Open Office Space

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

   
In Part 2 of a two part interview on Officebytes TV, Jenny-Lynn Georgiades, Director of Architectural and Design Support Services at Waldners Business Environments, offers entrepreneurs & small businesses insight into the current trend of furnishing the workspace with "collaborative" office furniture.

A few quotes from the interview: 

"One of the biggest trends in the office furniture industry today is the decline of the cubicle. The cubicle walls are coming down and their allowing employees to interact and collaborate."

"They're using the open office space that's left over when they shrink those workstations and doing more with the in-between areas."

"Companies are intermixing lounge areas where people are working with their laptops. They're incorporating informal meeting areas at regular height or even cafe height for more of that Starbucks feel." 

"The worker of the future is going to be more mobile than ever, they're going to utilize new technologies. But they're still going to need to collaborate with their fellow employees, and colleagues, and exchange that information in real time. So, the workspace of the future is going to have to be more flexible and open to support those activities."

About Waldners Waldner’s Business Environments Inc. markets office furniture of brands such as OFS, Metro, Kimball, Steelcase, KI, and Hon. The company also offers furniture storage and refurbishing services. Its clientele include SAP, Ernst & Young, PrimeMedia, Readers’ Digest, MTV, HomeLoanBank, PepsiCo. Random House, GE Capital, Canon, and Sony. The company has strategic alliances with Adden, Buro, Falcon, Golden Oak, ISE, Jofcon, Lucia Group, and Vitra. Waldner’s Business Environments was founded in 1939 and is based in New York City.

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

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

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective

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

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  

Officebytes TV - Officeport CHI (Coworking in Chicago) A Quick Tour + An Interview

 
During my visit to Chicago this weekend, I had the opportunity to visit a very cool coworking space located right in the heart of the city. From the minute I walked in the space I received a warm welcome and was invited to take a tour of the space. Immediately following the tour, I requested an opportunity to film the space and interview the manager and some of the entrepreneurs doing business at Officeport CHI.

Listening to a few of the residents discuss how the space has improved their productivity as well as the overall image of their company really drives home the value of the coworking concept.

The space was huge, clean and well designed, complete with it's own man-made putting green. The only amenity that I felt was missing was a full court nerf basketball hoop...perhaps that is in their future plans. 

The interview is below along with some good quotes from some of the residents of the space:

James Carver, site Manager of OfficePort CHI, a coworking space in Chicago, discusses how the idea for creating the space was conceived, the convenience of the location also describes the endless list of features offered by Officeport CHI.

"It definitely presents my company in a better light. Having the downtown address on my business card that doesn't look like obviously like a residential address, goes a long way in make me look like the professional that I want to look."         James Epstein-Reeves | Founder - Do Well. Do Good. (www.dowelldogood.net)

"One day I just decided that there might be kind of a healthier way to live, where home can be home, and work can be work. It makes for a more professional impression I think."     Tiffany Meyers | Freelance Writer, Journalist, Copywriter (www.tiffanymeyers.com)

"I was working for home for about 4 years prior to this. And, unfortunately the walls in my house don't speak back to me. So, I wanted to get to a place where I could talk to others. Even just asking questions of people that are not even into my industry really helps me out alot. The fact that everything included from the wireless, to the fax and the printer and the coffee, it just makes for a great environment."     Brian Lefkowitz | President (www.theblueswing.com and www.thechillster.com)

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 

 

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Officebytes TV - 3 Common Mistakes Made By Many Entrepreneurs Looking for Office Space

On today's episode of Officebytes TV, Patrick Braswell, Founder of MOSAtlanta.com and Assistant Vice President with Colliers Spectrum Cauble discusses 3 of the top 10 mistakes made by many entrepreneurs and small businesses when looking for office space.

A few good quotes from the interview:  

"Companies that come out of executive suites or that are looking for traditional office space for the first time, they tend to fail to look at their current and future priorities. They don't list them out and make sure they have those ducks in a row before they actually go out and look for space."

"Going to an office suite or an office space based solely off of price. This one for entrepreneurs, people coming out of executive suites, looking for office space and traditional office space for the first time, make this mistake all the time."

"Determining the amount of square footage you need up-front. Get an architect involved if you can afford one, if you can't afford one, here's a general rule that you want to keep in your head. For every employee that you have, you need to think that it's going to be about 250 rentable square feet of office space that you need for them."  

About MOSAtlanta.com

MOSatlanta.com, short for My Office Search Atlanta, was designed to be a single point of reference for companies looking for office space in Metro Atlanta.

The goal of MOSatlanta.com is to provide their clients with a web based application that will simplify the office leasing process from start to finish, therefore, saving their clients time and money. Ultimately, their approach will align your business initiatives and financial objectives with the right real estate strategy to meet both.

Related Posts

Officebytes TV - T3 Advisors Discuss The "3 izes" For Start-Ups Looking To Find Office Space

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

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

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

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

Officebytes TV - Advice for Entrepreneurs on Sharing Office Space by Rob Basso

Officebytes TV just launched a new interview with successful entrepreneur Rob Basso. Rob is the owner of Advantage Payroll Services, BassoOnBusiness.com and Working Lunch With Rob.

Rob describes his experience with sharing office space and offers some very good advice/insight to entrepreneurs that are just starting out as well as those that are thinking about expanding into a bigger space.

A few good quotes from the interview:

"Just get creative, don't get stuck thinking I have to be in a $50 per square foot building, or I have to be on this street or I have to be on that street. The reality is if you are in an entrepreneurial business people understand the mode that you're in."

"As long as you do what you do really well,it won't make a difference if you're in the lower level of a hotel or renting space from somebody. So don't let that pressure really make a difference in the type of office space that your going to look for."

"If you can help it, don't get locked into a really long term lease, especially if your going to be a growing organization."

"When you rent space from somebody else, or you work in a shared or collaborative work environment, you can do and have access to some people that you may not have access to if you're out on your own and you buy a building or your rent a space where you have no inter-connectivity with other small business owners."

About Advantage Payroll Services

Advantage Payroll Services, based in Freeport, New York, has been providing comprehensive payroll and tax-filing services for clients since 1996. With professional and responsive local customer service associates and backed by the strength of a centralized processing system and technology, the company has become one of the most recognized names in the industry in the New York metropolitan area. The company is proud to call many of the region's most recognized companies and not-for-profit organizations as its clients.

About Basso On Business 

Basso on Business an in-depth business program hosted by successful entrepreneur Rob Basso. Episodes focus on regional companies, organizations and associations and the visionary owners who lead the charge.

Rob explores each operation firsthand, uncovers challenges and helps with practical advice and solutions to make businesses stronger.

About Working Lunch With Rob

Working Lunch with Rob Basso is a unique forum for those who have the craving to feed their entrepreneurial spirit. Each monthly lunch is designed to motivate and support small businesses with innovative presentations, business growth strategies and informative speakers.

At each Working Lunch event, guests view the premiere of the latest Basso On Business episode, and get involved in a live, interactive business discussion with Rob and leading experts. Topics vary, but the advice and commentary is priceless.

Related Posts

Officebytes TV - T3 Advisors Discuss The "3 izes" For Start-Ups Looking To Find Office Space

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

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

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

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

iPad = A Great Weapon For Real Estate Agents To Put In Their Holster

 
When I first launched my other company, 3Dwalkthroughs.com, I spent a lot of time presenting my company's capabilities on my laptop. While I was extremely confident in my product offering, I was anything but confident in my ability to present it.

3Dwalkthroughs.com specialized in producing several types of 3D assets: 3D renderings, 3D walkthroughs, 3D floor plans, 3D interactive tools and even the type of 3D technology used in the movie Avatar. Depending on our clients needs, the end product was always rendered in a variety of different formats. (jpeg, mov, mpeg, swf, wmv, and more)

...and therein lied the problem.

While I tried my best to prepare samples based on the client I was pitching, they often requested to see examples of projects that were not included in my presentation. Clicking in and out of folders, opening various types of media players and launching different browsers was often a pain-stakingly slow process. (more than once my computer froze altogether) Needless to say, delays in my ability to show our "stuff" probably prevented me from closing a lot more projects than I should have.

Enter the Ipad.

On Friday I finally had an opportunity to spend a few hours test driving the iPad. In my humble opinion - the iPad will be a game changer for entrepreneurs, real estate agents or any other business professional that needs to pitch their goods, services or listings while they're on the go...it certainly would have helped me pitch 3Dwalkthroughs.com more effectively.

The quality of the display coupled with the ability to quickly open and navigate through photos and videos makes the Ipad the perfect device for real estate agents to WOW their clients. Being able to flip through photos, videos and property information as well as tap into the internet to get local statistics and other information will offer real estate agents an ability to provide a new level of service to their clients.

I also believe the touch screen technology will make reviewing listings on real estate sites a much more palatable experience for those who prefer to do a little searching on their own before speaking with an agent.

The one small (probably short term) issue I noticed is the iPad currently does not play Flash. Many virtual tour platforms as well as many video platforms utilize Flash as their core technology. Just yesterday though I read an article about a company that developed some sort of plug-in to get around this issue and I am sure this is just the first of many.  

Here are a few good articles I came across that describe in more detail some specific ways that the Ipad can be utilized by real estate agents. 

Just A Few Ways To Use The iPad For Real Estate - Geek Estate Blog

Apple’s iPad means big changes ahead for real estate - 1000 Watt Blog

More iPad for Real Estate - Property Flyer in Pages - About.com

The Apple iPad for Real Estate Agents - Real Estate Express.com

5 Ways iPad Will Reinvent Real Estate for Agents in the Next 5 Years - The Exit Pro

Apple iPad Real Estate Apps Are Here! - Housing Watch

If you are a real estate agent and are currently utilizing the iPad as a tool in your arsenal, openofficespace.com would love to interview you on Officebytes TV. Please DM us @openofficespace or reach out to us via email info at openofficespace.com.