Open Office Space

The Eco-Friendly Workplace | 10 Suggestions + A 3D Office

Regardless whether you are a company of one or one thousand, you can make a positive impact on the environment by adopting a few simple, but effective changes in your workplace.

The following 10 eco-friendly suggestions will not only help to preserve the environment, they can also save your company money and contribute to a healthier/more productive office.

    
  
1) Printing

Eliminate unnecessary printing. (waste of paper and ink)

Consider printing non sharable documents on both sides.

Use recycled paper.

Encourage a paper recycling initiative within your office.

Recycle empty ink toner cartridges.

Use re-filled ink toner cartridges as opposed to new ones.

Use email for internal memos.

2) Coffee Cups, Plastic Cutlery and Other Kitchen Supplies

Encourage employees to use coffee mugs which can be washed and reused.

Prohibit the use of Styrofoam cups, wood and plastic stir sticks, plastic cutlery and paper plates.

3) Eco-Friendly Office Furniture

Purchase office furniture made of recycled materials.

Purchase office furniture that is recyclable when it is no longer of use.

4) Eco-Friendly Flooring  

Consider purchasing flooring made of material that is comprised of recycled content.

Consider purchasing flooring that is recyclable when it is no longer of use.

5) Electricity

Turn off and unplug computers, monitors, lights or any other electrical equipment that’s not in use when you leave the office.

Use shading devices for windows to keep the heat load out and minimize air-conditioning usage.

6) Eco-Friendly Paint

Consider using eco-friendly “Green Paints.” Green paints are defined by their lack or low levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). VOC’s are the toxic fumes emitted from most synthetic-based paints and can have negative effects to people and the environment.

7) Eco-Friendly Water Cooler

Consider using an eco-friendly water cooler. Eco-friendly water coolers do not use plastic water bottles and eliminate the environmental impact resulting from regular water bottle deliveries.

8) Eco-Friendly Lighting

Use natural lighting whenever possible. Open the blinds or even add skylights in your space.

Purchase energy efficient bulbs. They tend to use less energy, release less heat and last longer.

Purchase lamps or lighting fixtures that are made with natural, recycled, or reused materials.

eliminate the environmental impact resulting from regular water bottle deliveries.

9) Energy Efficient Equipment

Purchase energy efficient copiers, computers, fax machines, printers, monitors, scanners, microwaves and air-conditioners.

Consider using laptops as opposed to desktops as they require much less energy to operate.

10) Eco-Friendly Janitorial Supplies

Consider using eco-friendly janitorial supplies. These supplies feature environmentally conscious attributes such as being recyclable, eco-responsible packaging and/or being made of all-natural materials, etc.

Demand your outside janitorial services use eco-friendly supplies.

BTW - Another great way of helping the environment is sharing your workplace with a startup, small business or entrepreneur that is looking for a small office space. Sharing office space can go a long way to conserve energy while also helping to reduce waste.

Over the next few months, openofficespace.com will be conducting interviews with companies that are sharing office space and learn what they are doing to promote an eco-friendly workplace.

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

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Batch Upload - Add Multiple Office Space Listings At One Time

To quote one of our users: "Your site would be so much better if I was able to upload all my office listings at one time instead of entering them one by one."

Well user who chooses to remain nameless, we agree. So, as a result, we are happy to announce the launch of our new batch upload functionality which makes the process of posting multiple properties on openofficespace.com as easy as posting a single property. 

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Login to an existing account or create one.

Step 2: Once you've logged in, click the batch upload link located in the manage properties area.

 

Step 3 Upload an excel file with all of your office property listing information. The batch upload system will automatically separate all of your data into columns as per your excel file.

Step 4 Select the relevant label for each column from the provided drop down menus. Each drop down menu consists of labels that pertain to listing fields on our property pages. 

 

Step 6 Click next and your done! At this point you can click the manage properties link to modify any of your listing data as well as add photos of your properties.

So what are you waiting for? Expose your unused office space to a captive audience of entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to find the"perfect office space" for their company.

Also, before I forget, we just launched a slightly new look to our homepage and would love your feedback, good or bad.

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Feature Update: The Commercial Real Estate Broker Business Card 

Feature Update: The Commercial Real Estate Broker Business Card

Feature Update: Improved Commercial Property (Office) Search

Today's feature update comes as a result of a phone call from one of our users which actually made me laugh. It was either laugh or cry, I chose the former.

The user pointed out that when she did a search for office space and typed in Boston, Massachusetts, it returned a certain number of results, whereas when she typed in Boston, MA, the site returned quite a different number of results. In other words, if someone abbreviated a state or entered just a zip code, the search feature was not effectively capturing all the properties in our database for that given location.

All together now..."Hey, that sucks!"

To overcome this issue the "brains" at openofficespace.com have built a new and improved "smart search" feature. The smart search will auto-suggest a location as a user begins to enter a city or zip code, ensuring that all relevant properties for that location (in our database) will be returned. 

As part of this upgrade we have also applied this technology to assist users that are POSTING unused office space. To maintain consistency I think we will call it our new "smart post" technology.  

Similar to the smart search feature, the smart post will auto-suggest a location as a user begins to enter a city or zip code. If for some reason that location is not already part of the database, it will automatically be added and shown on future results.

If you are posting or searching for unused office space in Canada, simply click the international link and select Canada from the dropdown. This will automatically change the data of the "smart search" and "smart post"  to reflect locations in Canada.

Check back in the next few days as we will be launching another new feature that will be very helpful to commercial real estate brokers, executive suite operators or any other spaceholder with multiple properties.

Please continue to give us feedback, good or bad, and we will do our best to accommodate your suggestions.

Here are a few screenshots of this new feature:

SMART SEARCH

SMART POST

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Feature Update: The Commercial Real Estate Broker Business Card

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 info@openofficespace.com or via comment on our blog.

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

Before I get started I just want to clarify, when I say bring "health and fitness" into your office, I am not suggesting that you need to make room for a treadmill, I am strictly speaking of bringing the "health and fitness" mindset into your office.

Why I'm qualified to write this blog post - I hold a B.S. in Adult Fitness from Cortland State, have worked in the corporate fitness programs of several Fortune 100 companies, was the managing partner in a 30,000 sq. ft. health club and for over 17 years have been a personal trainer to hundreds of clients just like YOU.

So in no particular order, here are 10 reasons entrepreneurs MUST bring "health and fitness" into their office:

1) Stress Relief - As an entrepreneur, it is inevitable stress and you will become intimate coworkers. How you manage this stress will have a direct impact on your ability to perform at work, your general health and your sanity. A 30-45 minute exercise session is one of the most effective ways to keep your stress at  manageable levels.  (i.e. walk, jog, run, hit the heavy bag, hit the weights, go for a  swim, whatever)

2) Productivity - Let me guess you work long hours and don't have time to fit exercise into your day. Some of the most successful/busy clients I have ever worked with were able to fit exercise into their schedule, but you can't? I cry Bu** sh**! You need to re-organize your schedule to make it fit.

An hour spent exercising before, during or after your workday coupled with a proper eating plan can help ensure that you have a generous amount of energy during the day and sleep more soundly at night. Two important commodities for entrepreneurs...so its worth organizing your day accordingly.   

3) Monkey See/Monkey Do - Whether you like it or not, you are a role model (the head monkey) to your employees.  If your employees see that you are passionate about health and fitness, it is very likely they will follow suit. The result: more productive/creative employees, less "sick days" and possibly a better looking staff picture.

4) Self-Confidence - Your ability to sell your concepts, products and even yourself will often boil down to the level of self-confidence you are able to portray. Regardless of the starting fitness level of clients I have trained, one thing always held true, a noticeable improvement in self-confidence after only a few weeks of consistent exercise.  

5) A Direct Connection Exists Between Exercise and Brain Performance - In today's challenging business environment, the slightest competitive advantage could mean the difference between a homerun venture and Chapter 11. Over the past several years, several research projects have delivered indisputable proof that exercise and brain performance are linked. Perhaps doing something (such as exercise) to strengthen the "noodle" can ensure you fall on the homerun side of the equation. For more on this topic you should read Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brainby John Ratey.

6) Improved Morale - A company that exercise together...well never mind that. The fact of the matter is that exercise often serves as a good opportunity for employees to get together outside of the workplace. I am convinced that one of the reasons many personal trainers are so well liked is they are in contact with people at a time when the beta endorphins are elevated. If you buy into this train of thought you can see how exercising together might result in a more cohesive staff.

7) Reduced Employee Turnover- Personal trainers often work with the same clients for years as their clients become dependent on the motivation, attention and direction offered by the trainer. If your encouragement has resulted in a workforce that feels good about themselves due to exercise, don't you think they will think twice before leaving you?

8) Improved Creativity - Many a great idea has been conceived on the treadmill. Regular aerobic activity improves the efficiency of the circulatory system ensuring more oxygen rich blood is delivered throughout the body..this includes the brain. Aerobic Exercise = the electricity to power the "light bulb" over your head.  

9) Consistent Energy Levels Throughout The Day - Without getting into a scientific explanation, eating small meals (low in simple sugars) spread throughout the day will improve the likelihood that you will have a consistent level of energy throughout the day. Very big meals will often leave you feeling sluggish and unable to concentrate.

10) You Will Help Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Other Illnesses Caused From Inactivity - I recently came across a funny cartoon, a doctor is standing with his patient and says "What fits your schedule better, exercising one hour a day, or being dead 24 hours a day?" The daily stress we face as entrepreneurs can result in severe consequences to our health. Embracing "health and fitness" as a lifestyle can help prevent many of these illnesses before its too late.

Some actionable advice- I highly recommend hiring a personal trainer for 2 or 3 sessions every 6 months. Be clear that you are looking for an organized program that you can do on your own. Exercising with proper technique and intensity levels will help prevent you from getting injured and improve the chances you will see results...and stick to the program.

Time to put my entrepreneur hat back on and focus on making Open Office Space one of those homerun businesses.

 

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.

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.  

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.