conclusion of the two and a half year study, those users who logged on regularly kept of most of the weight. Although study authors don’t believe the web replaces personal interaction, it seems to work better than going it alone.
Working from home in a virtual office—or living the road warrior lifestyle—can leave you without much accountability in your personal life. Sure, your boss or your clients can see that you are working from your virtual office with presence technologies on Instant Messaging, or by simply calling you on the phone in between flights. Virtual offices can help you be more productive on the business side.
Now, it seems working from a virtual office could also give you the freedom to engage in Internet-based programs that help you stay on track with personal goals. While your employer may not let you sign on to Facebook from work, for example, when you telecommute from a virtual office you can freely log on to Web-based communities that can offer the accountability and sociability you need to support you in just about any goal.
It’s not all about weight loss. There are online communities and accountability partners that can help push you toward your goal in just about any area of your life. Working from a virtual office helps you maximize your time management program because you don’t have to travel to and from work, and helps you maximize your productivity while you are on the road. With the time you save using virtual office technologies, you can even tap into web-based communities to learn new business skills.
Check out this video on exercises you can do from the office:
People who remain seated more than six hours a day are candidates to die earlier—even if you hit the gym after work and even if you aren’t overweight.
So says a study from the American Cancer Society. Specifically, women who sit more than six hours a day are 37 percent more likely to die earlier than those who sit less than three hours a day. Men fared slightly better, with only 17 percent more likely to die earlier. Exercisers did post lower risks, but still were more likely to die than their active counterparts.
“Several factors could explain the positive association between time spent sitting and higher all-cause death rates,” said Dr. Alpa Patel, lead study author. “Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.”
Stand Up!
The authors conclude that public health messages and guidelines should be refined to include reducing time spent sitting in addition to promoting physical activity. Because so many people spends much of their time sitting, people should be encouraged to stand up and walk.
A virtual office may not be the silver bullet to countering the effects of long-sitting, but it can help. Working at home using virtual office technologies gives you more freedom to get up and walk around than you have in a traditional office space. Here are some examples of how a virtual office can help battle the sedentary office life:
1. With virtual office technologies, you can save many hours of sitting in a plane by holding a web conference rather than a traditional meeting. During your web conference you can pace the floor rather than sit.
2. With virtual office technologies in your home office, you can ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes while reviewing paperwork or making incidental phone calls rather than sitting in front of your computer.
3. With virtual office technologies, you are more productive than your traditional office worker counterpart, giving you more time to take a walk after lunch.
As you can see, virtual office space offers freedom that traditional office environments can’t match. Rather than being stuck behind a computer screen all day, virtual office technologies can cut the tether that’s holding you to the desk and allow stay more active—and maybe add years to your life.
It seems everybody wants an iPhone, or some other consumer device. Even business users are eyeing consumer technology these days. So says a study from RSA, the security division of EMC.
The survey looks at the rapid use and adoption of consumer technologies like the iPhone and iPad within the enterprise and the pivotal role users are playing in driving this trend. And this trend goes hand in hand with the use of virtual office space.
“The trend toward leveraging non-corporate-controlled assets and using social media for accessing and distributing information is inevitable,” says Security for Business Innovation Council member David Kent, vice president of Global Risk and Business Resources at Genzyme. “It would be a mistake for any company to put its head in the sand or to dig in its heels; because the tide will be working against you. It would be much better to recognize it and then create the parameters to make it work for you.”
Indeed, with so many executive road warriors traveling from city to city to close the next deal, consumer technologies are sexier than many enterprise platforms. But even consumer mobile technologies alone aren’t enough to keep execs up to speed with communications these days. Long flights, and sometimes even longer layovers, demand innovative ways to keep the communication flowing with clients.
Enter virtual office technologies. Virtual office technologies, like virtual office space and virtual receptionist services, give road warriors maximum flexibility in their quest to keep the lines of communication open. With virtual office space in cities around the world, the traveling executive can tap into the convenience of day offices or conference rooms on demand. And with virtual receptionists, mobile execs don’t have to miss any important calls. Virtual receptionists can handle client calls in a professional manner, complete with offering specifics on availability.
Virtual office technologies also let traveling executives have their calls forwarded automatically to any device or any location where they are staying. The caller never knows the difference. Add to that web conferencing abilities like Cisco WebEx and the mobile executive has a cadre of virtual office technologies to at his fingertips to help him stay productive, even during flight delays.
Check out this video about the rise of virtual office space on CNBC:
When I think of Green Bay, I think of the Packers. But there’s much more to Green Bay than football.
Green Bay is the third largest city in Wisconsin, and has a healthy manufacturing industry, from paper products to food processing to maritime vessels. Green Bay even has a film sound stage. Health services, tourism, durable wholesale trade, and business services are also part of the diverse local economy in Green Bay.
Green Bay has received the nod from some major business magazines over the past few years. Inc. magazine rated Green Bay the “#1 Medium Metro Area” for doing business in 2004 and “4th “Best City Overall” in the United States to start a business in 2005. Entrepreneur magazine rated Green Bay #2 in its “Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs” survey in 2006. Finally, Oprah Winfrey has rated Green Bay the sixth Best Small City in America to raise a family.
Green Bay offers loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of business assistance to companies expanding there. But you may not need tap the economic development arm for much help if you opt for a virtual office space. That’s because virtual offices don’t demand constructing a new facility—or even renting one. Virtual office space lets you expand risk free by taking up virtual residence in a physical location in Green Bay. You can use physical office space if you need it, but you aren’t paying for it if you don’t.
Davinci Virtual has two virtual office facilities in Green Bay. The West Mason Executive Suites is located at 1039 West Mason Street. Virtual office fees start at only $75 a month. Compare that to traditional office costs and the savings are clear. You can also rent virtual office space at the Riverside Executive Center, located at 2050 Riverside Dr., from $75 a month.
When you rent virtual office space, you get a prime business address, mail and package receipt, access to a business support center, a lobby greeter and more. You can use the virtual office as a client drop off or pick up point. And you can have your mail forwarded from there to anywhere you are in the world for a nominal charge. You can also rent day offices and conference rooms on demand. So if you are eyeing Green Bay as a great place to do business, check out how virtual office space can help you establish a quick business presence without breaking the bank.
We focus a lot on virtual offices in the United States on my blog. But I thought it was time to show some love to our operations in the United Kingdom.
Yes, Davinci Virtual is alive and well in the UK—and for good reason. The school holidays have almost arrived in the UK and entrepreneurs are looking for ways to juggle family and business. Missing a phone call or being slow to respond to an e-mail is bad for business in any country. But no worries—Davinci Virtual has virtual office solutions that help you avoid these scenarios with its international locations.
“In this challenging decade you need more than a mobile phone to enable you to stay in touch with your business when you are out of the office,” says Steve Golding, Davinci’s UK General Manager. “Our range of packages provide you with a ‘virtual’ professional presence at prestigious business locations of your choice and our virtual assistants provide live call answering services to ensure that all callers’ enquiries are dealt with professionally and swiftly.”
Davinci’s virtual offices, virtual assistants and virtual office services include local telephone and fax numbers, digital voicemail, electronic fax, e-mail, online command center, unified messaging, voicemail to email, fax to email, professional live receptionist services, virtual assistants, live call answering, screening and forwarding, find me, follow me, surveys, outbound calling, customer service, appointment scheduling, order taking, and much more.
“Calls, faxes, e-mail and regular mail can be screened or forwarded, as per your instructions, so you don’t have to be bombarded with sales calls, but you also won’t miss that important message from a customer or supplier,” Golding says. “We can even manage your busy diary, process orders through your website and deliver a full customer service support function remotely.”
Davinci virtual offices prices start at just GBP 39 per month, so setting up a new virtual office anywhere from London to Edinburgh is not going to break the bank. And if you are traveling internationally, you can access virtual office space and conference rooms in more than 750 strategic locations around the world. So go ahead—enjoy your holiday and don’t miss a business beat.
Check out this video on Davinci Virtual UK:
When you think of Vancouver you probably think of Canada. But the U.S. has its own Vancouver—in Seattle—and it’s a great place to do business.
Vancouver, Washington sits on the north bank of the Columbia River directly across from Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Coast is less than 90 miles to the west. The Cascade Mountain Range rises on the east. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mt. Hood are less than two hours away. The spectacular Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area lies 30 minutes to the east. Vancouver combines the excitement of a major metropolitan area with small-town charm and abundant recreational opportunities. Vancouver’s sister city is Joyo, Japan.
Vancouver targets four industries: high-tech, manufacturing, professional services and wind. Washington’s tax environment, low cost of living and quality of life are major factors in businesses moving to Vancouver. Interstate 5 and 205 also make the area a convenient one for trade, enabling easy travel to Portland, California, Seattle and Canada. The Portland International Airport (PDX) is within 12 minutes travel time from downtown Vancouver, and offers daily non-stops to the Pacific Rim, as well as most major airports in the U.S.
If this sounds like next stop on your company’s expansion, or if you are already doing business in Vancouver and need an alternative to traditional office space, consider the benefits of a virtual office. A virtual office gives you a prestigious business address in Vancouver. In many locations you can even get your name listed in the lobby directory.
Even though you don’t physically work from a virtual office, you can go to a physical location for client meetings in a conference room for a small hourly fee. You can also use the virtual office location as a client drop off or pick up point, and a place to receive your mail and packages. The virtual office in Vancouver also comes equipped with a business support center.
You can rent virtual office space in Vancouver for as little as $75 from Davinci Virtual. Davinci has virtual offices in Vancouver at 4400 NE 77th Avenue. This is just minutes from the Vancouver Harbour Water Airport and Downtown Vancouver. So what are you waiting for? Explore the benefits of doing business—and doing it less expensive—in Vancouver with a virtual office.
Check out this video on Downtown Vancouver.
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