Coronavirus. Covid-19. Pandemic. Social distancing. Stay – at – Home. These are the terms that have become everyday common place for us and our lives. When faced with all of those terms, the fears of contracting the Coronavirus, as well as all of the official rules and regulations, what is there for the everyday man or woman to do? You stay at home but begin to go stir crazy. You try working from home but every time you turn around it seems that your spouse, kids, or even pets want something. You attempt to focus, even with the distractions, but realize that work is not your priority because you are not ‘at work’. You start skimping and only doing the minimum. You decide you do not like the way your work ethic is changing – but what is there to do about it?

No Privacy

You need a place you can go without distractions, where you still are going ‘to work’, and where you have the focus you need to accomplish great things. A place that you can work at, while still being socially distant from people and where you do not have to be in contact with people. You need a private office. Not one at home where people are banging on the door wanting you to … unclog the toilet or take out the trash. Maybe they just want you to make dinner or help them with their e-homework. Either way, you are not accomplishing your task at home. So where do you go to find an office where you have privacy, can accomplish your work, and can still stay socially distant from people?

Solutions!

Why, Officense, of course. We provide private offices for use on a regular basis (dedicated offices), an as-needed basis, and also by the hour (both are day member offices). Along with a private office, you gain superbly well trained executive assistants, knowledge that the ‘public areas’ (reception, kitchen, bathrooms and the like) are cleaned and sanitized regularly to help prevent the spread of germs, and the ability to have a conversation or to sequester yourself away as you choose. You also gain the freedom to enter day or night (with dedicated offices),

Our executive assistants can also help you by answering the phone and screening calls (no one wants to have their work interrupted by those annoying auto dialers who call every few hours). They will greet anyone that you feel a need to see and seat them in the reception area. If you need a print out or copy, you can either do it yourself or have one of the executive assistants do it for you. You also gain the advantage of no longer needing to deal with all that junk mail everyone gets – the executive assistants will sort that and deliver it to either your private mail box (just like a P. O. Box but with access at all hours of the day and night) or your office as per your choice. We’ll even forward it to your home if you’d like.

Paycheck Protection

At the moment we are also offering 30 – day services for those affected by covid-19 and only need space on a temporary basis. We now provide free application assistance for anyone interested in taking advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), designed by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Paycheck Protection Program has $350 billion for loans to help alleviate the economic downturn by keeping those employed through the COVID-19 crisis by independent contractors, sole proprietorships, or small businesses with employees. All loans may be forgiven if the borrowers maintain their payrolls during the pandemic, or restore their payrolls immediately afterward.

To find out more information on the COVID-19 relief program, please visit https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp. 

To download the application PDF, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form–paycheck-protection-program-borrower-application-form, or reach out to our sales coordinators for application assistance.

Please feel free to give us a call at 410-814-7500, email us at info@officense.com , or if you are really feeling plucky come on in and visit us to scope out the scene at 300 E Lombard St. Suite 840, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. We look forward to hearing from you – and maybe seeing you some day!

GROWING BUSINESS

Has your business grown bigger than you expected it to? Do you need more workspace for yourself now that your company is beginning to grow? If so then its time to plan and search for next office. At Officense, we can offer several options that might  be the perfect fit for you. Officense can provide you with the virtual office for your business along with administrative support if required. Today a lot of businesses and services are in high demand. With higher demand for businesses, there is a high demand for employees and working space as well.

RENT VIRTUAL OFFICE SPACE

You can rent an office just for the day or rent on a more permanent basis where you will have a dedicated office all of your own. If you’ve previously worked from home but your business is starting to expand, as a day member our offices are the perfect place to meet with your clients. If you are looking for a more permanent office, we can provide you with additional services such as receptionist services.

FURNISHED CONFERENCE ROOMS

Maybe you need a space for conferences or other large meetings for your business. We offer both a small and large conference room for these types of events that will satisfy your business needs. To give you an example, many of our clients that are involved in the legal field, hold depositions and arbitration’s in our conference rooms. Our team will work with you to make arrangements for your meeting, and in addition, a full catering service can be provided upon request.

With officense by your side, your needs are our priority and we strive to fulfill any service you may need. At Officense, we offer affordable Class A conference rooms and office space for any sized business. We have fully furnished spaces in a professional environment for meetings, depositions, training sessions, or mediations. You can rent the meeting spaces, offices, and conference rooms hourly, daily or weekly.

Our amenities include Wi-Fi Internet access, audio/visual equipment, conference calling speakerphone, food and beverage service, and administrative support to assist you with the success of your meeting. We have professional and college-educated Virtual Assistants who will make your clients feel valued and appreciated.

Please give us a call at 410-814-7500 to schedule your meeting now!

Okay, that statement might be a bit dramatic.

However, with recent light of COVID-19, there are plenty of industries that should be appreciated – now more than ever. Such as the hard-working doctors and hospital employees, postal service/delivery employees, and of course our grocery stores. And now, virtual offices and virtual assistants are also becoming a blessing as well.

THE CURRENT PANDEMIC

The entire world has seemingly come to a complete halt in terms of keeping daily life operating. While the advice WHO is urging people towards, such as social distancing, is necessary to help prevent the virus from further spreading, it doesn’t stop business-owners from worrying about keeping their company above water. In these hard times, questions start rolling in – each one in a panic – about how to keep things functioning.

How long will we need to be closed for?

How will I pay my employees still?

Will I have to lay some people off?

I know my bills don’t stop just because of the shut-down; will I be able to afford my business expenses?

Or even my personal expenses?

VIRTUAL OFFICES

Virtual offices are on the up and coming when it comes down to go-to business decisions. And with today’s circumstance of COVID-19, space from people and the office is not at all a bad thing. In fact, it’s a really great alternative to the work-from-home solution some companies have been positioning to their employees. With virtual offices, you don’t have to train your entire staff on working from home and all that it can entail – with protocols, set-ups, remote connections and access to the office desktops, etc. Instead, let the executive assistant team at Officense take care of it for you.

Officense is a virtual office space with services from fully-trained executive assistants. We can handle things for your business operations such as answering phone calls or maintaining scans, faxes and mail. While we do have plenty of individual, private office spaces – in compliance with the social distancing order – we also can complete your tasks for your company without you having to step foot in the building.

CONTACT US

Give us a call today, at 410-814-7500. Or, if you’re feeling healthy/adventurous enough, stop by in person for a tour and take a look at what we offer. We are located at 300 E. Lombard St. Suite 840. Baltimore, MD 21202. Officense will be here, ready to help you keep your company in business during these trying times.

Concern over the Corona-virus has forced more and more companies to have their employees work from home. Based on the announcement made by World Health Organization, Corona-virus has officially reached the ‘pandemic’ status. Many companies including major companies like Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Sales-force etc. are enforcing mandatory work from home policies to control the spread of Covid-19.

According to the Corona-virus: How to work from home, the right way article, “Some employees will be working from home for the first time, which means figuring out how to stay on task in a new environment that may not lend itself to productivity. But there are ways to deliver results and avoid going stir-crazy, from setting up a good work space to the way you talk to your team.”

With the latest technology and ways to connect virtually, there has been a rise in working remotely. There are several benefits of working from home in these situations. Employees tend to be more productive, take fewer sick days, face less stress, work more hours and spend less time to commute to work. People prefer not having to spend extra time getting ready in the morning, skipping commuter traffic, and the ability to run an errand or travel. Being able to customize your work day is appealing to everyone.

Tips to work from home

Communicate more often

Having a clear communication with your boss and your team is the key to working from home. Use communicating tools such as chat apps or video conferencing apps to stay connected with one another on a regular/daily basis. Managers need to make an effort to stay connected, check in with the employees, especially to those who live alone and might feel left out or isolated.

Create a real job environment

Try to create a dedicated work space, create boundaries within your home and let your family members understand that you are working. Take shower, get dressed and work like you would work at your office desk.

Do not panic and stay positive

Try not to focus on negative headlines. Instead take few breaks and catch up with your colleagues and chat. Its easy to panic and stressed out on theses days so, the Managers and the team need to acknowledge one another’s stress and cheer for the team and stay focused.

Virtual office assistant could be a great help

You are sick or you might be working from home but you also have to keep up with your work and the incoming calls. At Officense you will have a team of executive assistants, both in office and virtually, who tailor phone answering services to your needs. You will gain a fully trained and professional staff that will make working from home work for you with Covid-19 or without. You have the ability to grow your business from the comfort of your home.

Our executive assistants answer your calls, handle your mail, greet your clients, follow up with leads and schedule appointments, providing a corporate feel and impressive business address. We provide high-end business facilities with fully furnished dedicated and a la carte office space, as well as conference rooms by the hour. An instant office when you need it, professional phone service to give your home office a corporate feel, and an impressive staff to help you with all of your administrative work.

Give Officense a call at (410) 814-7500 to meet your new staff and tour your new business location, today!

Anyone that starts a business obviously wants to see it grow. So have you taken the time to really think about how beneficial networking could be? I understand that finding the ability to network in your overly-flooded schedule can be challenging for any business owners. It requires a decent amount of free time – and money too – to go to networking events, schedule dinner meetings, or even to stop by a potential partner’s workplace.

Imagine this scenario:

You have to get A, B and C done for your company by the end of the week – on top of finishing X, Y and Z. You have a few meetings in the mix and now something else goes wrong along the way too. Maybe employees got sick so everyone thinks they have the coronavirus, or maybe people just show up not wanting to work. Now you have a plethora of tasks, and definitely no time for a networking meeting. Sounds about right for any company at any given moment.

You’re frustrated while heading home, so you bring it up to your family at dinner. Then you bring it up again when you go out for drinks with some friends. And now your buddies, who struggle with business issues themselves, are also talking about the downfalls for everyones companies.

But what if you found something that would alleviate at least half of your current problems? What if it freed up some extra money for your business too? What if you had a mutual place to meet for networking discussions? Or better yet, what if you worked in a coworking office with some of your potential partners?

Now imagine this scenario:

You and your employees work in a coworking space, which is a shared office that would allow individuals from various companies to work independently or collaboratively. Coworking environments could really be a beneficial factor in a company’s expansion, and overall success rate. Like I said, it takes time and money to go out of your way for all of these networking meetings. If you relocated your business to a coworking space, your rent would be cut back pretty tremendously. In turn opening up funds for more business moves you want to make, such as making investments in networking campaigns.

Coworking spaces themselves also give the opportunity for networking, because you are in a space with people you otherwise wouldn’t meet in a regular workplace setting. As you are working in the same office suite as these other companies, you come to build a relationship with them. After all, you’re seeing them on a regular basis and learning what they do. Some business owners feel co-working spaces can be counter intuitive to what they are trying to accomplish. They feel employees will either be talking too much, or keeping headphones on all day, avoiding interaction with eachother in general. While that sometimes is the case, it’s not always true.

Officense is the answer:

Luckily, here at Officense we have a coworking space with individual offices. When you have your own office inside a coworking environment, it provides a sense of privacy you otherwise wouldn’t get in other open-floor plans to complete your work without distractions. All while still encouraging coworkers and other business owners who work in the space with you to step into your office and discuss collaborations and business opportunities (hence, the networking aspect you’ve been craving).

If you are meeting with a larger group, we have 2 conference rooms, equipped with a monitor for video conferencing as well. Even if you didn’t need a full-time office, you could always make it a part-time solution, as we have very cost-effective day rates for renting the conference rooms and offices only when you need it. Officense also offers around the clock access to the space we have provided for you. So even when your company doesn’t run 24×7, those late night conferences can still continue if you wish.

Another benefit to our coworking space at Officense is the ability to utilize our team of executive assistants to handle your receptionist work. You wouldn’t have to hire employees who don’t want to work anymore. Instead, you’d have us here ready to help you out with whatever you need. So stop being overwhelmed with stress and things to do! Don’t discuss all the things going wrong over drinks tonight, talk to your group about the perfect solution: contacting Officense!

Contact Us Today:

We’ll be ready to help with your coworking needs, so you can focus more on networking, and growing your business to it’s full potential. For more information, call Officense at 410-814-7500, email us at info@officense.com, or stop in for a visit. We are located at 300 E. Lombard St., Suite 840, Baltimore, MD 21202. We’ll look forward to meeting you!