Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Everyone knows that a good business should have an office space that inspires it’s workers. Even our office has table football, a Nintendo Wii and a mini ball pool (!) for when we just need a little break from office space!
But some companies have really embraced this phenomenom. Needofficespace.com have teamed up with positivesharing.com to bring you a list of the 3 coolest office spaces in the world.
(*Warning: You might be slightly jealous after 
reading this!*)
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Friday, April 10th, 2009
Just found this article about the state of the office market in Edinburgh.
One phrase that struck me was this “Although serviced offices tend to be more expensive, flexible leases and additional facilities like video conferencing and switchboard operators are an increasingly attractive part of the package”
To my mind the first part of this sentence is misleading, I would argue that Serviced Offices tend to be less expensive. Researchers at Reading University agree..
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
During times of recession and downturns, it has been shown that they are also great times of innovation and many a small company is formed following redundancies and other events that cause people to want to ‘go it alone’.
Whilst writing about the industry over these past few months, I haven’t seen (via the web anyway) many cases where business centres have delved deep in to local creative communities to eek out new business, even if it is on the small side.
Upon Choregus’ recent move back to the creative motherland of Newcastle under Lyme it became apparent through a few contacts in the area that the local creative community of Stoke (Stoke, Newcastle = almost the same thing) was being added to quite rapidly with many new companies having started up in the past few months. When discussing with a few people from these agencies, most of them did not know at all what a serviced office was or indeed that they were in the local area. Scandalous, you may cry!
I am convinced that this must be the case throughout the UK and would urge business centres up and down the country of varying sizes to start to look at the local creative communities as there is undoubtedly business there to be had. Even if it is 1 new client for a 6 month period, it is not to be sniffed at as I am sure you will agree and this business could be added to because of the nature of the creative industries – talking about themselves a lot – what they do, where they operate from and more.
So, its time for business centre staff to get searching on Google for their local creative communities – they are out there, you just need to look.
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Friday, March 20th, 2009
Colliers are reporting that Hong Kong was the most expensive city in term of the price of office space last year – despite a fall in rental values for premium office space in the City.
This equates to a headline rental value of $178, a fall of 2.1%. However this was eclipsed by a massive 16% fall in the first two months of 2009.
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
A surge in videoconferencing bookings caused by companies cutting back on business travel has led to an increase in first-timers seeking tips for the perfect meeting, reports the Regus Group, operator of the world’s largest network of public access studios.
Hosting a videoconference at Regus reduces the average cost of business travel by 75%, making it a cost-effective alternative for companies cutting back on trips at home and abroad but still needing to conduct a meeting. As a result, videoconferencing bookings at Regus are up 40%.
This rise in popularity has led to an increase in customer queries as new users get to grips with VC for the first time. With the largest public Videoconference network in the world, Regus knows a thing or two about running an effective meeting.
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Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Recession. We all know that its here to stay and that this ugly monster will take no prisoners.
The most recent information from the CBI suggests that over 3 million people will be out of work in the coming year. Already, outplacement facilities are bursting at the seams and the job market is oversaturated with highly qualified candidates scrambling for available jobs with uncertain futures.
Sure, that’s the downside. But, look at it this way, new problems create new needs and therefore, new business potential.
In the current economic climate, starting a business is possibly one of the best options available to many. Prices are falling, existing companies are looking to capitalise on new opportunities to stay afloat and consumers are exploring new and more promising options in attempts to save money and increase the value they receive. Businesses that start out aggressively or continue to forge forward during difficult economic times have a track record of success.
Tesco, IBM, General Motors, General Electric and the Virtual Office Group are all of companies who have been born out of recessions or whom have used economic downturns in the past to propel themselves to the top of their industry.
“Now, existing businesses as well as start-ups are looking to cut overheads in order to spend on business generating activities. Organisations are trying to run on shoe-string budgets with little or no financial backing which makes every penny precious. The Virtual Office presents a perfect solution to their dilemma by providing the key components of a prestigious brick and mortar office complete with support staff to them at a fraction of the cost of traditional office space, which allows them to operate more efficiently than their competitors and can give them the edge they need to succeed while those around them fall victim to the economy,” says Richard Nissen, the Chairman and Founder of the Virtual Office Group.
So, be fearless, cut costs where you can afford to and spend where the opportunity seems greatest.
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Monday, February 16th, 2009
Due to the economic slowdown, most companies are looking to save costs wherever possible.
Long haul flights are an obvious expense that are now being examined to see if they are actually necessary on every occasion. Of course, you can never completely usurp a personal, face to face meeting – but with advancements in technology you can come pretty close!
Skype have just released version 4.0 of there VOIP service, which comes with improvements in the video conferencing facility. Although there are other instant messaging packages that appear to run faster, Skype is the overwhelmingly popular choice for the business community. For day to day conferencing between colleagues the Skype video conferencing function is more than adequate, providing both parties have a web cam and a decent enough broadband bandwidth. This is especially useful if the call is overseas.
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
FD Solutions have found a way of resisting the need to seek a new workspace when your current premises become too small. The company used it’s ingenuity and made better use of existing space to prevent a costly move.
Malcolm Durham of FD said he used 720 feet of space more efficiently - “We used technology to allow ourselves to work from home and to save on our premises cost”. (Oh how this must have been popular with his staff! – Ed)
He added that “We used things like virtual private networks, Blackberrys, whatever people have needed.” As well as being creative about how the company could save on space, he also negotiated an attractive rental agreement – fixed for 24 months with one months extra free rent.
FD Solutions was formed in the early 1990’s with Durham’s redundancy pay off. Now the group has 28 staff members and an impressive annual turnover of £34m.
What does Choregus think?
Go and tell your boss that working from home could SAVE the company money.
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