A Step Into the Future: Creating Virtual Offices

A while back we took a leap of faith and decided work remotely from our own office spaces. We love the office at 936 Porter Avenue, but the whole team thought we could increase efficiency and productivity by creating office spaces within our homes. Little did we realize that it would transform the way we work and connect. We set everyone up at their home with a new desk space with updated tech and we absolutely love it!

Ad.In is a company that’s about people. Self described as a “Service Company,” our goal is to create the best looking, most effective product possible. With locations in the Biloxi, D'Iberville, Ocean Springs, and Pascagoula area, we are that much more of an accessible advertising agency to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and beyond! Here are a few benefits that we've noticed since going virtual:

Your Office Is What You Make Of It

The Ad.In Team has had this liberty from the beginning, but since going remote everyone has been able to customize their work space even more! From secluding yourself in a lair-like dark space in the house (Me!) to working in a bright and open area not far from the kitchen (Paul...), we are free to create an office based on our comfort that helps boost our morale.

Your Office Can Be Anywhere—and I Mean Anywhere!

We’re not tied to our homes, either. That doesn’t mean our only other location will be the coffee shop around the corner: We can take care of our work while traveling (when we are passengers, of course), enjoying the great outdoors (thanks to long laptop battery life and tethering to our phones), or even listening to a favorite band at a live concert.

Our Schedules Are More Flexible

Having a workspace easily accessible means that our work can be done on a flexible schedule. I've been able to enjoy a nice morning walk to start my day and then plunge into my work while still getting everything finished on time!

Our team is sure to have some quality break time! Even if it's just 10 minutes, we can do things that just wouldn’t be possible in a traditional office: busting some samba moves, playing a few tunes on a guitar, or taking a refreshing power nap. It always helps to come back feeling more refreshed and ready to bust out some awesome designs or content for the client's benefit!

We Have Enjoyable and Productive Meetings and Keep in Touch More Easily and Effectively

I bet you don’t know anyone who enjoys meetings. Working remotely, we're not only able to choose our seat, but we can also be much more effective. With just a few clicks, we can have 10 people on a video call that will probably last just 15 minutes instead of 45. We can also use the chat function in the video call to quickly share docs (forget making copies or having everyone search their emails) or to add important comments without interrupting anyone.

Most people are afraid that they’ll be lonely or left out when they work remotely. But the opposite is actually true, as there’s a huge range of communication tools for remote workers available now. Using Skype, we have a little fun together from time-to-time using emojis to communicate!

Because everyone is physically around all the time, we've become much more aware of the importance of keeping in touch. Instead of just knowing that Jen can pop around the corner to chat with Paul about the site redesign whenever she likes, she needs to write him or at least have a video chat. So, either in the process of composing her message or planning the meeting, she’ll refine her thoughts and questions and end up saving time for both of them when they do have that discussion.

We Can Stay More Focused

I find myself getting more done working remotely. That’s because I can control my working situation much more—I don’t have to worry about co-workers stopping by to “just ask a quick question” (and 20 minutes later...), obligatory socializing when I grab more coffee, or offending someone by shutting the door to my office. When I need to really concentrate, I can just change my status in the group chat to “do not disturb” and buckle down.

Routine Is Overrated

Why waste time putting on your Sunday's best and dealing with morning and afternoon traffic on Washington Avenue when we can be using that time for what truly matters, OUR CLIENTS! The Ad.In Design team is able to skip the normal routine of the 9-5 marketing agency and open up the 24-hour day for clients and vendors out of our time zone. Don't get me wrong; we come dressed to the nines for our client meetings, but not for our dogs that come to sit on our laps while we work. (Arty...)

At Ad.In, we have a very diverse team: Early Birds (those who come into the traditional office- chirping while everyone else grimaces) and the Night Owls (creatives who don’t even hit their stride until 9 pm). Having a virtual office allows for our awesome creative birds to forget about clocks and bring their 'A' game to our process of producing awesomeness!