Open Office Space

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 

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.

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.

Your homepage is a virtual 15-second elevator pitch. Does yours ramble on?

Prior to getting into the whole technology thing, I was a personal trainer (over 17 years) to the rich and famous in New York City and Long Island. In order to survive  as a personal trainer with this type of clientele, there was one communication skill that was a MUST...the ability to get to the point.

I am convinced that the concept of the bobblehead came from someone watching a conversation between myself and one of my clients during my first few years of training. Here's how it probably happened:

1)  I would bring up a topic and ramble on about it

2) My client would lose interest after my a few minutes but continue to shake their head in agreement to be polite.

3) Clients head would continue to bob their heads up and down as long as I was talking.

4) An outsider witnessed this exchange and the idea for the bobblehead was born. 

Thankfully, one of my clients sat me down and explained the importance of getting to the point. He informed me most business leaders are bombarded every day with ideas, business proposals and other types of pitches. In addition, they have very little patience for small talk as there are so many hours in the day, and so many people vying for their attention.

Needless to say, I have gotten very good at not only getting to the point, but also recognizing the signs when someone has lost interest in a conversation.

Not so subtle Segue.

A companies homepage needs to be as brief and to the point as a face to face elevator pitch. Unlike a human interaction, a homepage does offer the luxury of a direct conversation with regards to being able to recognize that a person is losing interest. They just click away from your site.

It is amazing how many websites, many which look quite impressive and even beautiful, do not express the benefits that can be derived from the site, service or application. They might be chock full of information, but it is not really clear what they do or exactly what problems they solve for their visitors.

Companies are spending huge dollars with SEO experts to ensure they rank high on the major search engines. And/or they retain  "social media experts" to help increase their brands exposure and drive more traffic to the website...but is it a waste? All the traffic in the world is pointless if people click away once they get to your site.

It is critical to constantly step outside of your own head, and view your homepage from a visitors standpoint. Does it clearly (and briefly) state your companies benefits and what problems you solve for your visitors? Are your calls to action consistent with your other marketing efforts?  Does it take more than 15 seconds to get the gist of the sites offerings?

Openofficespace.com is about a week and a half from launching version 2.0 of our site. While we'd like to think that our initial site accomplished all that is mentioned above, it was only after we stepped back and viewed the site from a different perspective that we came up with "flaw fixers" that we hope will take us to the next level.  

Create a Virtual Tour Of Your Unused Office Space and Stand Out From The Crowd

As the inventory of unused office space continues to rise across the country, the ability for spaceholders to get their properties to stand out from the crowd is growing increasingly more difficult.

With an unused commercial property representing anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month, to several tens of thousands, investing in the right marketing tools to help get your property noticed definitely makes financial sense.

While single shot photos are great and highly recommended for all properties posted on Open Office Space, an alternative marketing tool taking our site by storm is the virtual tour. Well known in the residential real estate market, virtual tours are beginning to make quite a splash in the lagging commercial real estate market as well.

A virtual tour is comprised of 360 degree panoramic images, partial panoramas, and even still images. In many cases, virtual tours are more effective than a single shot photograph as they show a space in its entirety. This  helps to better refine the search results for a small business/entrepreneur looking for a space, and more thoroughly qualifies the incoming leads for the spaceholder.

Click here to see a sample virtual tour of a commercial property.

There are several available virtual tour technologies on the market, however the best ones we have seen involve shooting twelve photos at a pre-specified overlap. The twelve overlapping photos are then stitched into a 360 degree panorama.

Real Tour Vison, based in Traverse Michigan, offers one of the most impressive virtual tour technologies in the industry and also has the largest full service virtual tour and property marketing network in the world. (this means you cannot use your location as an excuse not to one created for your space)

Of their many, many features that RTV offers, the ones that amaze me the most are the size of their virtual tour window along with how crisp and glossy their images appear. If this does not convince you, here are  31 more features offered by a Real Tour Vision virtual tour.

 

A virtual tour of your open office space can be easily added to your property listing. Simply copy and paste the link into your listing admin page and a link to your virtual tour is automatically added to your listing.

So here's the question: Will you take the steps to get your unused property noticed or will your start shopping for nerf hoops to make use of your unused space yourself?

History of RTV    

Begun in 1999, RTV sought to create a virtual tour system which would deliver the highest quality imagery at a much faster rate than other virtual tour products being offered at that time.

Originally designed for resorts, golf courses, upscale lodging facilities and others requiring high quality, the demand in the real estate industry accelerated the introduction of proprietary software in 2001 that decreased the tour building process to 30-45 minutes without sacrificing any quality.

Immediately, independent franchises and divisions of several Fortune 500 Companies such as GMAC, Land America, Stewart Title, RE/MAX, and Coldwell Banker began to use the nation's finest tour building product.

Launch, Listen, Learn - Don't Let Perfection Stand In The Way of Success

Over the years I have heard many variations of Voltaire's observation "The perfect is the enemy of the good." In my opinion, this concept is responsible for many failed online initiatives.

Let me explain.

When an entrepreneur or small business decides they are going to launch a new website/update a current one, the process often occurs in a vacuum. Mockups and demo links are shared with close friends, co-workers and even family members as a way to determine if your web designer is "on the right track."  

Sure as the sun will rise, if you ask for someones opinion, you will get it. The problem with this scenario is that more often than not, these groups do not accurately represent your target audience. As a result, you will spend a lot of time and money tweaking buttons, text, navigation and other elements that will really have very little impact on the success of your website.

It is nearly impossible to guarantee that a new or upgraded website will be 100% perfect when it launches. Only after launch, can you expect to get the feedback and/or criticisms that will help you improve the usability of your site.

Tip #1 - Make sure your website and social media efforts actively encourage feedback. Ex. Adding a suggestion form field on your homepage or posting a direct request for feedback on Twitter. 

When you do start to receive feedback, it is important that you qualify the source and carefully consider these suggestions before implementing any changes. Remember, no matter what changes you make to your site, you are not going to make everyone happy.

Tip #2 - Ask yourself if a change you are considering will actually improve the clarity of your brands message and overall site usability experience. Obsessing over the color of a button or size/style of a font could be a huge waste of time when more important things need to be changed (I am guilty of this)

The first iteration of openofficespace.com was launched after only about 4 weeks. Since our launch, we have received some very good feedback/criticism that we hope will elevate us from a very good idea, to an extremely valuable service for spaceholders, small businesses and entrepreneurs. We hope to launch iteration two in the next few weeks.

We acknowledge there is a delicate balance between launching something that is simply not ready vs. something that is good enough to generate quality feedback without losing the respect of your audience.

Assuming that your site is "good enough" - launching, listening and learning from your target audience can help you build traction on search engines while potentially preserving your first mover advantage.  Waiting to launch until your site is perfect is a great way to guarantee failure...only your audience will know the answer to that.

     

Shared Office Space - It Can Offer A Lot More Value Than Just Saving a Few Pennies

In its simplest form, the concept of shared office space is a great way for a space holder and a small business/entrepreneur to save money. Whether it means the small business/entrepreneur offsets a portion of the total rent, contributes to the cost of the utilities, or a combination of the two, a shared space can serve as a financial win-win for both parties. 

 

In the spirit of the old Ginsu knife commercial "But Wait There's More..."

 

Shared Office space can offer both parties an opportunity to share new ideas, technologies, contacts and even forge valuable joint venture relationships.

 

It is not uncommon for a shared office space to be comprised of several companies operating very similar businesses. In this scenario, shared space holders can collaborate on projects, refer projects back and forth or even promote that their respective companies can offer a wider array of services.

 

If the companies sharing a space are completely unrelated, there are probably still many networking opportunities that can arise from the relationship. It seems like "everybody" knows "somebody" that does "something" related to somebody else's business.

 

Even if the benefits are not felt immediately, you never know when a shared space holder can offer a relationship or contact that can make a huge impact on a company. 

 

A quick story to illustrate that "you never know". 

 

My company (a website design and 3D animation company) shared space with an independent movie company. For months we had limited conversation other than a few pleasantries. One day, they asked me to sit and listen to a pitch for a movie idea they had. Not sure why they asked me but I found it to be a very interesting idea.

 

In my previous life (for 17 years) I was a personal trainer in a very wealthy area in New York. One of my clients was a hedge fund manager that just happened to recently invest in a company that funded independent movies.

 

Long story short, a pitch meeting was arranged, and in just a few short days almost $1,000,000 was committed to the making of the movie. The movie went on to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, was on the cover of the NY Times and was also released in several theaters across the nation. (I now have an associate producer credit on IMDB)

 

If it was not for the relationship that was forged by sharing a space, the chances that the movie would have received financing as quickly, or at all were very slim.

 

In today's economy companies must be willing to work together to survive. While on the surface the decision to share an office space might seem to be purely financial. Companies that give this relationship a try might soon realize that the financial benefit is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

To post or find a shared office space you can visit openofficespace.com or the various other websites geared to facilitating these relationships.  

 

 

WHY Magazine - A Great Resource For Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses

                        

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Dina Santorelli, Editor and Publisher of Why Magazine. Why Magazine was launched in May 2007 by Dina and her business partner Lucille De Tingo on behalf of their company eLuna Media LLC.

Why, (an abbreviation of Work. Home. You.) is dedicated to those who know that working at home isn't all about snooze buttons, bathrobes and bunny slippers; it is written for work-at-homers of all types--entrepreneurs, telecommuters and part-time home workers, both online and offline--and gives them the tools and information they need to keenly manage their business, their home and their life.

Source: DinaSantorelli.com 

In today's economy, many small businesses and entrepreneurs are going to have no choice but to streamline their overhead by finding more affordable office space (Shamless Plug - openofficespace.com) or relocating their business into a home office...perhaps a combination of both.

Anyone that has tried running a business from a home office learns pretty quickly it comes with a distinct set of challenges.

-Staying Creative
-Avoiding Distractions
-Maintaining The Delicate Balance Between Work and Family
-Making Time For Exercise
-Eating Properly
-Knowing When To Turn Off Computer
-and the list goes on

Why Magzine is a bi-montly magazine that deliver the solutions to these challenges via an extremely user friendly and aesthetically pleasing interface. Interestingly, while Why Magazine is geared towards the work-at-homer, many of the solutions, tips and tricks offer on the site, can also help small businesses and entrepreneurs achieve a balance in a remote office setting. 

ABOUT WHY MAGAZINE

                                                                                                                    Work                                                                                                                  

Read profiles of people, just like you, who had a dream, took a chance and created thriving work-at-home businesses. Learn about those who have made working from a satellite home office a winning proposition for both company and worker, and those who bring work home and actually manage to do it.                                                                                                                                            

Home

Let's face it: You're working from home, and as frenzied as it is, there are a lot of perks that go with it - like getting the laundry done or running to the bank during traditional business hours. Here, you'll learn ways to make your home more amenable to working, while keeping it as it should be- a comfortable haven for you and your family. In this section, you'll also learn things like the best recipes for work-at-homers or how to organize your bookshelves for both form and function.                     

You

Ah, and what about you? You know what they say about all work and no play...Just because you're working from home, doesn't mean your life should be filled with FedEx and futons. This is the place for wellness, fashion, automobiles, movies and music, fitness and more to keep your life balanced, as it should be.

Source: Why Magazine

We can only speculate when the economy will rebound and return to a stable footing. One thing does remain true, only companies and entrepreneurs that heed the advice and wisdom of resources such as Why Magazine will be around to enjoy the day it does.

                                                                                    

Openofficespace.com - In The Face Of The Recession, A FREE Service Is Launched To Help Companies Monetize Their Unused Rental Space

Does your company have a desk, cubicle, office or suite that is generating dust as opposed to revenue? Have you recently downsized your workforce resulting in an abundance of unused office space? Is your company locked into a long term lease and could benefit from an additional revenue stream?

In today's economy, many companies are downsizing their workforce, resulting in a growing inventory of unused commercial space. At the same time, a large number of entrepreneurs and small businesses are looking to reduce their overhead by re-negotiating their existing commercial leases, or finding new space altogether.

Openofficespace.com ( www.openofficespace.com ), based in New York City, has launched a new website to facilitate the interaction between companies burdened with carrying the cost of their unused office space and small businesses/entrepreneurs looking to streamline their expenses.

A shared space is the perfect solution for a small business or entrepreneur looking to cut costs, while providing a revenue stream to a space holder when they can use it the most. This “win-win” relationship also helps landlords as it could prevent a tenant from having to give back a space altogether.

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 a typical real estate or classified website, says David Gise, founder of Openofficespace.com.”

In just minutes, a space holder can post their property listing including: property descriptions, photos, maps, virtual tours, 2D/3D floor plans and even property brochures.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs looking for cost effective retail, office, commercial or service space can easily search property listings by country, state, neighborhood or price. If a user does not find a “space” meeting their criteria, they can create an email alert which will automatically notify them if a property is listed that does.

In addition to having an ability to find and post available office space, visitors to the site can build a detailed company profile to promote their products and services to a captive audience of small businesses and entrepreneurs.

"We are busy developing many other innovative features that will be rolled out over the next few months, says David Gise, founder of Openofficespace.com.”

For the next 60 days openofficespace.com will allow any company to send a list of their properties along with its respective information, and it will be listed on the site for them at no charge.

To learn more about Open Office Space you can visit the website at: www.openofficespace.com or visit the blog at: http://www.openofficespace.typepad.com