The OfficeLinks Business Support Services can act as part of your team in a number of ways.  Need 100 copies of a presentation by tomorrow, collated and bound? OfficeLinks Business Support Services are there for you. Need to have data entered into your system, but it has been sitting on your desk for weeks, getting bumped for other to-dos on your list?  OfficeLinks Business Support Services are there for you. Have a major business meeting and need help with the PowerPoint presentation and video conferencing?  OfficeLinks Business Support Services are there for you.   Need voicemail storage and access 24/7?  OfficeLinks Business Support Services are there for you. Need high-speed internet access with managed firewall protection and system support and maintenance?  OfficeLinks Business Support Services are there for you.

Ok, so we’re trying to drive home a point by saying that we’re there for you.  But all joking aside, OIfficeLinks clients know that we are absolutely committed to being there for you and providing an environment for them to thrive.  For more information about how OfficeLinks can support your business and employees, click here.

This concept of co-working is a very attractive one – you get to work in a creative, dedicated work environment with other professionals, escape working alone in a home office, connect with others and network, avoid the coffee house distractions, get motivated and driven by the others sharing the workspace, and have flexibility and no commitment to traditional “work time”.

This past August, OfficeLinks debuted a product designed to provide knowledge workers with reduce office space costs while providing enterprise-grade technology and workplace infrastructure that enables and inspires collaboration: Co-Working Offices. Companies or individuals interested may try co-working FREE on Fridays at OfficeLinks’ locations in Chicago and New York.  The first of its kind, OfficeLinks’ program brings knowledge workers unprecedented opportunity to leverage the company’s fully furnished, staffed, and modern offices on a transactional basis, while also networking with like-minded business people.   OfficeLinks’ Co-Working program includes access to modern workstations, blazing-fast and free WIFI, as well as refreshments and snacks to fuel the brain.

Say goodbye to overhearing every soy latte ordered at the corner café and hello to working in an inspiring, modern workspace with other people just like you.  For more information about OfficeLinks’ Co-Working Offices in their Chicago (Willis Tower location) and New York (40 Wall Street, 1440 Broadway and 33 West 19^th Street) office locations, click here.

If you want to stay competitive while using a virtual office, professionalism must remain a focus in the forefront. Employees should be able to send an mail from a prime professional business address and there should be a phone number available to customers/clients and employees with a professional voice answering the phone. Your business could have live call answering during business hours, access to a day office and even a fully-equipped space for meetings. A professional front face is key. Remember an old rule of thumb; a good impression is a lasting one…a bad one lasts even longer.

OfficeLinks’ three superior New York City office locations (40 Wall Street, 1440 Broadway and 33 West 19th Street) and a landmark Chicago office location in the Willis Tower, offer clients an array of Virtual Office options that are just right for every kind of business out there – including yours.

So, whether you are a start-up, entering a new market, needing local presence for project work, or have a mobile workforce, a Virtual Office is a viable, cost-effective option for your business. To learn how OfficeLinks can help, click here.

Thriving at OfficeLinks New York Officespace

The lesson from what’s happening in the restaurant world is one that can be applied to many businesses.  In order to navigate the difficult economy, companies must be humble and adjust to the times.  This was one of many important pieces of advice I received from Roddy Salazar of Interfax during a recent interview.  Interfax provides essential news and other information products, focusing mainly on Russia, countries of the former Soviet Union, China, and Central Europe, for decision-makers in politics and business.  Roddy opened his company’s first New York City office at OfficeLinks’ 40 Wall Street location in July 2007.  With a nimble business plan, Interfax is prevailing despite the obstacles.  Roddy, like many NYC restaurant owners, knows that client retention is key.  Here are some of Roddy’s pointers for client retention:

*Lose the arrogance.  Be humble.

*Move with the environment. Ensure your strategy is agile and adept to the current marketplace at all times.  

*Engage your clients.  Roddy shared with me that he pre empts the “we’re canceling our account” discussion by providing his clients with a powerful value-add.  Further, he went to each of his clients and assured them that there would not be an increase in the cost of their subscriptions.

*Provide a superior value proposition. People are extremely selective with their money.  Therefore, businesses must provide a superior value proposition (remember value proposition=benefits/cost) in order to have the edge over their competition.  Per Se recognized that the recession wasn’t going to stop people from eating but they needed to enhance their value proposition to beat out the competition at their particular price point.  Roddy knows the need for information is just as crucial as ever.  His challenge, and it appears that he has stepped up to the plate, is to create a powerful set of benefits that outweigh the cost.

With client retention in the front of their minds, Interfax is positioned to grow and capture opportunity.  My guess is that its competitors who struggle the most will be the ones who remain too rigid in their approach.  Right now, Roddy’s tips are extremely timely.  In fact, the interview made me think about what my own company, OfficeLinks, is doing lately to adjust to the current marketplace.  Similar to Interfax, we are focused on client retention.  OfficeLinks is continually inventing creative ways to improve our value proposition.  A good example is the recent launch of our CoWorking program, which enables mobile workers to take advantage of our state-of-the-art work environment.

OfficeLinks Wall Street NYC Client that is Unlocking the Keys to Success

How can a company improve the lives of many Americans while at the same time developing a profitable business during a difficult economic climate?  The answer to this question is certainly not an obvious one. However, after sitting down for an interview with Oryan’s Group, a company dedicated to helping create better business through innovation, automation, organizational alignment, optimal management structure, and solid business strategy, it was clear to me that this company has a strong answer.  Dr. Oryan Yitzhak, President and CEO, of Oryan’s Group, first brought his company to OfficeLinks’ 40 Wall Street location in December of 2008 with a vision to identify opportunity in the turbulent American marketplace.  After considerable due diligence and careful consideration he found his niche. Leveraging his experience in real estate and investment banking and insights into the American marketplace, Dr. Oryan Yitzhak purchases properties for renovation and rents them out at discounted rates.  In the short term Oryan’s Group improves residential areas as well as the lives of the Americans who occupy his properties and in the long term, he is building a profitable business as his aim is to sell these properties at real value once the market picks up.  Having learned about the great work of this company, I am especially pleased to observe it is thriving despite the current recession. Oryan’s Group recently took on more office space at 40 Wall Street and we at OfficeLinks are honored to provide a nimble workplace platform that could accommodate their expansion.

Selecting the right Office Space in New York City, Chicago, or realistically anywhere, involves significant due diligence.  Since office related expenses are commonly the second largest cost to hit the bottom line, examine the complete spectrum of workplace options to ensure that you select the solution that is optimal for your business now and for tomorrow.

There are really four options to consider:  Traditional space, sublet space, business centers and home working.  In future blog posts, we will dissect each option in greater detail.  But, for now we will look at some core elements of the decision-making process.

Total Occupancy Cost:

When examining price, ensure you are including all the factors of this very complex equation. To be very clear, square foot pricing is not Total Cost of Occupancy.  Price per square foot is simply one factor.  At a very high level, consider all the costs for fitting out your office so that it is “business-ready” (don’t forget about the common areas including reception, meeting rooms etc…) and then running and managing that facility.  Then factor in that cost when the space is totally utilized and when it’s not. For expediency sake we’re proving a very high-level overview. In an upcoming blog post, we will address the true definition of Total Occupancy Costs. 

Other factors in your decision-making process should be:

Term of the agreement. In today’s dynamic marketplace your business needs to be agile.  Long-term, fixed leases do not enable business agility. There is a clear disconnect between what landlords and business owners need. Business Week quoted a stat that 50% of a typical company’s office space sits empty.  You can mitigate this risk with agreements that have flexible terms and allow you to expand and contract your office space according to business needs, which leads to the next thing to consider.

Rent increases.  Even with long-term leases, rent tends to increase.  So when you find an option with a shorter, less risky term, you want to cover yourself from potential rent hikes.  Ask for a clause that correlates rent increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  With today’s marketplace, you can request a shorter term and ask for a rent freeze for the first year. Watch out for increases tied to “fair market valuations” and stick to CPI.

Building maintenance and utilities.  With every office comes office related bills – as the cost to actually run the business.  Remember to ask for a definitive list of what’s included and what additional charges you would have each month. If the services and utilities are all charged separately, you may see that your low rent price per square foot option is no longer a wise choice, which leads me to the next point.

Complete office and support package. You know how to run your business and each minute you are distracted from it negatively impacts your output.   To ensure you are optimizing each hour, select options where your office management is included in your monthly price.  Business Centers offer options for a receptionist to answer calls, to give a warm welcome to greet visitors and can even help arrange meetings as needed.  To many, these services immediately equate to savings in headcount or from utilizing that staff for business driving efforts.   Using shared business equipment cuts overhead and utilities are generally included in your monthly cost.  For many, the networking in such a shared business environment has lead to new revenue gains.  Finally, a long-term lease agreement that doesn’t support your dynamic business needs could prove devastating to your business.

Risk:

For most, running a real estate function is not a core competency.  Identifying the space where you want to office is one thing.  Forecasting the right amount of space so that you can optimize utilization, negotiating a 50+ page lease agreement, establishing a business-ready environment is another.  Making the wrong office decision can really be a noose around the neck of a business for years to come.  Consider all options that mitigate that risk.   

If you stood outside 40 Wall Street in 1930, yes indeed, you’d be looking at the world’s tallest building! Although the global title was held for only a brief time, it’s still part of the history of the world. Well regarded today as the Trump Building, 40 Wall Street is a desirable, convenient and recognized business address with top notch building amenities from the entrance and throughout the building. Here are some more facts and trivia on this historic building that is home to the OfficeLinks Wall Street Location:

• Originally named the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, 40 Wall Street was
  

  40 Wall Street 1930

  remarkably completed in less than one year.

   

   

   

• The story begins in 1929 when in a race against his former partner William Van Alen to build the country’s tallest building, H. Craig Severance set out to erect a 927-foot structure to stand at the heart of New York’s financial district.
• The building at 40 Wall Street was to tower 135 feet above Cass Gilbert’s gothic Woolworth Building, which was completed a decade earlier.
• And, perhaps more importantly, Severance’s plans edged the projected 925-foot height of Van Alen’s Chrysler Building by a significant two feet.
• When completed in 1930, 40 Wall Street briefly held the title of world’s tallest building. (Currently it ranks 33rd).
  
• However, in a sly maneuver, Van Alen secretly changed the projected height of the Chrysler Building after 40 Wall Street had been completed. A 185-foot spire was secretly assembled in the building’s crown and hoisted into place, fulfilling tycoon Walter Chrysler’s dream of owning the tallest building on Earth.
• Despite losing the status of world’s tallest building, 40 Wall Street, dubbed “The Crown Jewel of Wall Street,” would long dominate the skyline of lower Manhattan with its ornate pyramidal crown and gothic spire.
• In 1996, Donald Trump renovated 40 Wall Street to its original grandeur with “3,500 Wausau windows, two 1,300-ton York Chillers, state-of-the-art safety and communications systems, and an all new Italian marble and bronze lobby.”
• OfficeLinks opened it’s doors at Trump tower in (2005?). Their Business Cener is located on the 28^th and 29^th floors and boasts spectacular city and water views coupled with all the advantages of lower Manhattan’s most prominent business address. Clients that OfficeLinks at 40 Wall Street – thrive.

Source: NYC Architecture