Temporary Office Space During The Canadian National Exhibition
One of our virtual office space clients who lives outside of the city needed a ‘touchdown’ office space while he was vending at the Canadian National Exhibition. So guess who they called? It was a no-brainer – they were already using Telsec for their virtual office and mail forwarding service. The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is unlike most consumer product shows – because instead of a few hundred or thousand potential customers, companies can have their product or brand exposed to millions of visitors during this three-week event. Small business owners selling consumer products can not only get exposure, but they can potentially sell a great deal of their product at the CNE. According to Wikipedia “The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during the 18 days leading up to and including Canadian […]
Is Telecommuting Right for Your Company?
More and more businesses are starting to experiment with telecommuting. Whether it’s a set day a week or a flexible schedule, new technologies now allow employees to stay connected even when they're not physically in the office space.
How Telecommuting can Work for Your Small Business, Even During Vacation Time!
Searching for office space for your growing small business? Why not consider a flexible executive office space for yourself and have your employees telecommute? You can also think about a virtual office solution for your small business and have everyone telecommute. According to World at Work, there’s been a substantial increase year-over-year in the number of workplaces offering teleworking. In the USA and Canada, teleworking is offered to 42% of the nearly 2,300 employers surveyed – up from 30% in 2007. Teleworking is listed among more than 20 programs to attract and retain employees, ranging from the most popular (a signing bonus) all the way down to paid sabbaticals. Telus (a major Canadian telecom) has found that teleworking can increase employee productivity by about 20%, after reviewing a pilot project where 170 employees worked from home. Besides increased productivity and morale, it also saved 14,000 hours of time in traffic! […]
Virtual Office Services Can Be Great For International Entrepreneurs
When international entrepreneurs are looking to open shop in Canada, they often will often look to an office business centre in the city that they want to open up shop in and make arrangements for an international mail service that will forward their mail to their home in the country they live. But what about that globe trotting entrepreneur that is exploring various places? The great part of having a centralize business address in Toronto at a recognizable and iconic business address is that it is a great place for international entrepreneurs to start up with in Canada. Recently, a new mail address client from Brazil, upgraded to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) virtual office solution because they not only wanted a Toronto business address, but they also wanted a Toronto telephone number that they could be reached at regardless of where they were traveling. Our client from Brazil […]
Pan Am Games and the effect on Toronto Small Business.
Today’s blog was supposed to be about entrepreneurial trends and list some statistics, but instead we are going to talk about some issues that our office space clients are talking about regarding the Pan Am Games in Toronto. With the Pan Am games in Toronto, many of our office clients have chosen to either work from home or to take public transit to the office. This is mainly due to the added road congestion caused by the temporary HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes on the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardener Expressway. The intent of these lanes is to allow official Pan Am Games vehicles, buses, taxi cabs and vehicles with more than 3 persons to move along the roadways faster and avoid traffic. One of our office space tenants mentioned this morning that they would try using an Uber car to get to work, but they quickly found out that […]
The Costs of Moving Your Business as it Grows
As you get your business up and going, you may find that working from your home office might not be the best solution anymore.
Choosing What Kind of Office is Right For Your Small Business
While building your business, you might have to make some decisions about what kind of office space arrangement is best suited for your organization and business model. Before you make these decisions, you not only need to know what your business needs are, but also what types of office situations are available to your small business. Maybe your small business is best run from home or on the road. You will still discover that you need a proper professional business address, preferably one at a prestigious business location. In that case, you may only need a virtual office arrangement that offers mail service for a low monthly fee. Your customers see that you have a real physical business address – and not just a home office or a post office box. Some small businesses need a little more than just as small business address at an office business centre. They […]
Alternative Office Solutions
What is an Alternative Office Solution? Simply put, it is a new type of office space design and philosophy that removes a lot of the headaches and expenses of traditional office space with much more emphasis on “collaboration space” – or as we like to call it “we space.” At first it was thought to be just a type of office space suitable for tech companies and young start-ups. Increasingly however, alternative office space is becoming mainstream with millennials actually preferring this new philosophy of office design. Typically, alternative office spaces are business centres – some sort of business incubator set-up where two companies “share” office spaces and leasing expenses often in traditional office spaces and/or co-working centres (which are basically business centres with less support services and business equipment provided by the centre). Another driving force behind the trend to alternative space is a changing workplace where employees are […]
Having Access to Virtual Office Services During the Pan Am Games Can Be Good
With the Pan American Games in Toronto July 10-26 and Parapan American Games August 7-15, traffic in Toronto is going to be chaotic. In an effort to avoid the traffic congestion and other crowding issues caused by the games, many of our office-for-rent tenants are asking about working remotely from home or somewhere outside of the city. Because Telsec offers remote working services to their virtual office clients, we are able to offer our office-for-rent clients options to work away from the office, while their customers believe they are in the office and it is business as usual. Try doing that in a tradition rental office! Instead of having their postal mail and correspondence delivered to their office when they are away, some office tenants are opting to pay a small administrative fee to have their mail scanned and e-mailed to them – similar to services offered to mail-forwarding clients […]
Ongoing Planning has Never Been More Important to Your Business Success
Whether your business is home-based or a fortune 500 enterprise, no individual and certainly no business can predict the future. Especially in these volatile times, businesses must prepare for unforeseen circumstances and have a plan in place well in advance for disaster recovery. A shocking reminder of this is the Boston Marathon bombings. Not only did innocent people lose their lives with hundreds injured, all businesses in that area were forced to close down for an undetermined amount of time. And let’s not forget about the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy along the U.S. east coast a few years ago. Home-based businesses and SMB’s working out of their home need to have a plan for building a business or creating a good job for themselves. If you only see your business as providing a job, then the plan is simpler than if you are going to grow into office space […]
When you own a Small Business, Every Week Should be Small Business Week!
May 4th, 2015, the official start of “Small Business Week” in the United States, yet in Canada Small Business Week is in October. Every year since 1963, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. In fact, every year since 1963, the President of the United States issues a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Having a week of recognition for small business is important because every day, small business owners are working to grow their small businesses to create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and continue to increase North America’s global competitiveness. This week across the United States, National Small Business Week events will be held in multiple cities. While some larger cities will feature one day of events during […]
Small Home-Based Businesses are Moving into “Shedquarters” – but What Does That Mean?
For many years, small businesses have been started and run from home, but then there comes a time when that business outgrows the home office or finds it too distracting, so owners seek out office space for rent. But now there is a relatively new trend, “Shedquarters”, that allows small businesses (especially those with more than one employee) to have a home-base office without actually being in the home. The concept of using a converted shed as a place to work is not new to handymen, artists and musicians – but they are now becoming popular with home-based businesses who want to separate their home from their office. The size of the Shedquarters is only limited by the amount of backyard space the home/business owner is willing to give up, as well as any local building variances and codes. If you do a Google Image search on Shedquarters, you will […]
Another Reason why a Virtual Office Works Better Than a P.O. Box
While we have often told our readers about the benefits of virtual office arrangements over using a P.O. Box, this week we learned of a lost business opportunity caused by a small business owner that uses a P.O. box. One of our newest office-space rental prospective clients told us of a recent incident whereby his sister-in-law experienced running her home-based business through a P.O. Box. Seems that this entrepreneur made a major deal with a new supplier and then did not get the contract because the P.O. Box provider would not sign for the receiving of the confirmation letter from the originator of the contract, but instead sent it back to the sender marked “undelivered.” This ended up causing them to have to re-send the contract to a friend’s business address. Having to get a vendor, supplier or a potential customer to send mail and packages to a third-party address […]
Virtual Office Space is not Just for Small Businesses That are run From Home
If you are regular follower of our blogs and social media postings, you will have heard us talk about the virtues of having a virtual office space as an alternative to using your home address or a P.O. Box. But this post is going to be a bit different. Inspired by a recent client’s requests and activity, we found a use that we have not really talked about. A relatively new VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocols) virtual office client of ours is an independent small business owner that represents the products of a foreign manufacturer throughout North America. Being the sole representative for this product, he is often traveling around to trade shows and industry events promoting and selling these products. The client does not carry inventory (except for samples) as everything he sells needs to be shipped from the manufacturer. Because of the large values of the orders, certain […]
Why Millennials are Choosing Virtual Offices and Office Business Centres
Millennials or Generation “Y” are the next generations of consumers, but they are also the generation that is fast becoming today’s small business owners. They have never known life without the Internet or mobile devices. They are constantly connected, but they are also demanding when it comes to overcoming time challenges. They look to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media for their information. They are also primarily using their mobile devices to connect to social media outlets. Millennials understand and accept that their data will be tracked, but they are more willing to click on social ads over traditional banner ads on their desktop or laptop computers. Small businesses who decide to embrace social engagement marketing strategies in an all-out manner for their brands, are the most likely to come up winners – with Millennials as customers! Millennials, being 18 to 34 years old, are not looking for stuffy offices; […]
Learning More About Virtual Offices Through Video
The Internet is full of information on various subjects. If there is a topic you need to learn about, most likely there is a website devoted to it. Sometimes a website might not give you all the information you need about a topic, or the website does not present information in a manor that best suits you. Videos have for some time been the best way to convey the message you need to get across or the topic you need to learn about. When you want to learn more about office space at Telsec, we have a Telsec Office Space Toronto video. While we are working on a virtual office video, there are plenty of others on YouTube such as this great video from ABC News. There are also plenty of videos on the Internet that will help you understand how a virtual office can work for you and save you […]
No Hidden Costs and no Scams in Virtual Office Packages
No matter what product or service you are looking for, some person or company has likely created an Internet offer that sounds too good to be true. There are even some virtual office service products promoted on the Internet that are aimed at small businesses that are too good to be true – but they are still accepted by small business owners who do not challenge them. As an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you have to ask your virtual office provider some questions before you sign that contract. Far too often, a small business owner will sign up for a virtual office without knowing what was outlined in the fine print of their contract, and later regret signing up. Signing up with a virtual office provider is supposed to help your business, not confuse you later on with hidden charges and extra fees or charges that were not […]
Tips on Finding the Right Virtual Office Location Before you Sign up
Many different virtual office providers offer various products with the same name. What one provider calls a virtual office package may be different than what another provider offers. It is up to you to find out what each company that offers virtual offices is actually offering you – before you can start to compare prices. A virtual office can mean a business mailing address service with mail forwarding, mail service and telephone answering, co-working access, discounted day-office rentals, discounted meeting room access or a combination of all these types of virtual-office solutions. Knowing your virtual office needs and comparing them to the structured plans of service providers can often get confusing. Make a simple checklist with all of the virtual office needs of your small business – including the amount of meeting room time or day-office time that you truly believe is realistic. Present your list of needs to the […]
More Reasons for Small Businesses to use a Virtual Office
We have talked a great deal about the benefits of having a virtual office on our various blog postings, but we were encouraged to give people more reasons to consider a virtual office solution. So, here are some more reasons for small businesses to use a virtual office. Image matters. Small businesses should be careful to choose the location of their office with their customers and clients in mind. The location and address of your office conveys an image of your company. It also creates a first impression as soon as you hand a prospect your business card. It really does make a difference if your business card does not have a business address because your prospect will assume that your business is run out our your residence or a P.O. Box. It is more important to them if you have a known office address in a prestigious business location, […]
Does Your Virtual Office Have a Smiling, Professional Receptionist?
Yes, you did read the headline correctly! We asked if your virtual office has a smiling, professional receptionist, because some virtual offices do not have receptionists. Instead, your calls are answered by a call centre employee that is working nowhere near the physical reception area of your virtual office. He or she may be working from another city – or even another country! When choosing a virtual office, you want the person answering your calls to not only be in the same city or country as your virtual office address, but you want him or her to be answering your calls where you actually get your mail. Some virtual office packages will tell you they offer call answering for your small business, but they do not tell you where the person answering your call is located. An office business centre that offers offices for rent as well as virtual office […]