Woodbury, NY (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 -- Open Space Ventures LLC. launches 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 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 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" 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 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.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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.
Check back often as we have some exciting news to report in the next couple of weeks regarding 3Dwalkthroughs.com.
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.
Check back often as we have some exciting news to report in the next couple of weeks regarding 3Dwalkthroughs.com.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
What do Nike, MTV and Effective Real Estate Marketing Have in Common?
Nike, MTV and Effective Real Estate Marketing have one trait in common: All three utilize powerful imagery to generate an emotional response from their intended audience.
Phil Knight of Nike had the foresight to create powerful marketing messages utilizing strong images/video of select sports superstars wearing Nike products (ex. Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan, etc.). He understood that a combination of imagery and his marketing message would create larger than life heroes, and ultimately strengthen the Nike brand.
Similarly, MTV recognized that creating a forum to comine video with music would create a much stronger response to the artist and their music, compared to listening to the music on its own.
As the price of digital photo/video cameras, editing software and virtual tours have dramatically decreased, coupled with increasing number of free sites that host these assets, virtually any space holder is capable of creating rich media assets to showcase their property.
Similar to Phil Knight and MTV, forward thing real estate marketers understand the emotional attachments strong imagery can create to their property.
One of the mottos at my other company, 3Dwalkthroughs.com, is "we don't create pictures", "we create emotions."
In today's economy, companies and individuals most do whatever they can to stand out from the crowd. Not including imagery on a property listing, especially considering how easy its become, is just bad business.
One of the first negative comments we received when we launched Open Office Space was that "we suck" because we did not offer an ability to add video to our listings. (granted, we should have known better) Needless to say people can now add video to their property listings...and we don't suck.
The video below tells the story of one of the pioneers of the coworking movement, Citizen Space. Notice how effectively the video demonstrates their culture and makes you want to be a part of their space. Much more effective than simply a written description.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsgxkTOLgig
An additional bonus of creating rich imagery such as video and pictures is they can also be posted to sites such as YouTube, Flickr, etc. These sites can garner your property significant more exposure than simply placing them on a static website.
The data is mounting regarding the competitive advantage that can be gained by adding imagery to your property listing.
So, the question remains. Will you sit with your arms crossed holding your breath, insisting you can't afford, or don't have the techical expertise to create powerful imagery for your space. Or will you stop with excuses and realize creating rich imagery is easy, affordable, and most importantly, the most effective way of getting your property noticed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
This post has absolutely nothing to do with 3D - WHY Magazine
It has been a while since 3Dwalkthroughs.com posted one of its, "this post has nothing to do with 3D" blog entries. With that said, as the economy continues to struggle we all can benefit from the resource outlined in this post.
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Using 3D Floor Plans on Your OpenOfficeSpace.com Property Listings
3Dwalkthroughs.com, a friend of Open Office Space, has been reporting an increased demand by commercial real estate agents for 3D Floor plans.
3D Floor Plans, especially ones with furniture included, are a much more effective way for a perspective tenant to visualize the potential of a space than just a flat 2D plan. Furthermore, if a buildout is required, a 3D Floor Plan allows the spaceholder/tenant to review any change requests before the shovel hits the dirt. This can save both parties a lot of time and money down the road.
3D Floor Plans are also being used to help market flex space opportunities. A flex space is a building that provides its occupants the flexibility of utilizing the space in multiple ways. They usually provide a configuration allowing a flexible amount of office or showroom space in addition to manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse distribution, etc.
Similar to the benefit a 3D Walkthrough offers a new property developer, 3D Floor Plans can be an invaluable tool for showcasing a property, or in this case a commercial office layout, before the construction has begun.
You can easily add a 3D Floor Plan to your Open Office Space property listing with a click of the mouse.
For more information on creating a 3D Floor Plan for your property please contact us at info@3dwalkthroughs.com.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Official Soft Launch of Openofficespace.com
3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited to announce the soft launch of Openofficespace.com. The launch is defined as soft as there is still some fine-tuning happening on the site.
The mission of Open Office Space is to facilitate the interaction between those who need office space and those who have unused office space. To that end, we have built an extremely clean and user friendly interface that is unlike the typical confusing real estate site.
About Open Office Space
In today's economy many companies are downsizing their workforce, yet they are still locked into a long term lease. Conversely, many entrepreneurs and small businesses are looking for available office space at the most affordable rates possible. Open Office Space brings both parties together in a true win-win relationship...and the best part, it's FREE!
Those that have space to rent can simply enter their property details, photos, maps, 2D and 3D floor plans and contact information. Those that are looking for space can easily search by location, property type or desired rent terms.
Open Open Space is the easiest and most effective place to Post/Find Unused:
Office Space
Industrial Space
Creative/Gallery Space
Retail Restaurant Space
Medical Space
Showroom Space
Warehouse Space
Shared Space Flexible Space
The evolution of the Open Office Space concept.
Over the past few months we have attended several meetings with potential consulting clients. It is fair to say, of the last eight meetings, four of them ended with an offer to sublease a portion of their office space…and cheap.
Apparently many of these companies downsized their workforce but were still locked into their long term lease. This left them with a substantial amount of unused (non-monetized) space.
On the flip side, as serial entrepreneurs, we are constantly on the lookout for available office space at the most affordable rates possible (especially during these times). On my walk back to my office from one of these meetings I realized an opportunity existed to create a place where these parties could find each other and interact.
In addition to space holders and entrepreneurs we also realized our concept will could help landlords as well. Giving their tenants an ability to sublease their space might prevent a given tenant from having to give it up altogether.
Boom! Open Office Space was conceived.
Over the next few weeks we will be rolling out many new features and would appreciate any feedback/suggestions as to how we can improve our service. Oh and please feel free to start spreading the word to your friends and business associates.
The mission of Open Office Space is to facilitate the interaction between those who need office space and those who have unused office space. To that end, we have built an extremely clean and user friendly interface that is unlike the typical confusing real estate site.
About Open Office Space
In today's economy many companies are downsizing their workforce, yet they are still locked into a long term lease. Conversely, many entrepreneurs and small businesses are looking for available office space at the most affordable rates possible. Open Office Space brings both parties together in a true win-win relationship...and the best part, it's FREE!
Those that have space to rent can simply enter their property details, photos, maps, 2D and 3D floor plans and contact information. Those that are looking for space can easily search by location, property type or desired rent terms.
Open Open Space is the easiest and most effective place to Post/Find Unused:
Office Space
Industrial Space
Creative/Gallery Space
Retail Restaurant Space
Medical Space
Showroom Space
Warehouse Space
Shared Space Flexible Space
The evolution of the Open Office Space concept.
Over the past few months we have attended several meetings with potential consulting clients. It is fair to say, of the last eight meetings, four of them ended with an offer to sublease a portion of their office space…and cheap.
Apparently many of these companies downsized their workforce but were still locked into their long term lease. This left them with a substantial amount of unused (non-monetized) space.
On the flip side, as serial entrepreneurs, we are constantly on the lookout for available office space at the most affordable rates possible (especially during these times). On my walk back to my office from one of these meetings I realized an opportunity existed to create a place where these parties could find each other and interact.
In addition to space holders and entrepreneurs we also realized our concept will could help landlords as well. Giving their tenants an ability to sublease their space might prevent a given tenant from having to give it up altogether.
Boom! Open Office Space was conceived.
Over the next few weeks we will be rolling out many new features and would appreciate any feedback/suggestions as to how we can improve our service. Oh and please feel free to start spreading the word to your friends and business associates.
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