My dear friend Katey asked for another update and by golly, I’m happy to give the people what they ask for.
My new job is with a small ad agency that started in Canada, but is now relocating to Oakland, California. I knew one of the guys, Darren, from a previous job. The team we were on did a lot of work on a major campaign for a large credit card company. We got along well, and we laughed a lot and we liked each other. While it was still a hard job, it was a great team.
So way back when Darren left to start his own agency, I told him to let me know if they ever needed a project manager because I’d love to work with him again. And, Darren IMed me like a month ago and asked if I knew any PMs looking for work.
The great conundrum. I was already at a new job. I felt bad leaving, but not really that bad because it wasn’t a good fit. And, I really, really, wanted to follow my heart. So I excepted the new job!
My new title is Program Director, which sounds a little like a cruise director, but isn’t. I do Project Management, and I get to work directly with clients. See, at most online agencies, you have one person that leads the internal team (the Project Manager / PM) and you have another person that owns the client relationship (the Account Manager). I totally loved working with my clients at my last job, and I know that it will be fun getting to work directly with clients again.
For now, there is no office. This means that all staff are working from their homes for the minute. Soon enough, we’ll all probably be asked to relocate over to California once the office is up and running. When that day comes, we’ve been told that we’ll probably need a l1a Visa to make sure we can transfer over to America with the company. Until then, we’re all doing our jobs from our homes. Whilst it’s nice to be at home all day, it does feel strange not being in an office. This strange feeling started to evaporate after visiting togetherplatform.com/use-cases/remote-work. I’m getting used to the change of scenery and in many ways I feel a lot more productive than I normally would stuck in the office. While I’m working from home, I’ve seen a few office supplies that I might need. For example, we’re considering using FilecenterDMS.com to handle our documents easily whilst we’re remote working, but for now we’re making do via other means. The company is looking for a spot in Oakland, which will mean I can take public transportation there when we find the right office. For now, though, I am working from home. Unfortunately, this means we have no office address yet, which can sometimes look quite unprofessional to business partners, clients, or investors. It would probably be a wise idea for the business to invest in a virtual office for now, which is essentially a business address in a representative location without renting an expensive office in the city center. It’s a clever way of maintaining professionalism; you can learn more about virtual offices at https://www.fuer-gruender.de/blog/virtual-office-geschaeftsadresse/. For now though, I just need to focus on getting my work done at home with limited distractions. TV off? I’m at work. TV On? Oh, it’s my living room.
There’s also a great joke that’s already started about the “Cafe” that’s conveniently located to my office (which has been on the couch now for two days). The Cafe is steps from my office and has all my favorite foods. They serve gluten free things, and have coffee ready for me when I wander in. Sound like a dream? Well folks, here’s the secret: The Cafe is my kitchen.
This week I’ll be meeting my co-workers on Thursday onsite with the client. We have a lot of calls together. And we’re all on IM. But I have to be honest, I miss human interaction during the day. And going to lunch or going to coffee and chatting with people face to face.
Well, the Cafe just whipped up some home made fries and chips in the new deep fryer they got over the weekend….
Do you guys have any tips for staying sane while working from home?