CentreO Blog

When I had the pleasure of having a chat with Stephen Barnes the “Hong Kong Visa Geeza”, he stressed how things have changed with the advent of the modern internet. His philosophy is to provide expert information and guidance which helps solve people’s problems and answers their questions in a variety of different format types; written, podcast, infographics, PDF and, most importantly, video.

“When I first decided I wanted to use video extensively on my websites, I was shocked at home expensive it was to ask others to produce it for me” he said. “I couldn’t believe how, when video recording equipment is now so readily affordable, video production professionals were charging so much for simple talk-to-camera videos. It was especially galling as you can buy easy-to-use video editing software for about USD100 these days. Why such a disconnect?”

Understanding how costly and fragmented the video services industry in Hong Kong was, he bought some equipment off eBay and started recording his videos in his own home. As his library of video content grew, this led to him, in late 2013, creating Video Cha Cha!

“Between 2011 and 2013, I learned that producing high quality video is just a simple matter of working to a formula. My 400 or so videos were now working hard in introducing lots of new business to my immigration services business so I wanted to significantly upgrade the scope and quality so my business partner and I established our own studio in Wanchai” Barnes told me. “And when we are not using it to produce our own videos for the Hong Kong Visa Centre, we make it available to other start ups, SMEs and first time entrepreneurs at really affordable prices. We called this service, Video Cha Cha!”

This new filming space located in Wan Chai, not only gives a high quality home for Hong Kong Visa Centre’s website content creation activities, but also an affordable studio space for entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity of website videos too! Video Cha Cha offers quick and easy video filming at the right price.

For more information about Video Cha Cha and their services, visit: http://www.videochacha.hk/

We live in a world when speed is everything. We are encouraged to be more productive and efficient.

Completing certain deadlines often feels like Mission Impossible and even after putting in extra hours at work, skipping lunch and missing out on a lot of your social life, we still feel like we are falling behind.

As most of our projects involve lots of creative thinking, we believe that spending too much time on something as routine as typing can be a huge time-waster. But it can be easily avoided and  And here’s how!

We have compiled a number of steps to help you type faster. Behold, Step One:

Step One: Get Rid of Bad Typing Habits

This one is not easy, as it means changing the typing method you’ve been using since you first saw the keyboard.

If you are an FPS (First Person Shooter) gamer, you may be placing your left hand on WASD keys. While others may type with only two fingers, hovering over ten or more keys. And even though you may be actually typing fast, breaking the habit immediately will really help you.

 

 

 

In 2010 a study by Central Michigan University wanted to test the large amounts of anecdotal evidence saying that dogs in workplaces had positive effects on workers. So Christopher Honts and Matthew Christensen developed an experiment that explored the effects of dogs on cooperation between colleagues.

The participants were divided into two teams. Each team was given a creative task to finish, at the end of which they were asked to fill in a questionnaire. One team had a dog in the office, while the other one chose to remain dogless.

The results revealed a significant difference in how the dog groups and non-dog groups behaved. The researchers found that the teams who had a dog with them ranked higher on qualities of trust, team cohesion, and intimacy than the teams who were dog-less. The results of the second experiment were that the teams who had a dog as a member of their group were 30% less likely to snitch on their other team members. These are very interesting and positive findings, showing how dogs can facilitate communication between people.

We hope that O Dog will do just that for us and our team with this new cute member we’ll grow even closer and rise to new professional heights!

I had the pleasure of having a chat with Stephen Barnes. A lawyer by training, Stephen was given the opportunity in his early years to become a specialist in Hong Kong immigration and has been doing it for over 20 years. Realising many people struggle with lack of information on immigration and visas, as well as the how cost effective the internet can be, he created the Hong Kong handbook and online videos, so that information he had was easily accessible to the public. His transparency and unconditional expertise help (I think) is what has lead to his positive image and reliability.

What I have gathered is, Stephen is a modern businessman. He understands, and has put in play, that building relationships and goodwill will, create value in the long term. Not only, does he realise the world around him is changing and evolving, but adapting to those changes with transparency, is what I think has led to his ongoing success.

For all you entrepreneurs out there in Hong Kong, this is for you, I asked!:

What advice would you give on being a successful business person in Hong Kong?

Stephen replied: deliver value unconditionally, use the internet in a smart way, protect your reputation at all costs.

To get some DIY visa help, to find out more or contact Stephen visit: http://www.hongkongvisageeza.com/

***Don’t forget Stephen is in this Thursday for a Hong Kong Permanent Residency Application Workshop, RSVP here****

-by Cathy

Katy Bowman, biomechanical scientist and the author of Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief, offers easy and highly helpful advice for healthy office footwear. We felt it would be a crime not to share with our dear readers.

Five footwear tips from Katy Bowman:

1. Avoid a pointy, super-narrow toe-box. The less space for toes, the greater chances of developing bunions and neuromas—and the more pressure is placed on toes when you’re upright.
2. Opened-back, slide-on footwear requires toe gripping that can lead to hammer toes and foot tension. Find a style with straps that keep the shoe attached to your body so your toes do not have to work.
3. If your ankles wobble with each step, you need either more hip strength or a better-shaped heel. In any event, wobbling around while walking tends to conjure up images of playing dress-up in mom’s closet.
4. Dropping an inch off your most frequented heel height is a great way to improve the state of the feet, knees, and back. It depends on your height, but a heel that’s less than two inches high is good. The ideal height is no heel. Placing your feet at any angle does some damage.
5. Invest in a pair of Italian, handmade flats. Find a pair of beautiful boots, embellished ballet flats, or a simple, yet classic, nude staple.

And remember: your comfort comes first!