Good morning to you.
It has been 5 months since I updated this part of the website. Has been busy with things and it's amazing how time really flies.
First of all, I'm happy to say that Virtual Office Singapore™ has celebrated our 7th birthday. That's about 2,500+ days of business operations, for thousands of clients and hundreds of thousands of their mails, calls and faxes processed (luckily, it's not within a year). It has not been easy, considering that the economy was unbashfully weak. We managed to scrape through undefeated, with minor scratches off our marginal profits.
Yesterday was my little girl's 8th birthday and today is my wedding 9th anniversary. What I gained is more responsiblities and a sense of achievement, as day after day, I struggled through the toil of life. Just like starting a business, it takes tremendous courage (or stupidity, if failed) to kickstart a new purpose in life. And even when the things started to take shape, it takes a steel-willed administrator to invest his or her unwavering commitment to ensure that things are running smoothly, in spite there is not such pleasure of a smooth-run business.
Similarly, Virtual Office Singapore™ has for its first time experience higher staff turnover. Maybe the economy is improving and hence there are attractive offers around. Still, I'm proud of a few facts - 1) Ms. Nina Kosasih, one of our pioneering employee and a dear colleague of mine has left the company to pursue her interest in theartre production and screen-writing [NINA WE MISS YOU], 2) Ms. Sandra Yen, one of our young staffs has been blossomed into an achiever and has been promoted to assist sales & administration, and 3) Ms. Iris Kwa, our third accountant from the famed Mandarin Oriental, who has been a role model of hardwork and discipline.
By the way, we will be celebrating this month + August with a iPad promo. As an iPhone user, an ex-staff of Apple and was in-charge of Apple ODM production in some ulu part of Malaysia, I become an advocate of Apple products. iPad is a beautiful product made by an innovative company. While it might not take over the world (Steve Jobs would believe otherwise), iPad would be an excellent tool for the road-warrior that requires a simpler platform for business or for pleasure. And right now till end of August, one lucky winner that signed up for any of our 24 months package will stand to win the 64GB 3G & WIFI version of Apple iPad. Yes, house rules applies.
Lastly, being an entrepreneur-turned-businessman, as well as a part-time venture capitalist + part-time inventor + part-time judge, I am always bombarded with questions. But being a virtual office website and most of you are entrepreneur wannabes, I think majority want to know if it's the right time to start a business. Frankly, it's never a wrong time to start a right business (vice-versa). It's that simple. Pick something you know and do something about it. Don't hedge. Be the change you want to see.
Alright, I need to go do man stuff (i.e. sending my wife to work). Drop me an email if you wish to be part of this conversation. Take care!
Cheers,
Hi Everyone,
I would like to wish everyone a happy lunar new year. Economy is getting slightly better but still recovery would be slow. As the saying goes "strike while the iron is hot", this is probably the right time to start business. I have been speaking to a few entrepreneurs as well as judging business plans for Startups@Singapore, overall the spirit of enterprise is still going strong and many are hoping that 2010 would be an excellent year to pursue their venture.
I would like to thanks all of our customers who had supported us throughout the years, hence we are holding a lucky draw of 15 pairs of tickets (worth around $45) for our long-term customers, to a theartre play by one of our staffs at the Art House. It's a little token of appreciation from us.
Lastly, our office will be observing the Lunar New Year Days - 15th to 16th February 2010, closing for these two days. From the management and the staffs of Virtual Office Singapore, we wish you a prosperous new year ahead!
Cheers,
Hi Guys,
Many of times, I have received customers' email enquiries about why they should sign up with us.
Simply said, we have been serving virtual office customers since 2003 and we have the best location in CBD. Compared to some who are like a kilometre away from prominent MRT stations, we are just 50 metres sheltered walk away from Raffles Place Exchange MRT exit). Our office unit is 13th level/floor which signify the entire floor "belongs" to you, making you looks really good in front of your customers. Our prices are very competitive because we don't have hidden tricks up our sleeves. Some providers offer free phone line, free web host, free this and that for the first year. So what happen after first year? You got to start paying for these "free" services after you're being hooked. For example, we almost wanted to offer "freebies" but seriously we know that there are really good companies out there that are backed by teams of professionals. Bona-fide & single-product companies are there for a reason.
So if you're looking for a reliable and honest virtual office provider, do give us a chance to serve you.
Cheers,
Hi Guys,
Here's a great motivation video. Check it out.
Cheers,
Hello everyone. Well, Virtual Office Singapore is about to be 6 years old and like any other companies, we take this opportunity to come out a special promotion. One lucky winner who signed up for any of our package will stand to win a Dell Netbook. I guess this is the most expensive prize we ever issue.
Anyway, there are some new changes in term of staffing. First, I would like to wish well to my good ol' staff - Ms. Zenn Ng who has been with us for about 3 years. Yes, she has been poached by someone else who gave her double of her salary. Zenn was a wonderful staff and mentor, and has been a pillar of our operation.
As such, we have a new staff by the name of Krisellie Tarlac and she has been learning fast in running the operation with Sandra. Let's welcome her!
Alright, I keep this blog short. Hopefully the economy turns better and that everyone would have a great May ahead!
Cheers,
I am so happy that our Singapore Government has taken positive steps to improve Singapore economy through extraordinary measures, unheard of in our tiny island.
Smile,
Hi! I know this is a little late but still... a happy new year to all readers! And to all the chinese people out there, gong xi fa cai (恭喜发财) to all of you!
Personally, I hope that 2009, the year of ox/cow/bull, would be a good year. 2008 was very much a terrible year for everyone as the globe economy sudden went berserk, and people start losing money, jobs and whatever they have. The Wall Street Bubble finally burst and trillion dollars worth of market sentiments & investors confidence ka-poof into thin air.
Before I blog more, I have a few announcement:
We are rather concerned because customers are confused by these providers. In fact, we have recently been "scolded" by a customer because we did not activate their package. But after some investigation, we found out that this customer has actually signed up with another providers and that they did not activate the service after receiving payment. We are extremely concerned about this issue because their irresponsible behaviour will hurt the overall virtual office industry.
Seriously when you choose a virtual office provider, you need to be extremely sure that the provider is bona-fide and really serious in business. As the saying goes "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" which is true in our virtual office industry.
Since 2003, I have seen a few of these super-cheap virtual office providers that finally close their business to start on more profitable, less labour-intensive services such as web-hosting, name-card printing, t-shirt printing, business consulting, etc. Worse, some of them are just consulting firms that they hope to gain some fresh companies, to pay for their rent and as well as get their business (and their customers if they are in the same consulting line).
Virtual Office Singapore™ has been around for 6 years and we have been dedicated in providing quality virtual office services to over 7,000 customers. If you are truly concerned about your business, call us at (65) 6725 8088 or email us at sales@virtualoffice.com.sg.
Cheers,
Hello everyone.
I believe this probably is one of the longest hiatus, not having the time to write my thoughts on this blog. For those who follow this blog (I know who you guys are), sorry about this as I have been rather busy later.
First and foremost, here's what I going to share with you guys:
First and foremost, let me welcome Sandra Yen for joining Virtual Office Singapore™. She happens to be the younger sister of my good friend, and has sweet charisma, great personality and positive attitude. She will be part of our mailroom team, assisting our Operation Manager, Zenn Ng.
For the past few months, the global economy has weaken because of the vertigo collapse of confidence and lending. Simply said, people had been excessively borrowing from lenders, who had confidence in the market (or maybe the commission is good). All these "good-feeling" lending goosed up everyone confidence and valuation for everything increased. Probably due to aggresive marketing from sub-prime underwriters & investment bankers, mark-to-market accounting, close-knitted financial institutions from New York to Tokyo, automated stock software, and lack of government leadership, all these catalyze the collapse of our economy. The lenders don't wish to be a fool, and currently writing off whatever they could, so they could pass the buck to the Government. If you think about it, nothing actually changed. Yes, we might spend less, tightening our belt for this rainy day. Yes, people might lose their jobs and companies may collapsed, but that's part and parcel of capitalism. To solve this global economy, the great Adam Smith, father of free market, had said that the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself and that best result comes from what the best for everyone in the group as it would best result for oneself.
What this means is that bankers should restart lending, people should restart their spending, and companies should restart hiring and producing. We're not in any true financial collapse. It's just that the system is a little screwed up.
As for politics, while I still feel McCain would served as a better president, Obama is the right president for this moment. Currently, what the world needs is someone who can talk. Obama reminds me of Martin Luther King, for MLK inspires people about I Have A Dream, Obama did the same with Yes We Can. Leaders are supposed to lead people, through inspiration and through encouragement, through knowledge and through benevolence, through toughness and through kindness, through thoughts and through actions. In this time of despair, I believe that Obama is able to lift the spirit of his people and gradually motivate the world back to where it fell down.
Lastly, I have just launched a new promotion for Nov & Dec 08. Anyone who signed up for our Economy Class package, with a minimum of 12 months, would get to enjoy a free upgrade to Business Class package for the first 2 months. Financially, Freedom Group has been doing along fine during the past few months, hence we're passing some savings to our customers. I know this sounds outrageous, but I would also hope that our customers would also make their product and service more attractive, so that our tiny little acts can collectively stimulate the economy. Yes We Can!
Cheers,
Hi!
It has been quite a while since I have written something on this corporate blog. Had been extremely busy with my other business ventures - car dealership & rental, social networking, online classifieds, etc. Whew! Finally found time to be back with my good old Virtual Office Singapore™.
Nope, I haven't forgotten about this flagship of mine. In fact, I have been constantly finding new ways to improve our service. And my fellow colleague, Karen came out this plan - "Let's Go Easy!" after listening to what customers want, which I feel is what most entrepreneurs like yourself would appreciate!
As a seasoned entrepreneur, I went through the same startup phrase - finding a prestigious business address (which I used my own virtual office), registration of business with ACRA, open banking account, apply for phone and fax lines, tying up with partners, registration with CPF board, etc. And you know what, I get alot of mails from these organisations for the first 2 months and really have no time to come by office to collect (yes, even I have no time to come down to collect due to my involvements with other ventures!).
Right now, if you purchase our Economy Class Virtual Office package, you get 2 months of free mail-forwarding. If you don't want mail-forwarding after that, cancel it. But if you appreciate not coming down to CBD and pay those silly ERP and parking charges, you could upgrade to our Business Class.
This is a fantastic deal and I believe that alot of our potential customers would probably love this. Virtual Office Singapore™ is the only dedicated virtual office provider in Raffles Place, having our own dedicated office floor (#13-00 looks superb in your business card!) and a team of friendly office ladies to help you in your business needs!
Smile,
Farewell To Kavitha
Virtual Office Singapore™ would like to bid farewell to Kavitha. For those who came to our office before, you probably know who she is. Yes, she's our office "princess" and is both well-liked by our customers as well as everyone in the office. Formerly from Great Eastern as an adminstrative clerk, she came to our company because she needs a change of environment and was extremely quiet. Afterawhile, she gradually blend in and become part of our mailroom team. I guess that all my girls will be sad for her to leave, but I rather happy for Kavitha as she finally found a job which she loves - Helping Others.
She has sort of become a social worker, helping young adults and teenages in their life. Finally finishing her Degree in Psychology (yes, a Degree!) during her employment at Virtual Office Singapore, she found her calling in guiding those in need.
Missing you,
Hi Guys... Well, it's June 2008 and we're officially 5 years old!
Since 2003, we have been working hard to become a market leader in the field of virtual office services and I'm proud to say that we have served more than 6,000 entrepreneurs over these period of time. I'm happy that Virtual Office Singapore™ has stablized and able to help thousands of our clients along the way.
Birthdays alway come with presents, but instead of receiving it, Virtual Office Singapore is going to give away over $2,000 worth of prizes. Sounds good?
To win these prizes, just click on the banner on top and tell us how you would benefit from Virtual Office Singapore™ services. That's it. It's that simple!
*BTW, thanks to those who wish us Happy Birthday through email...*
Smile,
Freedom Group Pte Ltd (Virtual Office Singapore) will be having a special promotion. For customers who sign up for any of our virtual office packages, stands to win a pair of tickets for the Singapore Flyer, one of Singapore's upcoming national attractions.
So why wait? Sign up now!
Smile,
Virtual Office Singapore has been awarded with the Hitwise Top 10 Award, which recognises websites from over 160 industries that are leaders in their industry and brings with it the benefit of using the Hitwise Top 10 Award shield.
Smile,
Anniversaries, Updates, Promotions & Thoughts
Fri, 21 Jul 10 | 7.40 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Happy Lunar New Year
Fri, 12 Feb 10 | 10.40 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Why Virtual Office Singapore™ Is Still #1
Thu, 9 Jul 09 | 4.00 PM
CEO Peter Tan
Life = Risk
Mon, 11 May 09 | 3.10 PM
CEO Peter Tan
Hello
Mon, 27 Apr 09 | 8.10 PM
CEO Peter Tan
Hurray!
Thu, 22 Jan 09 | 10.40 PM
CEO Peter Tan
New Year & Lunar Greetings
Mon, 19 Jan 09 | 1.00 PM
For readers who are shopping around for Virtual Office services, please do take note that Virtual Office Singapore™ is not related to:
CEO Peter Tan
Hello Friends of Virtual Office Singapore™
Sat, 8 Nov 08 | 2.20 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Hey... Let's Go Easy
Tue, 2 Sep 08 | 5.40 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Tue, 2 Sep 08 | 3.23 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Happy Birthday Virtual Office Singapore & Win Over $2,000 Worth of Prizes
Sat, 7 Jun 08 | 3.40 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Singapore Flyer Promotion
Sat, 12 Apr 08 | 6.20 AM
CEO Peter Tan
Hitwise Top 10 Winner (Oct - Dec 07)
Fri, 29 Feb 08 | 12.20 PM
CEO Peter Tan
For previous blog posts, click here.