Archive for September, 2010
Looking for a deal on virtual office space near Kansas City? Davinci Virtual is offering a special that you don’t want to miss. If you rent now, you can get your first month free.
The deal is at the Leawood Business Center in Leawood, Kansas. Leawood is only about 13 miles from Kansas City and you can get one of the most affordable virtual office space deals in the United States at this location. The Leawood Business Center virtual office space rents for only $50 a month.
The Leawood Business Center is located at 4745 W. 136th St. near Plaza Pointe. Plaza Pointe is a high profile business park, so you can be assured that your virtual office has a premium address in Leawood—and you are still close enough to Kansas City to do all the business there you need to do.
The third-largest city in Kansas, Kansas City is a vibrant place to work. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Mo. and is home to more than 2 million people. Kansas City is home to the GM Fairfax plant. Major highways including Interstate 35, Interstate 70, Interstate 435, Interstate 635, and Interstate 670 feed into and out of the region.
When you rent virtual office space in Leawood, Davinci Virtual offers you more than a prime business address. You also get mail and package support, access to a business support center, a lobby greeter for visiting guests, a client drop off and pick up point, and mail forwarding and shipping services.
Here’s a factoid about Leawood: The Johnson County city actually put a ban on fastfood restaurants within the city limits. That lasted until the late 1990s. Now, you can freely eat a Big Mac on your way to your virtual office.
I’m sitting here in my virtual office in Hollywood as Tropical Storm Nicole pours down inches of rain. Flash flooding is a real possibility. Winds are up to 40 mph. The streets are dangerous. News reports indicate possible tornadoes. So far, the electricity is still flowing, but Florida Power & Light is prepared for outages.
Although this is small potatoes compared to Hurricane Wilma, I was grateful I didn’t have to venture out onto the beach streets this morning to head to work. Instead, I am writing this blog post from my virtual office in Hollywood. That means I stayed dry and kept working, relying on virtual office technologies as I always do to keep meeting deadlines.
If you are an entrepreneur in any area of the country that deals with hurricanes, you can relate to my story. A virtual office space is a luxury any day of the week. But when the rains are pouring down and the roads are dangerous, I’m especially grateful not to have to step outside my home and onto the streets.
Davinci Virtual offers virtual offices across South Florida, with three in my neighborhood. There’s the Hollywood Business Center FL, the Hollywood Florida Business Center and Executive Suites of Hollywood. All three are prime locations, but the Executive Suites of Hollywood is my personal choice because it’s right up the street from my home. That means if I need access to business services, like color copying, I can take a mile drive and get it done quickly. I can also use the conference room there at any time, which makes it convenient for business meetings.
Let’s take a closer look this virtual office space. It’s located at 2455 Hollywood Boulevard. That’s a nice address in Hollywood. At this location, I can get mail and package receipt, a lobby greeter, a client drop off and pick up point, and mail forwarding if I want it. Virtual office rental fees at this location run $110 a month. The conference room rentals run $25 to $40 an hour, depending on various factors, and it’s a sterling experience.
So consider your situation. What would you do if you couldn’t go to work today and had to work from your home office. Do you have the virtual office technologies in place to help you remain productive? What about on sunny days? If you work from home, do you have a quick access to conference room available where you can meet clients? If not, consider renting a virtual office. Rain or shine, you’ll can reap immediate benefits.
Check out the flooding in my neck of the woods:
Another day, another tablet announcement. This time it’s BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion. RIM is making a bold move into the market with the BlackBerry Playbook featuring the BlackBerry Tablet OS.
The PlayBook is a seven-inch, touchscreen tablet with features like Web browsing, multitasking, high performance multimedia, security features, enterprise support, and a new development platform for IT departments and developers.
The PlayBook is less than half an inch thick and weighs less than a pound. It features a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, dual HD cameras, video and audio playback, HDMI video output, both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and application support for a wide range of software.
There’s no news on exactly when the PlayBook will be available or how much it cost—or even what the user experience is like. But for BlackBerry lovers, the PlayBook may be a natural extension of their smartphone.
As I said yesterday, the world is going mobile, virtual and global—and let me add that virtual offices are increasingly going mobile. Like Sharp, RIM is tapping into the demand for virtual office technologies and mobile devices that help people work smarter, faster and more efficiently. The RIM device may have an advantage with virtual office users and road warriors because BlackBerry is such a well-loved brand in companies large and small. You can’t beat it for e-mail.
For road warriors, tablet devices and virtual office software like Siri Virtual Assistant, Google Apps, Citrix Online and other collaboration software, can drive up productivity. I am not sure what we did before we had e-mail and virtual offices. One day, we’ll look back and wonder what we did without the virtual office technologies that are increasingly making their way to market.
Check out this video on the RIM PlayBook for yourself:
Another hopeful iPad killer will soon enter the market. Sharp is rolling out its Galapagos tablets in December with a special focus on the Japanese market. This is an interesting niche to target, and could be right up the Tokyo virtual office user’s alley.
Sharp’s are specifically developed as e-book readers, while the new e-bookstore offers a fee-based service for newspapers and magazines. One tablet offers a 5.5-inch LCD screen that Samsung said reads like a paperback book. The other is a 10.8-inch device with a high-resolution HD LCD that lets users read magazines formatted across a two-page spread.
Sharp’s Galapagos tablets feature a track ball in the mobile type with 5.5-inch screen. Users in Tokyo can rotate the track ball like a PC mouse and can flip the pages with one hand. The web browser will display sites for PCs on a high resolution LCD screen. And pre-installed social network service application enables sharing readers’ comments and e-book list with friends.
I am going to make a bet right now that the Sharp tablets will not curb demand for the iPad in Tokyo. But its emergence does signal a trend: the world is going mobile, virtual and global. Sharp is tapping into the demand for virtual office technologies and mobile devices that help people work smarter, faster and more efficiently.
Whether you are an iPad users traveling to Tokyo on a meeting and need a professional atmosphere to conduct some business, an entrepreneur or global corporation looking to expand into Tokyo, or a start-up in Tokyo that needs to establish a premier business image, Davinci Virtual has the solutions you need.
Davinci Virtual offers virtual office space at the Cerulean Tower in Tokyo from just $175 a month. Your Tokyo virtual office space offers you this prime business address, mail and package receipt, access to a business support center, a lobby greeter, and more. You can even rent a conference room if you need to conduct a client presentation.
This virtual office location is sure to impress your international business contacts. This is the tallest skyscraper in Tokyo, an impressive location for a virtual office space. With a virtual office at the Cerulean Tower in Tokyo, you are only a five-minute walk to Shibuya Station where seven different train lines meet. And your neighbor is Google. Google’s Japan headquarters are located in the Cerulean Tower.
Because this mixed-use building offers office space, virtual offices and a luxury hotel, you can feel comfortable when you travel to Tokyo with everything you need to conduct business in one location. The glass-and-steel building offers plenty of restaurants so you can enjoy a meal nearby your virtual office space and take your prospects to dinner—all in one location.
Check out this video with insider tips for traveling to Tokyo.
Although the economy has shown gradual signs of improvement, on-the-job pressure is mounting for some supervisors. So says a survey from the OfficeTeam.
Thirty percent of managers interviewed said they are more stressed at work today than they were one year ago. Just 11 percent indicated work-related pressure has declined. What’s more, 28 percent of respondents expect their anxiety levels to increase in the coming year, compared to 8 percent who anticipate reduced stress. A virtual office space can help.
“Professionals at all levels are working harder and assuming more responsibilities as a result of companies relying on leaner teams,” says OfficeTeam executive director Robert Hosking. “Managers, in particular, may be feeling the heat as they strive to keep employees motivated and productive with limited resources.”
OfficeTeam identifies five common causes of workplace stress and tips for coping with them. One of them says, ‘There aren’t enough hours in the day!’ With a virtual office space, you don’t have to commute to and from work. Companies should consider allowing stressed managers to work at home using virtual office technologies one or more day a week.
Another stressor says, “Politics are rampant in my office.” In an uncertain economy, many professionals feel it’s necessary to do whatever it takes to stand out from their colleagues. As a result, some may resort to sabotaging the efforts of others or stealing the limelight from their more deserving team members. Letting employees work from a virtual office space in a flex-time arrangement can help your company be more productive in the end.
A third stress or is, “My manager is driving me crazy.” Your boss is a micromanager who closely monitors your every move. All the more reason to suggest virtual offices. When you work from home using virtual office technologies, you shed the micromanagement—and shed the stress.
Greater Charleston is seeing an influx of new business investment—and for good reason. Charleston is home to 650,000 people. At 17 percent, this South Carolina city is growing at more than twice the rate of the United States average.
Charleston prides itself on strong international commerce opportunities. Charleston boasts one of the world’s most productive seaports, quick access to international air hubs in Washington D.C. and Atlanta, and a state-of-the-art communications infrastructure.
Some of Charleston’s biggest industries are advanced security, aerospace/aviation, automotive, biosciences, digital media and design, and urban planning and restoration. With an industry base like that, service firms have a strong potential customer base.
The good news is, you can have a professional service firm image without opening a professional office. Davinci Virtual office solutions are available in Charleston. Specifically, you can locate your virtual office in Charleston Executive Offices at 6650 Rivers Ave.
When you rent a virtual office from Davinci Virtual in Charleston, you can tap into a prime business address in a prestigious business center. You can also get mail and package receipt and access to a business support center. That means if you need to use a fax, copy machine or other professional office equipment, you can take a drive up to Charleston Executive Offices.
Your Charleston virtual office also offers a client drop off and pick up point, mail forwarding services, and access to a conference room fro rental fees from $25 to $40 an hour. Located near North Charleston outside Mark Clark, you can rent this Charleston virtual office space at prices from just $95 a month.
Check out this video on Charleston:
Think about it for a minute. What does your business card really say about you?
We’re provoking you to think about that question because too few small businesses and entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom—and in the rest of the world for that matter—take the time to consider what their business card communicates to potential and current clients.
As Steve Golding, Davinci’s UK General Manager, sees it, most small- to mid-sized businesses realize the benefits that having a virtual office at a prestigious business address can deliver to their business. That’s a given, really. But those same small- to mid-sized businesses overlook the importance of getting the right messages onto their business cards. Golding says first impressions are all too important to those running small businesses and poorly thought out business cards can be a real turn-off.
Davinci Virtual surveyed some of its 1,500 UK virtual office clients. The results: the biggest no-no was to include just a mobile phone number on a card. Use of a landline implied longevity, stability, security and also gave the impression of being a sizeable business.
“We found that the use of just a mobile number implied the business is small and probably run by a sole-trader. Using a PO Box number for a mailing address also gave potential customers a lack of security and an inability to contact the supplier if dealings did not go as planned,” Golding says. “On the other hand, having a London virtual office for example with a central London address implied the business was established and secure and gave potential customers improved peace of mind.”
Another indicator to business size was the lack of a Web address. Golding says most 21st Century businesses have access to a computer and Web sites are viewed as essential tools established businesses. Successful businesses, he says, are those that have a simple and easy to remember domain name and one that doesn’t divert to a rival or gets lost in cyberspace if it is miss-typed.
“E-mail addresses also reveal a lot about the quality of a business. The most professional addresses use the first initial and last name layout rather than the use of just a first name, which implies the card holder is either the founder of the business or running a very small operation,” Golding says.
“Lastly, the quality of the business card itself also reveals much about a business. Thin shiny cards imply that they were printed by a machine at the local railway station and most businesses overlook the opportunity to print a list of their USPs on the reverse. Overall, designing and printing a dynamic and entertaining business card is probably one of the best kept secrets in business today.”
At Davinci Virtual, we know that free is always popular. That’s one of the reasons why we launched a free DavinciMeetingRooms.com Member Access Card Program.
“We are excited to launch our member access card program,” says Bill Grodnik, president and CEO of Davinci Virtual. “Now clients can search and book professional meeting space instantly online and take advantage of all member benefits.”
Here’s how it works: This free card gives virtual office clients, business travelers and entrepreneurs access to Davinci’s global network of over 750 professional office locations and more than 2,200 professional meeting spaces. Now clients can reserve professionally equipped day offices, conference rooms and meeting facilities anywhere, anytime via Davinci’s online reservation platform.
Yes, I said anytime, anywhere. And, yes, I said free.
Let’s dig a little deeper. DavinciMeetingRooms.com gives you access to advanced applications like instantly available, live conference room inventory. But there’s more than that. You can also choose your critical add-on services from the online interface, including LCD projectors, video conferencing, catering and business support services as well as an array of easy to use interactive tools and search filters.
In case you aren’t familiar with Davinci Meeting Rooms, allow me to formally introduce you. Davinci Meeting Rooms offers a comprehensive online reservation platform allowing access to live inventory of thousands of conference rooms and business support services in cities large and small, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Ultimately, Davinci Meeting Rooms is leveling the playing field for small business allowing companies to create an image on a small business budget.
This is the perfect complement to our virtual office space. Davinci’s virtual offices and services include local or toll-free telephone and fax numbers, digital voicemail, electronic fax, email, online command center, unified messaging, voice and video conferencing, voicemail to email, fax to email, professional live receptionist services, live call answering, screening and forwarding, find me, follow me, live Web chat, outbound calling, customer service, appointment scheduling, order taking, and much more.
Can telecommuting really keep Toronto workers happy? If you believe a Workopolis poll, the answer is a resounding “yes.” A virtual office can help ensure a more productive telecommuting experience. Virtual offices and virtual office technologies empower workers to do more with less, whether in a home office, an airport lounge, or a hotel room.
For working Canadians, the return to “regular” work hours after a summer of long weekends and a relaxed working environment can make it a stressful time of year. But the Workopolis poll suggests that half of working Canadians (53 percent) said that the option to work from home would help ease their transition into the New “Work” Year.
Another 29 percent of respondents said adjusted working hours would help keep them in a sunny mood at work long after the summer season ends and 10 per cent think a more casual dress code would make the post-summer return to work more palatable. Seven percent of Canadians noted that fewer meetings would help make the transition easier.
“Employees shouldn’t ignore the back-to-work butterflies they may get in September,” says Andrea Garson, vice president of Human Resources at Workopolis. “It’s a transitional time which can impact—positively or negatively—the attitudes they have towards their current employers. The modifications some businesses make during the summer play an important role in job satisfaction and, for employers, this a good time of year to regroup with employees to refocus them on their goals and take a temperature read of their motivation levels.”
The option to work from home is something that Canadians from coast-to-coast have thrown their support behind—and not just as a way to carry on the summertime feeling. Over 20,000 Canadians have already pledged their support for a National Work from Home Day. Once there is enough support for the campaign, Workopolis will approach Canada’s leaders with the goal of introducing legislation that would formalize a Work from Home Day.
Virtual offices make telecommuting more professional, offering the means to seamlessly transfer calls to the telecommuter without the client ever knowing they are not in the office. And virtual office technologies like Cisco’s WebEx mean even telecommuting employees can still join meetings—from wherever they are. Virtual offices are also valuable for companies where all employees are home-based, but need to meet up once a month for staff meetings. Davinci Virtual office programs offer conference room and meeting room rental on-demand for a small fee.
And the winner of the iPad is… Linda Everett. Everett won a new Apple iPad in Davinci Virtual’s September iPad sweepstakes. It’s the perfect compliment to her virtual office space.
Even with all the talk about Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, the iPad just keeps getting hotter. In fact, according to Morgan Stanley, the iPad is consuming 25 percent of PC notebook sales. Road warriors, mobile workers and others are snapping up the iPad in droves. It’s one of the coolest tablet devices of the summer.
If you didn’t win in the first or second round of Davinci Virtual’s iPad sweepstakes, don’t worry. Davinci Virtual is giving another lucky person the opportunity to win one of the tablet devices for free in its third iPad sweepstakes. The company is giving away another iPad and the drawing is December 1, 21010.
As I’ve said before, virtual offices and the iPad may have more in common than you think. Both are revolutionary approaches to their sectors. The virtual office is clearly revolutionizing the way many entrepreneurs consume office space. And the iPad is revolutionizing tablet computing.
In case you haven’t had a proper introduction to the iPad, here you go: iPad’s Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the Web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send e-mail on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.
Normally, the iPad costs $499 for the entry-level model. Davinci Virtual is giving you a chance to get your hands on one for free. There’s no catch. You don’t have to be a virtual office customer to win the iPad, but current virtual office customers are eligible to enter. So click here to enter to win an iPad from Davinci Virtual. Click here to enter the sweepstakes.
Check out this review of the iPad. Worth the watch…
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