Open Office Space

My Visit to AMWorks - A Coworking Space in Dublin, Ireland

     
A little over a week ago, my wife and I hopped on a plane to Dublin, Ireland to check out the sites, sounds... and Guinness.

While in Dublin, we had an opportunity to visit AMWorks, a coworking space right in the heart of the city. 

Alan Richardson, Founder of Amworks, was extremely hospitable throughout our stay and a tremendous help in organizing the filming of this interview. Aside from the slight accent (we couldn't agree which one of us had the accent), I found it very interesting how the residents of AMWorks described the benefits they derive from working out of a coworking space. Definitely highlights some common threads that a coworking space offers...regardless of location.

A few quotes from the interview are below:

"The best feature of AMWorks is definitely the diversity of its members. There in a broad range of businesses which creates opportunities for collaboration." Alan Richardson - Founder of AMWorks

"You also engage and you find people quite helpful as well to help you do certain things. So from that perspective, I have to say its been a very impressive exerience so far." John Kamara - Co-Founder of Achieve More Business Training www.achievemorebusiness.com

"We have worked with several of the other small business in here..." Conor Lynch - Founder Connector www.connector.ie

"It's a great opportunity to network internally and share advice and help spur each other along to work more effectively." Greg Fry - Co-Founder of Achieve More Business Training www.achievemorebusiness.com

"The reason I got a good deal on my logo design is because the people here told me to go to someone. So you use each others connections, each others networks, I find it absolutely perfect." Herbert - Founder of CareerTrotter     www.careertrotter.eu

Other Ways To Follow The Interview Subjects:
Achieve More Business/Career Coach: (Greg Fry & John Kamara)
Blog:
http://wwwcareerscoacheu.blog.com
Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfry
http://ie.linkedin.com/in/johnkamara
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/achievemorebusiness
www.facebook.com/thecareerscoach
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/careerscoacheu
You Tube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/achievemorebusiness
http://www.youtube.com/careerscoacheu

Connector: (Conor Lynch)
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/connector.ie
LinkedIn:
http://ie.linkedin.com/in/conorlynch
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/connector_ie

Career Trotter: (Herbert Croezen)
Web:
www.careertrotter.eu
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/careertrotter
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/careertrotter

Alan Richardson

Web.

http://www.vpm.ie

http://www.inviewmedia.ie

Linkedin:

http://ie.linkedin.com/in/alanjrichardson

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

Officebytes TV - WorkBar Boston (Coworking in Boston) A Quick Tour + An Interview

 

 

 

The Single Best Piece of Business Advice I Ever Received

   
I was recently invited to attend a Working Lunch with Rob Basso. 

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.The goal of Rob's lunch program is to motivate and support small businesses with innovative presentations, business growth strategies and informative speakers.

The focus of the event I attended was Matt Silver of Ultimate Class Limousine. Matt runs a very successful company but seems to have a little trouble managing the long list of tasks that he is faced with on a daily basis. In many cases, even handling tasks that are responsibilities of his employees.

After the 30 or so business owners watched Matt's video a spirited conversation ensued regarding what Matt could/should do to better organize his business. My contribution during the event = a BIG ZERO!

Anyway, a few days after the event it dawned on me that I missed an opportunity to share one of the single best pieces of business advice I ever received...especially as it is so relevant to Matt's organization challenges. 

The following is a letter I sent to Rob detailing this advice (It was re-posted as a guest blog on Rob's site)

Hi Rob,

Not sure if this is too little too late, but before you write me off as a chickensh** for not participating during your event, here is my 2 cents.

My focus for the last 10 years has been growing various internet ventures which in most cases has been a relatively one-man show. Unfortunately, during the event I did not participate simply because I did not go back far enough in my pea brain to recall (aka “blocked out”) a 3 year period in which I was in a very similar situation to Matt.

In 1999-2001 I gave up my 15 client per day/7 day per week personal training business to become the managing partner in a 30,000 sq. ft health club in Long Beach that we took over from an existing company. The health club had well over 75 employees, 6 Indoor Pools, Indoor Track, Sauna, Steam Room, Nursery, Physical Therapy, Aqua Therapy, free weights, cardio, and much more.

Much like Tony’s business, the pace was frenetic and I dealt with one problem after another, making it almost impossible to ever get ahead of the oncoming barrage of problems.

Unlike Matt however, I really had NO experience in the health club business, so it was doubly challenging for me as far as getting organized. (ex. Running  a facility, sales, personnel management, bookkeeping, etc. ).

Here is a small sample of a few of the “small” (yeah right) problems I had to deal with:

-   The Hydraulic line which powered the underwater therapy bikes and treadmills ruptured filling an entire pool filled with jet black oil from top to bottom (think BP disaster in Long Beach)

-   The entire wall of one side of the building fell into the parking lot

-   The heavy glass/steel lid on the pool filter exploded nearly decapitating one of our maintenance workers

Anyway just when I thought I was never going to get my arms around this huge disaster of a business, I received the BEST piece of business advice that I ever received.

It was called the 20-80 rule for employees. If a problem occurred in any area of the health club, an employee should spend 20% of the time focused on determining the root of the problem and 80% of the time should be focused on a solution to the problem. AND most importantly, employees were not allowed to come to ME with a problem without 3 possible solutions.

I basically called for a one on one meeting with every single employee and told them that moving forward if they wanted to keep their jobs they would have to abide by this rule.

The results were amazing!!!

1)   It empowered every single employee to OWN their dept, even if their dept. was simply keeping the bathrooms clean. Almost immediately everyone became an expert  in their position.

2)   It  allowed me to make quick decisions to fix problems without having to delve into possible solutions myself.

3)   It made it much easier to see which departments might require staff changes

Most importantly, it allowed me to oversee the business without having to “do it all myself”. Based on what I heard at the event, this seems to be one of Matt’s biggest issues.

Perhaps this piece of advice that was so helpful to me can also be helpful to Matt.

 

Dave

 

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 

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

When my office space was in Manhattan...using a long commute to your advantage.

 
This post is about making lemonade from lemons and inspired by today's beautiful weather and how much I miss commuting into Manhattan.

When I was in Manhattan...

I had to drive 20 minutes to the subway and then hop on the N or W train for about 45 minutes. All together, my commute was about an hour longer than it is now.

When I was in Manhattan...

I used to read between 2-3 books every two weeks during my commute. Now the only time I get to read is right before bed and I am lucky if get through 1 book in the same amount of time.It is not uncommon for me to wake up with a string of drool attaching my mouth to the last the page I was on when I fell asleep.

When I was in Manhattan...

I utilized the bevvy of subway advertisements, graffiti and other signage as creative inspiration for logos, websites and other graphic design projects I was working on. Sometimes just seeing a unique color combination used in a totally unrelated advertisement was enough to inspire a winning design concept.

When I was in Manhattan...

I took full advantage of nice days like today. Instead of hopping on the train at the station right outside my office, I would walk 40 blocks to the last possible train station. In addition to the health benefits I reaped from these long walks, I also was able to pull design inspiration from random store signs, logos and other advertisements displayed throughout the city.

When I was in Manhattan...

I would often utilize my subway ride as a way of "cooling off" before responding to a difficult email. Many times after taking this time to re-read an aggressive email I realized that the intention of the message was not nearly as aggressive as it first seemed. 

When I was in Manhattan...

I used to take great pleasure in watching people learn what is meant by the bodies "stretch reflex". On the subway, this reflex was demonstrated by the person that kept dozing off only to awaken temporarily (and embarrassed) when their head dropped too far, and their neck muscles contracted violently to keep their head from falling on the floor. It was like dinner-theater on the train.

Clearly, everybody has a different situation as it relates to their commute to and from the office. Whether you have a long walk, drive, train ride, bus ride or even plane flight, the question you should ask yourself is - How can I utilize my commute to work as an advantage?

Perhaps you can:

- Catch up on some reading

- Listen to an interesting podcast or audio book

- Get some exercise

- Find creative inspiration

- Decompress

- Explore new parts of the world/neighborhood

- Network with other commuters

As you search for your next office space, perhaps a little bit of a longer commute can actually turn out to be a good thing after all.

If you are an entrepreneur, start-up or small business, Openofficespace.com would love to hear how you take advantage of YOUR commute to work.

Related Posts

3 Invaluable Resources For Entrepreneurs - Mixergy, Startup Lucky, The Rise To The Top  

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

 

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.   

 

Feature Update: The Commercial Real Estate Broker Business Card

You're talking and we're listening.

Over the next several weeks openofficespace.com will be rolling out a host of new features on our site. Most of these new features were developed as a result of constructive feedback and suggestions we received from visitors to our site.

As of this morning, commercial real estate brokers can now add a virtual broker business card to their property listings...a great way to promote themselves to small businesses and entrepreneurs in addition to promoting their listings. The virtual business card can include the broker's photo, name, title, email, phone number, office address and their company name and website.

In addition, if a broker has multiple properties listed on openofficespace.com, a link will appear below their business card encouraging users to visit the other properties they have listed on the site. 

The process to add a broker business card is simple:

Step 1: Click The I HAVE SPACE button on the homepage.

 
  
Step 2: Select broker on the space holder section and the fields to create the broker business card will appear. Once you fill out this information along with the rest of your property details, just click save and you are good to go.

The Finished Product: Your broker business card will appear on the bottom right of your property details page.

FYI- You do not need to fill out this information every time you post a new property. While you can edit your broker business card at any time, your most recent version will automatically appear on every one of your property listings.

Openofficespace.com welcomes any comments or suggestions regarding how we can improve this new feature as well as the site in general. Please feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] or via comment on our blog.

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

 

Entrepreneurs - Put obstacles/setbacks/failures in the right perspective. THEN you can move past them!

If I have learned one thing from my 17 years as a personal trainer, it is the importance of getting my clients to put their obstacles, setbacks and/or short term failures in the right perspective. Once a client has been able to master this behavior, the chances that they will stick to an exercise program for the long haul will improve dramatically. 

Here is the typical scenario of a client that is NOT able to master this behavior: Client X will have a bad weekend of eating or drinking.  They will then cancel their training appointment at the beginning of the week as they feel like they already blew it and "What was the point!" The occassional Monday morning cancellations will eventually become more frequent and ultimately, Client X would drop out altogether(fail).

As I became more experienced as a trainer, I realized that if I was going to really help my clients to achieve their long term goals, I needed to get them to understand that they could easily move past their temporary setbacks by putting them into the right perspective.

The Right Perspective A bad weekend of eating of drinking is only a temporary setback. In most cases, a few good workouts and a consistent  week of good eating will get a persons health and fitness program right back on track.

All too often, the voices in our head speak much louder than common sense. As a result we tend to give short term failures much more relevance than they deserve, in many cases derailing our chances of long term success.  

As entrepreneurs, I think it is safe to say that the amount of possible obstacles, setbacks and temporary failures can be multiplied by a factor of 10. Whether it is a failed sales call, a denial of funding, a new competitor entering the market, a slow month of sales, etc., there are many opportunities whereby our overall perspectives can become blurred.

By learning to compartmentalize setbacks, obstacles and failures and view them for what they really are, temporary, we stand a much better chance of thinking about the logical "next steps" that will allow us to  move past them...perhaps even grow from them.

As Open Office Space continues to evolve, I find the need to remind myself of the advice I have given many others as a personal trainer - put things in the right perspective. And, when I take this self given advice, I am almost always in a better position to handle a given obstacle, setback or failure.

Sometimes, though, it is a little hard to hear myself over those darn loud voices in my head.

Related Posts

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

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.