Open Office Space

Entrepreneurs: Great Blogs/Books To Get Design Inspiration For Your Office Space

As a follow up to my last 2 blog posts regarding furnishing the "optimal office space" and modern trends in office furniture, here are a few great resources (blogs/books) to help provide you with some additional inspiration and ideas for creating YOUR ideal office space.

BLOGS

The Office Stylist

About The Office Stylist

The Office Stylist is a multi-platform media brand based on the idea that we should live well at work. In addition to offering readers daily tips on office style, two-time entrepreneur and TV personality Sayeh Pezeshki provides office styling services, consulting and personal shopping for private and corporate clients. From the best tasty snacks to keep at your desk to chic office supplies to ways to transform your personal workspace, Sayeh shares what you need to know to live well at work — wherever work is.

Pezeshki is also the founder of Sortingwithstyle.com, the premier online retail destination for office style featuring hand selected chic office supplies and desktop accessories to transform your working world.

Twitter: twitter.com/officestylist

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/theofficestylist

Office Snapshots

About Office SnapshotsOffice Snapshots shows you the inside of the offices you care about. This is generally from Web/Tech companies, and perhaps larger companies that people are familiar with.

Twitter: twitter.com/officesnapshots

The Cool Hunter

Led by founder Bill Tikos, The Cool Hunter celebrates creativity in all of its modern manifestations. Since its inception in 2004 The Cool Hunter has become the world's most-read culture and design site,  a leading authority on all things creative and a truly global hub for what's cool, thoughtful, innovative and original. We value global relevance, not trends, channeling our discoveries to our worldwide audience.

Twitter: twitter.com/thecoolhunter

Facebook: facebook.com/thecoolhunter

Yanko Design

About Yanko Design Yanko Design is a web magazine dedicated to introducing the best modern international design, covering from industrial design, concepts, technology, interior design, architecture, exhibition and fashion. It’s about the cutting edge and the classic, the new and the rediscovered. It’s all about the best.

Twitter: twitter.com/yankodesign

Facebook: facebook.com/yankodesign

Office Design Gallery

About Office Design Gallery

Office Design Gallery is here to bring you a collection of office design from around the globe. From the home office to the enterprise, our environment affects the way we work. And now you have a resource to turn to when you are looking at how to design the office you work in. It could be a small change to your personal work area or a complete office re design, this is the place to start.

Workalicious

About Workalicious

workalicious™ is a weblog featuring workplace design, furniture, implements, and culture.

Twitter: twitter.com/workalicious

BOOKS

I wish I Worked There! A Look Inside The Most Creative Spaces In Business   Kursty Grove and Will Knight

Revealing some of the world’s most inspiring workplaces, I Wish I Worked There! investigates the way 20 famous brands have put innovation at the heart of their culture. Photographs and illustrations detail the way in which companies accommodate creative activity through spaces that: stimulate, enable reflection, promote collaboration and encourage play. Easy-to-adopt principles assist the design, creation or selection of spaces that support creative endeavor. Never before has a title looked specifically at how the working environment fosters the flow of ideas from both practical and emotional perspectives – with business results.

Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces   Ian McCallam

Where We Work explores how creative agencies transform lifeless commercial spaces into bastions of creativity, offering inspiring interiors and visual insight into the breadth and depth of each agency's thought process. By removing the traditional office furnishings and even the typical office culture, this new kind of workspace inspires coworkers to be at their most creative—free to relax, think, and accessorize—and visitors to dream of spending their own workdays within its walls.

Atlas of Office Interiors Alex Sanchez Vidiella

Whether a home studio or a corporate office tower, every office space, with its particular function, needs its own specific design solution. Concepts for reception areas, meeting rooms, and work area fill this collection showing new and effective possibilities that accommodate a range of working styles and a variety of workplace cultures. With 1000 color photographs this book can inspire designers, architects and corporate execs to create efficient, motivational, and pleasing work spaces that will make a statement, increase productivity and improve efficiency.

In this book, Alex Sanchez, has collected and juxtaposed over 600 different office space design ideas making this one of the most comprehensive collections of office space design images every published. Presented in the "Atlas" format, it is a reference book which all commercial interior designer and space planners will want to own

Radical Office Design   Jeremy Myerson

Traditional office work, characterized by repetitive clerical tasks, is rapidly giving way to "knowledge work," characterized by the creative application and exchange of information. In response, architects around the world are leaving aside the old cubicle grid to design imaginative, high-tech offices that foster knowledge work and, at the same time, help workers balance the competing demands of colleagues, customers, and family. The forty-three exceptional workplaces profiled in this timely volume have all been completed within the last six years and serve a wide variety of organizations, both private and public, small and large. Examples range from the headquarters of an advertising firm where one enormous table seats all two hundred employees, facilitating communication, to a BMW plant where the factory production line runs through and above the administrative offices, unifying the corporate community.

The Other Office: Creative Workplace Design     Matt Stewart

The world of work refuses to stand still: new technologies have a huge impact on office design and now that a great many employees have the freedom to do their work anywhere -- on the road, at home, with clients -- the general role of the office has altered significantly. The projects that make up The Other Office identify those offices that keep abreast of the rapid pace of change and, more importantly, set the pace. They achieve their goals in unique and creative ways. Their common denominator is that special quality with which they transcend the mundane requirements of planners' programs, a creative synthesis of the intuitive and the analytical, bringing a new sensibility to the workplace.

If you have additional suggestions that could help give a small business/entrepreneur some design inspiration for their office space, Open Office Space would love to hear from you.

Related Posts

Tips For Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses On How To Furnish The "Optimal" Office Space For Their Company

The Current Trend in Office Furniture. Encouraging Collaboration In The Workplace.

10 Inexpensive Ways To Spruce Up a Small/Shared Office Space

An Inspirational Story + Why Entrepreneurs MUST Bring Health and Fitness Into Their Office

Officebytes TV had the pleasure of interviewing Rahsheen Slaugter and Greg Kalafatic of Breakthroughs to Fitness, a successful personal training company located in Long Island, New York.

Rahsheen Slaughter shares the inspirational story of how he "never let his disability become a liability" on the road to becoming a college All American freestyle wrestler, and eventually founding Breakthroughs To Fitness.  (Rahsheen was born without a quadricep or hamstring on his right leg) 

During the interview, Rahsheen and Greg also give some VERY good reasons why entrepreneurs MUST adopt health and fitness as part of their business/life plan.   

A few good quotes from the interview:

"The #1 excuse entrepreneurs will tell me is that they do not have enough time to workout."

"Stress is something we all encounter, especially for entrepreneurs. You need a way for you body to cope and deal with this stress."

"Some of my best ideas come from when I am just spacing out on the treadmill, elliptical or I just get into a real deep metabolic training session. After I'm done with that, I can go on and solve the problems or challenges I am having in my business that day."

"You have to make sure that you have those 5-6 meals, spread throughout the day so that you do not have those energy woes."

"Can you honestly say that you are in better shape today than 6 weeks ago? How about 6 months ago? How about an entire year? If you can't raise your hand and say yes I am, then your health is on a decline."

About Breakthroughs To Fitness   Breakthroughs to Fitness provides a unique collaborative relationship that provides structure, accountability, and inspiration to enable clients to reach their goals.

The B2F health coaches guide, motivate, provide customized fitness programs, and assist each client to set achievable and challenging goals. They will not diagnose, prescribe, or come up with answers to your challenges but they will facilitate and guide you in the right direction to create the outcome you deserve.

Related Posts

Entrepreneurs - 10 Reasons Why You MUST Bring "Health and Fitness" Into Your Office

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body? 

If you or your company has a knowledge that would help entrepreneurs or small businesses to improve the quality of their workplace, openofficespace.com would love to interview you.

 

Topics might include:

- Commercial Real Estate Expertise

- Workplace Wellness

- How To...(any topic related to improving the workplace)

- Creating an Eco-Friendly Office

- Office Products and Office Furniture

- Workplace Interior Design

- Streamlining Office Expenses

- Property Marketing Solutions

Shared Office Space and White Noise - A Toe-Tapper, A Candy Wrapper...A Knuckle Puncher

My previous shared office space was in an awesome loft building in trendy SOHO, NY. While the space was awesome, it was situated in an old building and the wood floors were somewhat creaky.

I am not sure if the guy a few desks in front of me was trying out for the Tap Dance Kid or he was getting ready to take over drums for Neil Peart of Rush, either way, he was a compulsive toe-tapper. From the minute he sat down, to the minute he left for the day, his foot was going.

Step back a few years earlier and the star of the "annoying show" was played by the famous "candy wrapper", a.k.a the guy who only purchased candy covered in loud wrappers. And much like "toe tapper", "candy wrapper" was busy doing his thing ALL DAY LONG.

The part of Knuckle Puncher would have been played by me, luckily I was able to control myself. Therefore we will just chalk up knuckle puncher to a character that only made the cutting room floor.

Conclusion: Quiet workplaces need office white noise systems (Follow this link to a pretty funny post explaining the need for white noise by Dudley B. Dawson of the Examiner)

White noise machines are small, compact devices that emit a gentle “humming” sound, much like that of a fan. The white noise machine's hum is actually composed of every sound audible to the human ear, so that any one individual sound in the environment is “absorbed” into the white noise machines sound. This phenomenon is similar to the way in which one individual voice is indistinguishable from that of a large crowd. 

Content Source: sleepwell

Whether you're a space holder or an entrepreneur/small business looking to move into a shared office space, you really need to consider the acoustics and potential for distractions. Over time these little annoyances can add up to hours of lost production for everyone sharing the space.

Even a simple white noise system can help to increase everyone's focus within an office space. Here are a few resources for white noise systems:

Ear Plug Superstore

Avlelec

Sound Machines Direct

By the way, if you happen to know "toe-tapper" or "candy-wrapper" please keep this post quiet. I would hate to be forced to drag "knuckle-puncher" out of retirement.

Related Posts

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective 

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

Question: Have you recently downsized your staff?

Question: Did you overestimate the amount of office space your company needs?

Question: Did your subtenant move out unexpectedly?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it is quite possible that you have been left with unused office space. Assuming your company is fortunate enough to absorb this financial burden, you might want to consider the following great ways of utilizing this open space. 

- a full court nerf basketball hoop

- an indoor current pool

- an octagon

- a paint ball course

- a puppet theater

For the rest of us, sharing our unused office space with another company can mean the difference between business as usual and defaulting on a lease.  In addition to the revenue and cost sharing benefits, the networking opportunities provided by sharing office space can also be quite valuable.

While sharing your office space with an entrepreneur or small business can certainly seem like a "no brainer", there are quite a few things space holders should consider before deciding to go this route. Some of these considerations include: 

- Does your lease strictly prohibit subleasing? If so, perhaps you can try re-negotiating with your landlord. The commercial real estate crisis has made some landlords more flexible than in the past. 

- Is the subtenant required to sign a formal sublease?

- Is the subtenant required to sign a non-disclosure agreement?

- Will the subtenant have 24/7 access to the building? To the space?

- Will the subtenant be required to submit a security deposit?

- In addition to the rent, what expenses will subtenant be responsible for sharing?

- What furniture/supplies will be provided to the subtenant?

- Will the culture of the subtenant's company mesh with yours?

- Will the subtenant have their own private office?

- Will subtenant be provided keys to the space?

- Would it make sense to install 24-hour security cameras in the space?

- Does the shared space require any type of build-out?

- Are there any events, meetings or happenings in your space that would prevent the subtenant from being able to come in the office?

Clearly sharing office space has its inherent risks and rewards. If you do not know the potential subtenant, in addition to a formal background check, you might also want to consider doing some research on venues such as facebook, twitter, linked in, etc. If the subtenant seems sketchy on these platforms, you might want to think twice before making a decision that could cost your company dearly in the long run.

If you are a space holder and have additional considerations that you would add to the list above or even have a horror story about a shared office space, openofficespace.com would love hear from you. You might just help prevent a fellow space holder from making a VERY costly mistake. 

Related Posts

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective

Entrepreneurs and Startups, How "Walkable" Is Your Office Space Location?

Small Biz/Entrepreneurs - Estimating The Right Amount of Office Space For Your Company

Looking For Office Space? Price is only one of the options you need to consider.   

 

Open Space Ventures LLC Launches a New Website to Help Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Find and Plan the Perfect Office Space for Their Company

Woodbury, NY (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 -- Open Space Ventures LLC. launches OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) an innovative new website that allows companies to post their available office space online, while offering small businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to find and plan the "perfect office space." It's a win-win situation: companies with unused office space can eliminate the extra carrying cost, simultaneously small businesses can find niche office space at the right price. Best of all, there is no cost associated with either listing or finding a space.

Created by David Gise and his partner Marc Spector, OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) was designed with ease of use as the number one priority. "We set out to create an extremely clean and user friendly experience that is unlike any other typical real estate or classified website" said Gise.

OpenOfficeSpace.com (http://www.OpenOfficeSpace.com) streamlines the process of finding and posting office space, while providing insightful advice and powerful interactive tools to help small businesses throughout the leasing process.

Gise, a former personal trainer turned entrepreneur and social media consultant, conceived the idea for Open Office Space after meeting with several of his clients. He noticed a trend of companies hampered with carrying the cost of their extra office space but unsure or unaware of the options available to ease this burden.

The comprehensive "Evolving Guide to Leasing" (http://openofficespace.com/index.php?mistake=1&mod=top_10_leasing_mistakes_made_by_entrepreneurs_and_small_businesses) alone is worth a visit to the site. The interactive guide explores the "Top 10 Mistakes" made by companies during the leasing process, outlines in layman's terms "The 4 Steps" it takes to be successful every step of the way and even offers more than 50 ways for companies to reduce their office expenses. From finding the right space and negotiating the lease to planning the layout and creating an eco-friendly work place, the site's powerful interactive tools and easy to understand content simplifies the leasing process for everyone involved.

One of the most common mistakes made during the leasing process is estimating how much space a company actually needs. Leasing too much can result in an unnecessary expense while leasing too little can leave a company in some very tight quarters. The site's free space estimation tool (http://openofficespace.com/index.php?guide=4steps&mod=space_estimation_tool) helps entrepreneurs and small businesses calculate the right amount of square footage based on their specific requirements. Whether a business requires a single desk, a cubicle, a shared office, a private office, a coworking space or an executive suite, the space estimation calculator will ensure that a company gauges their space requirements correctly.

Once a company determines their correct space requirements, the space planning/floor plan tool can be used to lay out the entire space by dragging and dropping furniture directly onto the plan. "It's a lot easier to arrange furniture using the space planning tool than to be surprised when the moving van arrives" Gise explains. Determining the placement of phones, computers, printers and copiers before the day of the move can help save entrepreneurs valuable time" adds Gise. Floor plans including furniture layouts can be saved, printed or shared with friends and colleagues or even posted on other property listing sites.

"The site is an excellent resource, not only in this economy but in any economy. It can really help many companies streamline their expenses while helping others create an ideal working environment" said Spector.

Open Office Space is based in New York. Users can design, find or post available office space at no cost anywhere in the US and Canada. Featured cities on the site include Austin, TX; Charleston, SC; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Toronto, Ontario; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; San Jose, CA; Vancouver, British Columbia; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; New York, NY and Seattle, WA.

Cool Huh? pick of the week (chargepod mobile charger) Don't Lose Your Work Like I Did

This weeks Open Office Space Cool Huh? pick is a day late and also the reason for our selection.

Our featured subject for (Friday) Thursday August 27th - the chargepod mobile charger by callpod 

Description: The Chargepod by callpod could have come in most handy yesterday when my laptop battery died, erasing all my work.

The Chargepod is a 6-way charging device that allows you to charge multiple cell phones, PDAs, headsets, and most other mobile electronics with a single power cord. Just pick out the manufacturer-specific adapters for your devices and throw away the dozens of power cords and wall warts that are cluttering your office and home. Chargepod uses voltage regulator technology and interchangeable power adapters to safely charge all of your mobile devices regardless of manufacturer or model.

Features:

• Charges up to 6 devices at the same time
• Small, portable and lightweight
• Eliminates the clutter from having multiple chargers
• Compatible with thousands of mobile devices such as iPods, cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, PDAs, digital cameras, navigation units, mp3 players, digital readers and portable gaming systems
• Chargepod is compatible with all foreign 120/240 V adapter wall plugs; no additional power supply is necessary

Why we chose the callpod as this weeks subject: Currently I am on a houseboat in the middle of Lake Powell, AZ. In an effort to stay as productive as possible I brought along my laptop, blackberry, ipod and a few other mobile devices.

Yesterday while multi-tasking, I looked down and realized that I was about to lose power on my laptop. I quickly tried to save my work but unfortunately for me it was too late. The laptop died and I lost about 4 hours worth of work. With limited available outlets, and what seems to be an unlimited amount of devices that need to be charged, I guess something had to give.

Vowing that this would not happen to me again I searched for a device that could charge multiple devices at the same time, all from one outlet.

Today's entrepreneur relies on multiple mobile devices to stay productive while they are on the go. Hotel rooms, offices, coffee shops, and as I found out firsthand, even houseboats, often have limited electrical outlets.

Perhaps the chargepod can keep prevent another embarassing episode of a grown man yelling expletives at a beautiful lake with a bunch of people standing around...jaws a dropping.

Content and Image Source: callpod website

Related Posts:

Cool Huh? pick of the week (The Surf Shelf) No more excuses! Surf the internet while you exercise.

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

 

Cool Huh? pick of the week (The Surf Shelf) No more excuses! Surf the internet while you exercise.

As we announced last week, we just launched a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Each week  we will select a new product, tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to me and my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Our featured subject for Thursday August 20th - The Surf Shelf

Description: The Surf Shelf is a shelf made of 100% polycarbonate and affixes to most cardiovascular machines for the purpose of surfing the internet during exercise.

       

The Features of The Surf Shelf:

- It is completely transparent so you can easily see the exercise machine readout

- Adjustable angle settings fit any exercise machine console

- 100% Polycarbonate- The same material used to make bullet-proof glass

- Easily collapses for storage in a briefcase or gym bag

- Built-in Velcro strap secures any laptop or DVD player

- Air vents keep the laptop or DVD player cool

- Stays out of the way while you exercise

Why we chose surfshelf.com as this weeks subject: As I mentioned in a previous post, for 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing I was a personal trainer. During this period, I worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

A by-product of working with this diverse clientele is that I became an expert on fielding all types of excuses. I became very accustomed to clients using a "lack of time" as the #1 reason they were not able to adhere to a regular exercise program.

Note: This excuse came in especially handy for the entrepreneurs I worked with.

Therefore, the reason we have chosen the Surf Shelf as this weeks pick is to help entrepreneurs kill two birds with one stone. There is overwhelming data which supports the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain, stress levels, self confidence and overall ability to handle difficult situations.

I hope that the "inactive entrepreneurs" out there aren't going to be too angry with me as The Surf Shelf might just have eliminated their most effective excuse.

After we have had a chance to test this product ourselves we will offer our opinion. 

Content and Image Source: Surf Shelf Website

Related Posts:

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body? 

As we announced last week, we just launched a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Each week  we will select a new product, tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to me and my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Our featured subject for Thursday August 20th - The Surf Shelf

Description: The Surf Shelf is a shelf made of 100% polycarbonate and affixes to most cardiovascular machines for the purpose of surfing the internet during exercise.

       

The Features of The Surf Shelf:

- It is completely transparent so you can easily see the exercise machine readout

- Adjustable angle settings fit any exercise machine console

- 100% Polycarbonate- The same material used to make bullet-proof glass

- Easily collapses for storage in a briefcase or gym bag

- Built-in Velcro strap secures any laptop or DVD player

- Air vents keep the laptop or DVD player cool

- Stays out of the way while you exercise

Why we chose surfshelf.com as this weeks subject: As I mentioned in a previous post, for 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing I was a personal trainer. During this period, I worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

A by-product of working with this diverse clientele is that I became an expert on fielding all types of excuses. I became very accustomed to clients using a "lack of time" as the #1 reason they were not able to adhere to a regular exercise program.

Note: This excuse came in especially handy for the entrepreneurs I worked with.

Therefore, the reason we have chosen the Surf Shelf as this weeks pick is to help entrepreneurs kill two birds with one stone. There is overwhelming data which supports the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain, stress levels, self confidence and overall ability to handle difficult situations.

I hope that the "inactive entrepreneurs" out there aren't going to be too angry with me as The Surf Shelf might just have eliminated their most effective excuse.

After we have had a chance to test this product ourselves we will offer our opinion. 

Content and Image Source: Surf Shelf Website

Related Posts:

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body? 

Cool Huh? pick of the week (usertesting.com) - Great Resource for Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses

Today, we are launching a new weekly feature on the Open Office Space blog called Cool Huh?  Every Thursday from here on out,  we will select a new tool, application, website or technology that we think will make at least one entrepreneur or small business person (besides us) say "Holy s...! That could really be helpful to my business. How did I not hear about this before? "

Here's the catch! The selected subject will be featured in 2 parts.

Part 1 will simply mention the featured product or site, include some basic information detailing what it's all about, describe why we selected the subject and then welcome any comments from others who have experienced the subject.

Part 2 will be our review of the subject after WE had a chance to experience it ourselves.

Our first featured subject - Thursday August 13th - Usertesting.com

   

Description: UserTesting.com uses the Web 2.0 crowdsourcing model to dramatically drop the price of usability testing. It lets website owners easily get pre-screened users to rapidly do usability testing of their websites.

What this low-cost user testing service offers:

• A Flash video of a user speaking their thoughts as they browse your website. Watch a sample video.

• A written summary where that same user tells you what they liked, disliked, and what would have caused them to leave your site. See a sample summary.

UserTesting.com lets you "look over the shoulder" of people in your target audience while they use your website. And makes it fast, easy, and inexpensive, so you’re more likely to do it.

Why we chose usertesting.com as this weeks subject:  Because we know that the overwhelming majority of us plot, plan and strategize our online initiatives in a vacuum. Whether it's because we are too "thin skinned", think we know it all, or simply because we think we can't afford it, we usually launch with only feedback from our inner circle. 

Take a look at the powerhouse list of testimonials and you will see why we have such high hopes for this one.

Just because people aren't emailing us telling us why our stuff sucks, does not mean it doesn't. Most people will just move on the someone else's stuff.

Content and Image Source: usertesting.com website

Does your small business have that certain "Je ne sais quoi?"

   

Currently my wife and I are visiting Paris for the very first time. Over the past few days I think it is safe to say that we have walked over 15 miles and have covered many of the "must see" areas according to the travel guides.

In addition to the unbelievable architecture and famous museums, it is amazing how many restaurants and outdoor cafes there are throughout the city. One thing that we find quite unique about Paris is the the seating in many of these outdoor cafes faces outwards. In other words, it is encouraged to sit next to the person you are with and "people watch" everyone that passes by.

Similar to the bar and restaurant scene in NYC, some of these cafes were packed and some did not have a single customer. What was interesting to me is that some of the coolest designed cafes were among those that were empty.

So, what makes a restaurant, cafe, small business, office space, website, blog, social network, etc. have that certain "Je ne sais quoi?" - In english - that certain "I don't know what". For anyone that has not seen Austin Powers, the term is generally used to point out something which is usually undefinable. 

Clearly it's not simply a matter of design.

While I cannot say for sure, it seems to me that regardless of the venue, that undefinable element seems to result in a greater incidence of social interaction, networking and overall sense of belonging.

When I think back to the last few office spaces I have rented, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I preferred the grungy, ripped couch space, to the modern and trendy loft space. While the look of the hip space was what initially attracted to it, the lack of interaction amongst the other space holders prevented it from ever feeling like home.

As a small business, I think it is a good exercise to reflect on which elements of your restaurant, cafe, office space, website, blog, social network, etc. will result in a greater incidence of social interaction, networking and overall sense of belonging of your customers/clients.

Perhaps an attention to that undefinable element will prevent YOU from being the "coolest" EMPTY cafe in Paris.

Entrepreneurs - Are your thumbs the most fit part of your body?

     

For 17 years prior to getting involved in the whole technology thing (and even to a small extent today), I was a personal trainer. Throughout my career I have worked with a very diverse group of clients including: professional athletes, CEO's of public companies, stay at home moms & dads, weekend warriors, children, teens as well as basically every personality type you can think of.

While there were many obvious differences between each one of my clients, there was definitely one constant...a noticeable improvement in mood and mental clarity immediately following a workout session. 

As part of another venture I am involved with, I have been exposed to fascinating research detailing the positive impact exercise can have on a persons brain. Spark - The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise And The Brain, written by John J. Ratey MD, is a groundbreaking exploration of the connection between exercise and the brain’s performance that shows how even moderate exercise will supercharge mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen thinking, enhance memory, and much more.  Here are some interesting facts and tidbits from the first few chapters of Spark:

- Chicago's Napperville District 203, consisting on the 19,000 students is one of the fittest in the nation...they are also one of the smartest. They consistently rank among the state's top ten in terms of academic performance

- Napperville students use heart rate monitors to gauge their progress. Their students are graded on how much time they spend in their target heart rate zones during any given activity. Using heart rate monitors to measure progress, as opposed to relying solely on athletic performance, prevents less coordinated students from becoming discouraged and building a lifelong to distaste for exercise.

- Napperville's school system is far ahead of the national norm for fitness. Only one out of every 130 students was obese.

- Exercise can postively affect mood, attention, self-esteem, and social skills. The cruel irony is that old school physical education programs, discouraged a lifelong adoption of exercise by alienating shy, clumsy and out of shape students.

- In a 2007 study of humans, German Researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise.

While the subjects in this book are mostly children, there is a lesson that can be applied to all age groups. I cannot help but be amazed at the amount of 20,30 and 40 something entrepreneurs that are completely physically inactive...except for getting a vigorous thumb workout on their blackberry's. 

The launch of Open Office Space has provided me with the good fortune to connect/converse with new entrepreneurs and small businesses every day.The 3 most common excuses by entrepreneurs for not including exercise as part of their daily routine are time, money and motivation. Here are my quick and dirty rebuttals to these excuses.

Time - Get up 30 minutes earlier, go to bed 30 minutes later or bring your clothes to work and exercise during lunch. You do not need to spend 2 hours in the gym to get results. I would bet that you waste much more than 30 minutes per day on things that are not truly productive. Replace these time wasters with a 30 minute bout of exercise.

Money - You absolutely do not need to pay for a gym to exercise. If you are not sure what kind of exercise would be right for you, pay a trainer for one hour of his time. They can create a workout you can do at home or in the office...for free.

Motivation - C'mon people we are entrepreneurs! We have more motivation than most. If you are not persuaded by the health benefits of exercise, spend a few minutes researching the benefits that exercise can offer you as abusinesseman. Perhaps your risk-reward analysis will produce a different result.  

From my own experience, nothing helps me break through a mental road block, manage stress or come up with creative solutions to tough issues better than a good workout.

I really hope that the fitness intiatives being launched in the school systems today are carried over to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Content Source: John Ratey MD website 
Image Source: The Wireless Report