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How to Make Your Company Virtually Ubiquitous
A lot of business practices have become obsolete in the past ten to twenty years. The exponential advancement of technology in the early 21st Century has made certain practices useless, time consuming and fiscally impractical. One such practice is that of searching for office space in a high demand area.
Offices in downtown Los Angeles and New York are, of course, desirable because they add credibility and an air of sophistication to a company. However, they are also extremely pricy and somewhat inconvenient; employees do not all live in a central metropolitan area, and many specialists and experts prefer to telecommute from remote areas.
A fantastic compromise that blends the ease of telecommuting with the prestige of prime office space is to establish a virtual office in Los Angeles and/or New York. A virtual office gives your small business the address (not a P.O. Box) of a location in Los Angeles and many other cities across the US and access to incredibly cheap, convenient office space and conference rooms;at the same time, it also affords your employees remote access to any media, mailing and the like that you want.
Our virtual offices also can establish a business phone line with an appropriate area code that your clients can call and connect to any of your employees, known as our Virtual Phone Services. With a live virtual receptionist your calls and faxes will be answered and immediately forwarded to you, allowing you to handle your business operations from wherever you are.
Virtual offices in Los Angeles, New York and other big cities are a fast growing trend. We offer a number of packages, from just a business number or just a virtual office address to a full package, based on your small businesses budget, needs, and ability to connect your employees to the virtual office.
Making your company virtually ubiquitous is a great way to connect to more clients and customers; to expand your employee pool to a more selective, better group of candidates; and to add an air of legitimacy and prestige, allowing your small business to expand and grow exponentially.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
6 Mantras for Hiring and Retaining Excellent Employees
Good employees are an asset for any business, as they are the major contributors to its success. Hiring and retaining a qualified, efficient team is vital for the smooth running of a business and its growth. Employee retention is a key challenge in organizations today. Lets list a few tips for hiring and retaining good employees.
Communicate your vision.
To lead a successful organization, your employees need to understand your vision. This is the guiding light for all they do and it inspires them to execute your strategy. Show value.
Show Value.
Telling your current and prospective employees about the value you bring to the table and what you expect from them, and involving them in business planning, results in value being added to the vision and your vision turning into reality.
Share your passion.
Sharing your passion with your business employees can make a world of difference in making your team productive. You passion, when shared with conviction, can have a positive influence on your employees and on those you may consider hiring.
Encourage questions.
Encourage your employees and prospective hires to ask questions. A curious mind is a definite asset to the company and it could help you to discover information or insights you hadn’t realized before.
Promise learning.
One of the reasons people leave their jobs is a lack of learning. Creating a learning atmosphere in your organization and encouraging your employees to share knowledge is guaranteed to make your employees more productive and more interested in their work.
Reward their work.
Employee recognition, apart from being a nice thing to do for people, communicates to your employees that you recognize the outcomes they have created for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce the actions and behaviors you most want to see repeated by your employees.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Are Office Expenses Burning a Hole in Your Pocket?
You have branched out, made a plan, created a product and figured out how you can work for yourself. Taking this leap might just be the most terrifying thrill of your lifetime, and it’s worth it! But it’s not without it’s worries.
The difference between the most successful businesses and the business ventures that fail is often the very real and practical matter of planning and managing your expenses. That’s okay since you were careful about how you paid for your stock or prototypes, how you selected your accounting software, how you have a years worth of your expenses including marketing dollars saved and you have even completed your PCI Compliance. These put you way ahead of the curve.
Those are ways you have to spend your money, but have you thought of ways to stop spending your money? The trick to building wealth isn’t just about generating income, but also about saving money and eliminating unnecessary expenses. Look up any article on your biggest and most unpredictable expenses and there are five things that will jump to the top: Real Estate, Utilities, Staff, Shipping and Telephones.
It may surprise you to know that there are services out there that can save you on all of those with a simple phone call, a web sign-up and even a flat monthly fee. Virtual phone services can provide you with a receptionist and dedicated phone lines. Virtual office services can provide you with a mailing address and courier services. This virtual office space comes with prestigious business addresses that allow you to do business in luxury conference rooms without having to invest in square footage that you don’t need every day. Any opportunity you have to save yourself money while you are building your business, do it. And office space? That’s the big-ticket item.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Businesses Should not Rely Solely on Social Media for Their Marketing Campaigns
Social Media seems to be finding its way into our lives more and more every day. Find me a person who uses the Internet and is not active on any social media network sharing their thoughts. Through continued globalization, and technological globalization, the world has become a much smaller place; everything you need is just a click away. With the busy lives we lead and the new technology that is easily available all around us, we fail to keep up with friends and family in person and instead rely on social media networking to check in with them and see how they’re doing.
On average 22% of time spent online in our country is spent on social media. It enables us to share our information, interests, activities and snippets of our lives via photos and videos, it has also turned into one of the new business marketing hotspots. Businesses have flocked to different networks to promote their brands, optimize their content and engage both current and prospective customers in order to build brand image, reputation and (hopefully and eventually) sales.
But, as with all trends, people are starting to look for different alternatives.The common Mistakes Young Entrepreneurs Make in Social Media is still relying on social media alone; traditional media will always be around, and it’s important to not forget about these channels to market your brand. The marketing campaign of IWearYourShirt is a great example of blending two types of marketing for optimal results: word-of-mouth marketing and social media marketing. With hundreds of people talking about your brand at the same time, it is more likely to be picked up by more people, and consequently more like to go viral.
So while social media is and will – at least of the foreseeable future – be one of the premier mediums through which businesses conduct their marketing campaigns, it’s important not to lose sight of more traditional strategies. Press releases are as alive as ever, and as IWearYourShirt has demonstrated, so is word-of-mouth marketing.
To learn more about the new and creative entrant to the world of marketing, visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223920.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Use Music to Create Magic for Your Business
Music can help us channel emotions. It’s a true healer. It relaxes the soul and awakens the spirit. Music creates the beautiful aura of peace and serenity.
Now the question is: what is the relationship between music and business? Music is very important when considering how you want your customers to perceive your business. It can be used to differentiate two otherwise similar companies by producing a completely different atmosphere and overall customer experience.
The music that you play can influence the way your customers behave within your shop or store, and lead them to form judgments- consciously and subconsciously- about who you are. There is also a link between tempo of music and the activity of customers in different settings.
Not only does choosing the right playlist affect your customers, though; it also affects your employees and their productivity. It has actually been proven that playing music within your business can lead to a happier workforce, and if your employees are happier, theyll pass on that positive energy to your customers and (hopefully) increase sales.
For more information on utilizing the power of music in your business, visit:http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223667
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
We Are Celebrating U.S. Small Businesses This 4th of July the Virtual Way
This 4th of July we at United Virtual Office have decided that we all need to take a step back and really honor what drives are economy: small businesses. Without them, our nation would be nowhere near where we are today and the economic downturn would have held much more grave consequences. Yet, because small businesses drive innovation and spur job creation, we are on the road to recovery and, as a nation, know that we will bounce back.
So what exactly is a ‘small business’ ? They are those businesses that employ less than 100 people. In the US alone, the small business sector employs over 50% of the total country’s workforce. This makes small businesses very importantplayers in the USeconomy. Small businesses are the backbone of creativity and production. With more than 60% of all jobs coming from small businesses, there is no doubt that this sector plays a crucial role in stabilizing and stimulationUS economic growth.
According to the Small Business Association, small businesses hold 10 times more US patents than large businesses. In addition, they claim over a 50% of success rate at the four-year mark, and more than half all small businesses are home-based.
So, if more than half of small businesses are home-based, how do they have such a high success rate? Well, small businesses owe their success to the way they start-up; most do not rely on traditional methods of starting their operations such as setting up offices in exorbitant premium locations. In contrast, many small businesses rely on different means to save capital and be able to invest in other parts of their business, with many now turning to virtual offices for help.
Apart from low cost and flexibility, virtual offices provide numerous benefits that are perfectly catered to entrepreneurs and startups.
- Save on Rent:Virtual offices enable small businesses to establish presence anywhere without having to pay for offices that cost thousands of dollars to set up.
- Reduced Overhead Costs: Small businesses that utilize a virtual office space do not pay for numerous bills associated with physical offices, such as electricity, equipment, cleaning, parking and an Internet connection.
- Live Virtual Assistant and Virtual Phone Service: Administrative support with virtual offices eliminates the need for full time employees becausea live virtual assistant and virtual phone services can handle all of your calls at a fraction of the price.
- More Flexibility Means More Productivity: Virtual offices allow for flexibility and comfort, thereby stimulating productivity and increasing your bottomline.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Why You Should Get A Virtual Office In New York City
There are many reasons why you should get a virtual office in New York City. You can enjoy saving money and still have all of the conveniences that you need to run a successful business. Whether it is a second or third address for your current business or you first, getting a prime business address in the capital of commerce in the US is a sure-fire way to bring increased legitimacy to your company.
To begin with, you will have a lower start up cost for your business. You will not have heavy overhead costs like electricity bills and other costs associated with monthly rent of a brick and mortar business. You simply pay for the services you need. You do not have to worry about furnishing your office either. The cost of nice furniture can really be expensive when you are just starting out, and is something that most people fail to consider when planning their budgets.
Many virtual offices come with receptionist services. Someone will answer your phone calls in a professional way and either transfer the call to you or send you a message. You will sound a lot more professional with virtual phone systems, and you dont have to worry about constantly being around the phones or hiring someone to do that at a high cost (and ultimate tax burden), because your Live Virtual Assistant will handle everything.
Having a good address is another plus. You may do most of your work from the comfort of your own home, but you can also have a prestigious business address. Customers will be more likely to trust a business that has an established office space, which will eventually provide your business with a heightened appeal to your prospective customers.
Another great reward of a virtual office is that you do not have to hire employees that are located in one area. If you discover a talented professional that lives across the world, then you can hire them to work with you without worrying about your physical location. With a virtual office, there are no worries about having to ride back and forth to work every day. You can work over the Internet and over the phone daily.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
How Virtual Offices Can Set Working Moms Free
Entrepreneurial moms offering professional services from their home offices are leading the way in strategies for Virtual Office Spaces. Working from home can be reliable method of income for certified professionals or independent freelance contractors, but it does require the most reliable industry tools. With all the crucial factors of managing a home office, you are entitled to have the best possible virtual office space support at your business disposal, to maximize your work-life balance.
Virtual Offices can offer you the flexibility you need to run a successful home office at your convenience, without sacrificing your family priorities or personal time.
Home office networking, and maneuvering a massive digital environment, is made easy for you with Virtual Office services, including fax forwarding, professional business stationary, and prestigious mailing locations. With such services available for you, your home address does not have to serve as a mule for all your business materials.
Managing your telecommunications with clients is made simple through the Virtual Phone Services that we offer at United Virtual Office. By setting up a custom business phone line and voice mail, you can guarantee your clients a professional reception. This could be the first impression you are going to make on a potential client, so you want to ensure that you are going to be provided with the best possible virtual phone service. You can run conference calls, manage your contacts and access your telecommunication records at any time.
Your entrepreneurial confidence can get inspired with solutions for your Virtual Office Space. You can successfully create more time for yourself through our professionally managed services that can make the best of your business potential, and minimize the time you have to spend on organizing your virtual office space.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
Workplace Discords and How to Solve Them
Every now and then in workplaces and office environments there are going to be work-related problems that will require the intervention of a supervisor or the business owner to bring about effective resolutions. Business owners should have an idea of certain business motivation techniques to help the development, growth and motivation of their employees. One of the most important things to do is to involve the employee in the process, where they can come forward with the problem and the owner can then look for a solution.
Here are some of the more common workplace problems and tips on how to resolve the issues.
- Stress
- Continual failure to meet targets
- Too much work; too little time
- Lack of work recognition; more criticism
- Incompetence in the workplace
Stress is one of the most common and crucial problems. Stress affects the quality of work and also the employee’s state of mind. It can be caused by anything, including increased work responsibilities, personal issues and the overall work environment.
An effective solution to this is to monitor your employees and look for changes in their attitude or behavior. If you notice anything unusual, pull them aside and ask them what’s bothering them. It’s important to step in as a friend and not a superior, and its better to intervene early before it’s too late.
This could be a major problem as one person not achieving their target can put pressure on other employees. The effective solution here is to have all employees have time logs for their daily tasks, including what they’re doing and how much time they’re spending on it. That way you can assess your employees’ strengths and determine who is faster at what.
You should then sit down with your employee(s) who is not meeting their targets, discuss their work methods and work with them (the ‘with’ is very important) to find a solution. Its also a good idea to give gifts and bonuses to employees’ who are performing well, mainly to act as a motivator to work hard and produce.
This is a major concern as it affects the overall quality of work. One of the small business ideas is to take work only as per the capability of the employees. A proper solution for this is to make a list of tasks and prioritize the work. Make a clear-cut schedule for work prepared and make sure employees complete the work on time as per the schedule. This is also where the time logs I discussed above come in.
Criticism and lack of recognition makes employees lose interest in their work. The best solution is to make sure that performers get mentions for their work, and everyone receives positive affirmation at one point or the other. It’s all about staying positive and pointing out peoples strengths, and when you need to criticize, do so constructively. At the end of the day, you get more bees with honey.
General incompetence is a major concern in almost all workplaces. The solution to such a problem is to acknowledge that the problem may not always be due to incompetence but because of an excessive workload, lack of motivation, etc. Business owners must use business motivation techniques to handle such problems, being nice and repeat your request in a calm and relaxed manner. Proper training is key to getting better performance. Every employee needs company specific training.
In every office environment there will be work-related problems, but with the correct steps and the right attitude, solutions can be found and you can maintain a healthy working environment.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
5 Ways to Create and Run a Successful Business
- Reduce Office Costs. One of the easiest ways to start and maintain a successful business is to reduce office expenses. Many businesses can use a virtual office solution to run their office, reducing the need for on-site employees. Virtual Offices can be used for any type or size of business and entail many benefits, including saving money on office space/leases, having a prestigious business address in major markets across the US, having a Live Virtual Receptionist handle all of your calls, proper meeting and conference facilities/resources and so forth.
- Reduce Communication Costs. Using virtual phone systems will allow you to never miss a call while not having to install expensive phone systems for your business. These virtual phone systems will take calls around the clock, forward messages to you if required, and act as an office assistant. Phone networks, and their associated operating costs, can be one of the largest expenses for a small business.
- Go Digital With Documents. Having all of your paperwork in digital format will reduce a lot of unnecessary printing expenses, as well as save room in your office. Unless it is very necessary to have forms on hand, all documents should be digital and only printed on demand. This is also very friendly for the environment, which all businesses should strive to be.
- Hire Contractors Instead Of Employees. If you need sales reps to promote your business, hire them as a contractor for your company and pay them a commission. This will greatly reduce your tax burden for employment taxes, reduce your insurance costs, and limit your liability.
- Use Free Advertising. There are many ways that you can use free or low-cost advertising to promote your business on or off the Internet. Take the time each day to promote your business using free methods, and you will see a significant increase in your earnings.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +