Blog
4/24/2013
As time has progressed, despite efforts to save the environment, more trees and forest regions continue to be affected in negative ways. So what’s the solution? Enter the virtual office!
For decades, savvy people have been working from outside their offices in hotel rooms, houses, and coffee shops. Ever so slowly, corporate America began to take notice and found that allowing more flexibility with scheduling could actually increase productivity.
Things seemed to be going along swimmingly until Yahoo’s latest bombshell. Many would say that deciding to take away telecommuting privileges took the tech firm back to the stone ages.
This is why I’m so grateful to have virtual office options. Virtual office solutions are not only better for the environment, but they save a lot of the green stuff, too. Read more...
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4/22/2013
San Diego is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in California. I absolutely love San Diego. Who wouldn’t? The beaches, the weather – the people! Oh, did I mention the beaches? Some of the cleanest you’ll ever find in a metro area.
It’s no surprise, then, that San Diego is also a prime location to start a business or expand it. But we know that prime also means expensive. With over a million people living there, many start-ups gravitate toward the chance to make a mark and make a mint.
But how do they afford it? Commercial rents are off the chain. Not to mention paying staff – even a receptionist has to be paid well there in order to make ends meet. But most start-ups don’t even have money to pay themselves, let alone anyone else! Read more...
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4/19/2013
Many people think that start-ups, entrepreneurs and other small businesses are the only ones that employ a strict virtual office model. However, the reality is that many professions and industries have been using virtual offices for decades. For example, many attorneys, consultants, accountants, and non-profit organizations, any firm really, that wants a location outside of their general area are using virtual offices.
In regions like Denver, the cost of doing business is skyrocketing. Washington and local government seem to be doing next to nothing to reign in those costs. In fact, certain legislation like SB 1 has actually increased the cost of running a business. Say what you will – but in this economy, the very last thing that the state of Colorado should do is create more red tape for businesses. And they wonder why their growth is so sluggish? Read more...
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4/17/2013
The majority of small businesses are based at home, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As such, most all of these businesses enjoy a tax write off deduction. That is, if they can figure out how to calculate the square footage. If you’re like me, you work in many rooms. I take my laptop into the den, the kitchen and the living room. In fact, the only room I don’t use for business is the bathroom – but I understand that some people do that as well. Ewwww!
When home offices first came on the scene, home computers were all desktops as far as I know. So you usually weren’t going to be working all over the house. But what if you use the room for other stuff? What if you can only dedicate your kitchen table? Or how about if you only have a living room corner to spare? All of those scenarios make it difficult, if not impossible to write off home business space. Read more...
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4/15/2013
Dallas is a metro area that has been growing by leaps and bounds. Because it boasts such a broad and diverse business environment, it’s a really beneficial place for any new or expanding company. Its major industries are financial services, defense, and – you guessed it – technology.
In fact, I can’t think of a place where technology isn’t growing. In Dallas, some of the major industries expanding into or through technology are life sciences, telecommunications, semiconductors, processing, and transportation.
Of course, whenever business booms, the companies raking in the dough are ecstatic. But it also makes it harder for start-ups and the ones who need capital to expand. Commercial property owners also see this as a big fat opportunity to raise the rent.
Smaller businesses really need to find a way to jump on the bandwagon, or else they will miss an opportunity of a lifetime. Bigger businesses need smaller ones to succeed. You would think they’d do more to fund them… but that is generally not the case. Read more...
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4/12/2013
New York City has so much to offer both residents and businesses that it’s hard to cover all of it. From culture to food to its progressive, 24 hour nature – New York has always been one of the most trend setting cities the world over.
For new businesses, NYC offers a world of opportunity – that is, if they can afford to even open up shop there. Getting a business loan is nearly a thing of the past. So how is a company to raise capital to start a business? Well, they can always save. Right. That’s virtually impossible to do, too, given the cost of living. Unless you plan on investing your retirement funds. But who can afford to take that chance?
I guess another form of revenue is mortgaging your home. That is, if you even have one. Chances are, if you’re starting a new company, you don’t have a home. Yet! So, seriously: where is the cashola gonna come from? Read more...
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4/10/2013
Given the way technology has impacted the work place, it is no surprise that recent studies have concluded that in the US, around 26.2 million office jobs are performed outside of traditional offices. And that’s probably a conservative estimate. Yay! That smells like freedom to me!
Studies have also suggested that almost twice that – a whopping fifty million workers, at least 40 percent of the entire working population – would be able to work from locations other than their office. All they need is a reliable Internet connection. And a progressive company to work with.
No one understands those statistics more than an entrepreneur. One of the factors that has spurred new business growth during an economic downturn is that so many alternatives exist – thanks to technology. Read more...
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4/10/2013
Houston, we have a problem. While it’s an awesome town, it’s not awesome to do business there. We know you owe a lot to your oil, but it just isn’t socially responsible to waste around 2.9 billion gallons of fuel every year.
In all fairness, Houston isn’t the only town where this is happening. On average, commuters have been sitting in traffic at an increasing rate for some time. Even cities that have great mass transit systems deal with that.
But getting back to Houston – it is estimated that gridlock costs over $78 billion each year, which amounts to around 4.2 billion lost hours.
In regions where environmental pollutants are a serious problem, telecommuting is more important than ever. This is where virtual offices come in. They create a space in the cloud where everyone can meet to have meetings. Less time on the road translates to more productivity – and happier workers! Read more...
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4/5/2013
As the song goes, I once left my heart in San Francisco. I also left a whole lotta cash! Wow!! It’s a gorgeous town, with the seductive bay just beckoning all who go there. But like a lot of cool places, it’s really costly to visit there.
Given the cost of what it takes to visit, I cannot imagine the coin it takes to live there! A friend begged me to move down there years ago, but I wanted to start a business and I just couldn’t see how on earth I could do that in that town.
My friend has since moved on – but had Davinci been around, I could have gotten a virtual office and rented meeting rooms when I needed them. But back then, laptops weren’t even on the market as I recall. Read more...
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4/3/2013
Computers have made people more mobile than ever. They use them for work and play and everything in between. Once hosted office solutions came along, you could really hear those freedom bells!
Then came hosted solutions and the whole business game changed. You mean I can access all my business programs online? I don’t have to update my software and pay a high priced techie to manage all of it? Or worry about someone making a mistake and wiping it all out? Wow! Sign me up!
There’s one expense that many businesses have trouble paying all the time – especially new ones. And that is rent. You know, that glorified storage space where you sit all day and sometimes into the night to crank out your work? Read more...
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As time has progressed, despite efforts to save the environment, more trees and forest regions continue to be affected in negative ways. So what’s the solution? Enter the virtual office!
