virtual office
Remember what I wrote about the benefits of having a virtual office? Not just any virtual office, but this vOffice that I am registered as platinum member. One of the benefits is having a prestigious Bonifacio Global City (BGC) address at One Global Place which is my main vOffice. Not only do I have a virtual office in the Philippines, I can also use the virtual office spaces in MalaysiaIndonesia, Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok. I can use meeting rooms in over 30 locations worldwide. A Virtual Office like vOffice.com.ph offers mobile workers like myself the benefits of a serviced office environment but without actually renting physical space. With virtual office space, I pay a fraction of what I would to rent a physical location, pay for insurance and staff the office.

I like that vOffice has a portal for my use. I can reserve a meeting room in real time. There are 8 hours of meeting room every month  in my Platinum plan but I can unlimited use in the lobby  of One Global Place.

myvoffice portal

vOffice in Makati

The vOffice Boutique Center on the Penthouse of Mavenue Building does not offer unlimited use of their lobby unlike One Global Place in BGC. Even if Mavenue branch is smaller compared to One Global Place , I find their conference room adequate for my needs. One can fit 10-12 people in here. The best thing in having various vOffice location is the convenience. Sometimes, people prefer to go to Makati instead of BGC.

conference room at voffice makati

There is a whiteboard, a TV monitor and an outdoor view of the roofdeck.

conference room meeting room at voffice makati

The conference room faces an open balcony which can be used for event space that include the use of this room. I’ll get back to this later.

penthouse voffice mavenue

vOffice Premier/desk (vWorkdesk)

The conference room was too spacious for me so I decided to use the vOffice Premier/desk (vWorkdesk) which still had some vacancies. The vWorkdesk is place to get some work done and at the same time having a premium business address, phone number, receptionist to answer your calls in your business name and meeting facilities when you need it.  The vWorkdesk is not for me since I am very mobile. This is quite useful for startups and the small entrepreneur that need an office space without placing huge investment cost on  the lease.

virtual office

vWorkdesk can be leased for a minimum of 1 month but you can avail of discount for longer term lease.

 

table at voffice makatiSo what is included in the vWorkdesk?

1. Quality working desk and ergonomic chair

2. Fast wired or wireless internet for you to plug in

3. Backup internet service provider

4. Professional office setup. Not a call center environment

5. Unlimited light snacks, coffee, tea, filtered water and occasional beer

voffice makati pantry

There are even drawers beside each vOfficeWorkdesk for storage of files.

voffice workstation desk in makati

There is an ongoing promotion of 9,500 pesos a month for long term lease. Check the vOffice website for more details. It is nice to know that  there is real time chat with a service representative.

voffice mavenue makati

Event space at vOffice Boutique center in Makati

Like I said earlier, there is an event space outside the meeting room. One has an amazing skyline with plentiful parking space and centrally located right on Makati Avenue. It costs 20,000 pesos for 4 hours use,  inclusive of roof deck area and meeting room. Additional hours is at 5,000 pesos an hour.

voffice makati event space

 

The event space is 66 square meters. The lease includes a sound system, PA system, Smart TV for presentation, couch seatings, electricity, and great view of buzzing Makati Avenue.

voffice makati event space penthouse

For other needs, vOffice can offer assistance and recommendations in food and drinks catering service, cocktail bar setup, mobile lighting, DH, sound system solution setup, additional tables, chairs rentals, and PR agencies

roof deck in voffice makati

 

New branches in Cebu and Makati for 2015

I am excited with the opening of their second Makati branch in Rufino Pacific tower on February 2015. You might want to check the rates offered. I love that there is a Cebu branch in the Cebu Business Park, opening this first quarter of 2015. That now makes a total of six branches (two in the Fort, two in Makati and one in Cebu). The best part is you can have a meeting room in all of these branches, depending on your plan and number of hours per plan.

voffice in rufino tower

There is so much benefit for start-ups and entrepreneurs that need to keep operating costs low while developing a professional corporate image. Read again the benefits of a virtual office. If you do need a virtual office or vOffice Premier/desk within minutes,  check out the website of voffice.com.ph for their limited time offer for discounted rates. Now as low as 500 pesos a month for their lowest plans.

It’s a new year and there are new goals for whatever work you do.  Depending on your needs, now is the time to consider a virtual office or Voffice work desk.

If you do need an office within minutes,  check out the website of voffice.com.ph for the plans you want to avail then use my referral page or call +632 2242 000 and tell them that I referred you.

Remember my small office home office? This is in the second level of my home.

workstation

Before the move to my current residence, my home office was beside the kitchen.

virtual office at home

I called it either Home-office, Business-office (HOBO) or Small-office Home-office (SOHO) . Whatever you call it, I’ve been a work-at-home-mom since my second daughter was born in 1987. I like that my home office is a small nook that allows me to be in touch with kitchen activities and family members hovering behind me. Everyone was yelling distance away except for my kids if they are in their bedrooms. That’s because the walls of their rooms are almost sound-proof.

Now that I got even busier as a social business consultant and blogger, meetings took place in coffee shops. Meeting at my SOHO was not ideal because of the distance and secondly I wanted my privacy. Having to meet at coffee shops has its space limitation during meetings. The solution was a virtual office space .

.

I discovered voffice.com.ph,. vOffice in short for Virtual Office, gives you everything you need to efficiently run your business less the cost of maintaining a physical office. It gives you a prestigious business address, telephone & fax number, professional receptionist to answer your call, working space, full equipped meeting facilities, on-demand secretary and more. I got their Platinum plan.  Let me tell you about the benefits of using vOffice, my virtual office.

 

1. Prestigious Bonifacio Global City address at One Global Place (5th Avenue & 25th Street)

virtual office one global

I am always at the Global City so I liked that there are offices there at the Fort Legend and One Global. My Fitness First Gym is just across One Global Place so that is quite convenient for me. They also have a Makati address at Mavenue building. The best part of the voffice experience is I can also use the facilities of the Fort Legend (open 24/7) and Mavenue in Makati. . I like the idea of the Makati office with an open space, fresh air, roof deck area, fresh plants and a cup of hot tea to accompany you while you work.

mavenue makati v office

I have only experienced One Global Place so far but in the next few months, I will be visiting the two others. I can also use the virtual office at Melbourne, Singapore , London, Hongkong, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur Jakarta Selatan ,Jakarta Pusat, Shanghai , Beijing and Bangkok.

2. Affordable rates.

For the platinum plan, it costs 3,600 pesos a month. If you divide that by 25 working days, that is only 144 pesos a day, pretty much the cost of a large sized coffee mug order. One can get more out of the 144 pesos a day.

Screen Shot 2014-08-15 at 5.46.24 PM

Here is what I can get:

1. Receive Mails & Parcels on my behalf.
2. SMS or Email notification.
3. Local & International Mail Forwarding.
4. Scan & Email service is available upon
5. Elegant Reception Service.
6. Calls Handling
7. Dedicated Local Telephone Number.
8. Professional Call Answering.
10. SMS or Email notification.
11. Call Screening and Transfer.
12. Personalized Voicemail.
13. Fax Services
14. Dedicated Local Fax Number.
15. Instant Fax Forwarding to your email

and comes with an unlimited use of a fully WIFI-ed business lounge and

– 8 hours per month worth PHP 7,200 per month
– 2 teleconference at 20 hours per month
– Executive Office Suite at 3 hours a month

I will expand on this more.

3.  Flexibility of using meeting rooms at 8 hours a month in over 25 locations

virtual office

I log on to MyvOffice.me to reserve a meeting room in real time. The voffice was quite useful when I needed to power my gagdets after a storm. My home did not have power for three days.

virtual office meeting room

4. Unlimited use of the fully WIFI-ed Business lounge

virtual office lobby

if you have used up your meeting room hours and are not willing to pay for additional, using the business lounge or pantry is an option. Those nifty white chairs are quite functional. There are power outlets within reach unlike a coffee shop where it is “first come first served”. It can get noisy though since this is the main lobby and there are many people coming in and out.

virtual office chair

5. Unlimited coffee at the pantry

How I love the pantry. There is a ref, a microwave, water dispenser , spoon , fork , glasses and mug.

virtual office kitchen

The best part is unlimited quality coffee . Now that is worth the 144 a day cost of a virtual office, right?

voffice coffee

6. Close to my gym

This is the “The Fort Strip” , a view from the pantry and where my Fitness First gym is located.

virtual office view

Physical activity can’t just be limited to tapping on my macbook finger exercises . My daily routine entails a two-hour gym workout in between my work After a workout, I can just walk towards One Global Place.

7. Receive calls and parcels

The ability to receive small parcels is an advantage. Having been stalked for over seven years now, I do not relish giving out my address or phone number to anyone. In fact, I had to change my landline and mobile phone numbers last year . With a dedicated phone number, the receptionist receives calls for me and then forwards it to my mobile number

virtual office mail box

 

8. An Elite Card Advantage

Having this Elite Card gives me discounted rates from their partner hotels, restaurants and boutiques with as much as 15% discount on selected partners. Click here to see the list.

voffice card

I can see the benefits of a virtual work space for start-ups and small sized entrepreneurs. One does not need to invest in a lease for office space or get a mortgage for a building. My business operates well in a virtual environment. Technically, my office is wherever I am . With the current technology , I can conduct my business anywhere but having an address in my business card is more professional. First impressions mean a lot. I don’t want to use my home address as the business address. With a virtual office, there is relief from the stresses of a traditional one.

If you do need an office within minutes,  check out the website of voffice.com.ph for the plans you want to avail then use my referral page or call +632 2242 000 and tell them that I referred you.

head lamp

Typhoon Glenda left more than 20 hours ago and as I type this , there is still no power where I live. Over the radio I heard that 19% of Metro Manila do not have electricity. I should count my blessings that there is not much property damage compared to the Milenyo wrath in 2006. I was ready for power interruption because in 2006, we did not have power for more than two days. I relied on coffee shops .

When your business is dependent on internet service, a day without it is problematic. Two days without it gets to be “near critical”. Where does one get an internet connection when the whole city has no power? I managed the first 24 hours . To go around the house, I wore this headlamp. I look like a miner but it is so convenient that one can even use this at the dinner table for light.

headlamp rechargeable

If you are interested, this BAILONG rechargeable LED Lamp can be found at 888 in Divisoria .  It is also water proof and can act as a hazard light. At bulk price, it is around 550 pesos. Thanks to #SafePH, an advocacy of Smart telecom, for this little gift which was part of a larger disaster kit. I will share more photos as soon as I have power.

ultra saving mode from samsung galaxy tab s

With limited Globe and Smart mobile internet, I still managed to post updates on twitter and facebook. It was erratic though. I am glad my Samsung Galaxy Tab S has ultra saving power. The display is black and white . Who needs color? I am using the Tab S to check typhoon updates and share it with my social media network.

akari rechargeable lamp

I am glad I got to buy this Akari Rechargeable lamp at the HandyMan for 2,000 pesos.  Aside from the lamp, there is an  AM and FM radio as well as a fan. Despite the winds, I felt hot inside my room. The fan lasted me for 7 hours using it off and on. The radio was quite useful too since it gave me continuous stream of information.  This morning I had to go to my car to charge my mobile internet and other gadgets.

charging inside the car 1

The light accessory can charge my mobile wifi while my USB adaptor charged my Galaxy Tab S with enough juice for me to check some updates online. And I also took my breakfast inside the car. Well, that’s how I coped. Despite the brownout, I count my blessings that our water supply is steady and we have gas to cook our food.

charging inside the car

My virtual office is also convenient. (Mr. Stalker, don’t get any ideas. You won’t be able to find me here on a daily basis because there are other branches in Manila and around Asia that I can go to.) . Though I have unlimited hours at the business lounge, I booked a meeting room for four hours  today so I could charge all my gadgets and work on my deadlines. I will update more during the day.

virtual office