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The Simple Math on Why Brokers Aren’t Returning Your Calls

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If you’ve ever wondered why brokers aren’t calling you back when you’re looking for small spaces, let me break it down for you with simple math.

First, here’s some background on how brokers get paid:  brokers usually get paid a percentage of your total lease value.  What that percentage is varies from region to region but it’s typically between 3 to 5%.  However, brokers typically have to share a percentage of their commission with their brokerage companies.  This percentage can also vary but I’m going to use a 60/40-commission split for our purposes with 60% going to the individual broker.

To get to a signed lease, there is typically a lot of work.  There are calls or in-person meetings, searching for available spaces that meet your requirements, calls to set up property tours, the actual property tours and lease negotiations. All of the steps I mention above are the same for a company looking for 10,000 square feet of space as 500 square feet of space.  In addition, most companies looking for smaller spaces are unsure of what their space needs will be in the next year or two so they are only looking for shorter term deals whereas companies needing larger spaces tend to look for longer lease terms.  So, here’s what the math looks like in both scenarios:

 

500 square foot space x $30/square foot per year = $15,000 in annual rent

Lease term is 1 year:  1 year lease value $15,000 total rent (for ease of calculations, I’m assuming no rent escalation)

Brokerage company’s commission 5% = $750

Broker’s commission 60% of brokerage company’s commission = 60% x $750 = $450

VS.

10,000 square foot space x $30/square foot per year = $300,000 in annual rent

Lease term is 3 years:  3 x $300,000 = $900,000 in total rent

Brokerage company’s commission 5% = $45,000

Broker’s commission 60% of brokerage company’s commission = 60% x $45,000 = $27,000

This is a very simple way to look at the two deals. Every deal is unique but you can see that the numbers just don’t make sense for brokers with smaller spaces.  This doesn’t even take into account the number of times brokers work on a deal where they’ve put in their time and the deal goes dead for reasons outside of their control.   If you could spend the same amount of time for $27,000 versus $450, what would you do with your time?  Even if you tried to make a volume play, you would have to close 60 smaller deals to earn the same revenue that you would with one larger deal.

This is one of the reasons that we’ve built a site designed to allow tenants to self -serve.  By providing all of the relevant information about a space on our site, we are hoping that we can really cut down on the time investment needed for research and tours by brokers.  If you represent a small space that you need to get leased without losing money to get it leased, upload it to our site and ensure that you have lots of photos and that the information is complete.  We’ll be sending you qualified leads in no time.



Olympic Athletes are to Coaches as Tenants are to Brokers

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For the past week and a half, I’ve been curled up on my couch like an Olympics addict.  I’ve even been watching the biographies NBC puts together for American athletes. These segments show the athletes training, past victories, their families and a final huge factor: their coaches. There’s no denying that the coaches are one of the most important people and an ever-present part of the most important meet of their careers.

I brought this thought with me to work and to the debate of whether or not a tenant needs a tenant rep broker in a transaction. Athletes don’t make their way up to the podium all by themselves now, do they? Much like coaches, tenant rep brokers provide the experience and guidance and negotiate on the tenant’s behalf.

Athletes look for coaches with experience:

Athletes don’t always make it to multiple Olympics, but coaches are often a familiar face. American track and field star Allyson Felix won her long-awaited gold medal yesterday under the coaching of Bob Kersee. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he also coached legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Coincidence? I think not.

That’s not to say there are no newcomer coaches, but no one’s going at it alone.  A tenant rep broker provides the experience and expertise in the commercial real estate industry that a business owner is just less likely to have.  They know how to “coach” their tenants to the best spaces because they’ve done it before.

Coaches fight for bad calls for their athletes:

These Olympics seemed to be the Games of the inquiries. When fencer German Britta Heidemann pounced a decisive hit against South Korean Shin A. Lam’s during a clock malfunction, Heidermann was declared the winner and Lam’s coach immediately filed an appeal. Unfortunately for Lam, she lost her appeal.

Over at the O2 arena, gymnasts Alexandra Raisman (U.S.) and Kohei Uchimura (Japan) found themselves/their teams in 4th place. Immediately, their coaches filed appeals complaining that they did not get enough credit in their technical scores. Both gymnasts subsequently won the appeal and made it to the podium, but one noticeable thing is that the athlete keeps their distance.  Their job is to perform.  Their coaches’ is to fight for them.

When tenants hire a tenant rep broker, they are hiring someone to be on their side.  The listing broker is looking out for his or her client, so why not have someone look out for you? The tenant rep broker will negotiate the price, terms of the lease and other contractual items.  They’ll fight the battles so tenants don’t have to get their hands dirty. The tenant can focus on what they do best: running their business.

Coaches provide guidance and analyze the competition:

During women’s diving semifinals, coach Vince Panzano was seen giving American Katie Bell coaching and a pep talk.  After gymnast Jordyn Wieber’s (U.S.) low beam score in team preliminaries, she was seen talking to her coach across the arena boundary.  NBC speculated he was talking to her about what she needed to do to qualify for the all-around competition above her teammates.

It’s the coach’s job to guide the athletes, tell them what needs to be done and to analyze the competition- brokers are no different.  Tenant rep brokers hear things in the “biz.” They often have an idea of which spaces are currently highly sought after, which neighborhoods are best and how various property owners may work.

At the end of the day, the tenant rep broker works for the tenant.  The space the tenant chooses is up to them. No one became the best in the world without a coach and a tenant rep broker will help the tenant find their best space and deal too.


“Good Fortune Comes to San Diego Commercial Real Estate Community…”

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San Diego, CA Friday November 9, 2012 - Commercial Real Estate’s latest game changer,   OfficeSpace.com, is now officially available in the San Diego market targeting both brokers and tenants.

The company’s unique position to be the next generation, all access platform for office space aims to streamline the commercial real estate process.

                                 

Having already garnered attention for their creative introductions in each market,  San Diego is no different with over 600 custom gourmet fortune cookies sent to the majority of brokerages through out the community with varying personalized fortunes.

OfficeSpace.com offers a multitude of services targeted to assisting brokers; landlords and property managers connect to tenants. The broker-and-landlord-to-tenant service is completely free for brokers and landlords to list. It also includes an extensive suite of free, timesaving tools created specifically for today’s market with options to design flyers, create surverys and communicate with tenants. Tenants are offered full complimentary access right at their fingertips with user specific designated search options, map functionality, social media sharing tools while also providing helpful tips on the confusing aspects of leasing.

“We are excited about providing service in San Diego. Tenants now have access to the
information they need to make better decisions about their businesses. We also provide a
robust tool set for brokers in order to compliment their marketing efforts and connect them
to tenants.” - Susie Algard – CEO, OfficeSpace.com
About OfficeSpace.com
OfficeSpace.com’s innovative service will help add great value to the San Diego Commercial Real Estate Market. Other markets include Denver, CO and Portland, OR. To add a listing, find an office or find out more visit OfficeSpace.com

History OfficeSpace.com

Experienced internet entrepreneurs Susie and Alex Algard purchased OfficeSpace.com in late 2010. Frustrated by some of the trial and tribulations of their own experiences trying to find office space for companies they were involved in, they decided it was time to make a change in the commercial real estate space. Susie, CEO of OfficeSpace.com, was previously a senior executive and founding member at WhitePages.com, a top 30 internet property.
OfficeSpace.com also operates one of the leading commercial real estate marketing and analytics services in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Cincinnati & Columbus.

Tagged: Broker, commercial real estate, office space, OfficeSpace.com, San Diego, technology, Tenant

Calling All Tenant Reps!

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So many inquiries, so little time

We’ve had a great 2012 and 2013 looks to be off to a fast start.  So much so that we are looking to expand our pool of Tenant Rep Brokers!

OfficeSpace.com has been extremely busy with our Portland, Denver, and San Diego launches and here is a brief summary of 2012:

  • Launched Portland, OR (Jan 2012), Denver, CO (June 2012), San Diego, CA (Dec 2012) AND
  • 243,000 visitors
  • 2,200,000 building views
  • 1,900 leads directly to listing brokers
  • Approx. 10,000 calls to listing brokers

We’re very proud of these results, however, we’re just getting started.

Destination for Tenants

OfficeSpace.com is where many tenants who are just starting to look for space first enter the market. We’re talking to these potential tenants, sometimes they simply request some marketing and listing contact information. Other times, these are tenants who are ready and willing to work with a Broker and this is when we send them to you. We are filling a void for tenants and they are finding us online.

Little Secret

As some of you may know, the OfficeSpace.com platform is open to nationwide listings even though we are focused on our home markets of Seattle, Portland, Denver, & San Diego.  In fact, we continually add new listings outside of our home markets and they are getting indexed.  In the last 30 days, much to our surprise, our non-home market web stats and lead activity has in some cases, surpassed our home market metrics:

  • 52% of visitor traffic was outside our home markets
  • 60% of our building views were attributable to our non-home markets
  • 30% of our leads & inquiries were generated from outside our home markets

The Opportunity

This is where you come in!

If you are an experienced Tenant Rep and would like to be part of our Tenant Rep Broker Pool, please email me at howard@officespace.com with a brief bio and I’ll be sure to contact you.  Oh, by the way, our Tenant Rep Broker Pool is free to join but spots are limited, so secure your first mover advantage and get in early!

If you have listings, get them onto OfficeSpace.com, you will get indexed, you will get exposure, and you will generate leads.

With your help, we’re making finding and leasing space a smoother and easier process!


Tagged: commercial real estate, commercial real estate broker, CRE, office space for lease, Office Space for Rent, tenant office space, tenant rep broker

Brokers, Are You Still Walking Through Buildings?

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Gone are the days of walking from building to building…

Search online, anytime with the latest from OfficeSpace.com as we introduce the prospecting must-have for the commercial real estate industry; The OfficeSpace Tenant Roster. Here’s to finally accessing up to date, reliable and affordable information on buildings and tenants through out the country!


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Interested in Earning a Free Membership?

Refer OfficeSpace.com Tenant Concierge services.

We’ve built out a trusted network of vendors, featuring reliable service providers to help businesses manage everything related to setting up their new office, retail or industrial spaces. We built this service to help tenants who come directly to us asking for help. If you have a client interested in saving time and money by connecting with our Concierge, please send them our way.

By the way, our Tenant Concierge service has no hidden fees or costs – it’s a complimentary service aimed at making tenants lives easier!

Contact us for more information on how to earn your free Tenant Roster membership.

John Heimbigner | heimb@officespace.com | (800) 560-3544


Tagged: brokers, commercial real estate, commercial real estate broker, concierge service, cre news, find office space, industrial spaces, office space, prospecting, retail space, tenant rep, tenant roster

Broker Banter – Questions & Answers (The Portland Chapter)

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We’re the first to admit we don’t always have all the answers when it comes to the fine details of leasing and all the questions that come with it. That’s when we turn to our commercial comrades to aid with the broadening of our knowledge base.  This week we’ve gone straight to the source to speak with Portland, OR broker Kristi Ricker.

We connected with Kristi to talk shop, and in fact, where to set up shop.

OfficeSpace: What do you think is the most important question a tenant should be asking, that they never seem to ask when looking for space?

Kristi: Zoning, tenants need to learn more out about zoning. There are so many issues in this area and if you’re not aware of this in the beginning it could hurt your chances of securing your ideal space. It’s something you should ask your broker about as they’ll be able to determine how to move forward in narrowing down your search. It’s just not something that’s on the top of your mind when you’re looking for a space and it definitely should be.

OfficeSpace: What is the best tip in negotiating a lease you think all tenants should consider? 

Kristi: The longer the lease, the better you’re going to be able to negotiate, especially if you are going to need anything done to your space. People are nervous with the idea of securing a 5 year lease, they think “What if something happens?” – but they can always put a clause in allowing them to sublease (A lease of a property by a tenant to a subtenant.).

OfficeSpace: What do tenants focus on, that perhaps they shouldn’t when searching for space?

Kristi: Recently, I’ve had clients who have looked at a space and were concerned the buildings around it were being worked on or unfinished. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always paint a pretty picture of the neighborhood, especially when it’s an up and coming urban area. I recommend looking at the bigger finished picture and inquiring about what’s being developed in the area.

OfficeSpace: What area of town would you recommend to a Start-Up in Portland?

Kristi: The inner Southeast, Northeast and North Portland are very hot right now. They were predominantly industrial areas and now they’ve turned into these very creative pockets with great opportunities for startups, restaurants, retail and more.

OfficeSpace: What are you starting to see more of in Portland?

Kristi: Tons of startups, restaurants, breweries, delis – there’s a great food scene here.

OfficeSpace: And lastly, what makes Portland great?

Kristi: Portland‘s so diverse, we have a little bit of everything for everyone. Everything goes here – that’s what I love about it. I see all these new ideas here and they seem to work. If you have a crazy, fun new idea, there’s a great support network for that here. It just seems out of the ordinary things work here more than other places. Nothing is guaranteed but your chances of making it a go seems to have better odds in Portland.

Kristi has over 15 years of real estate experience in the greater Portland area and has recently started her own company.

Need Office, Retail or Industrial Space in Portland? Visit us here – OfficeSpace.com/Portland


Tagged: commercial real estate, CRE, office space, Oregon, PDX, Portland, start up commercial real estate, start-up, Tenant

2013 Didn’t Bring An NBA Team to Seattle, But It Did Bring…

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What does Seattle have?  A thriving start-up community and established technology hub, world renowned coffee, an infamous independent music scene, a top ranked NFL team, the lush green of the Pacific NorthWest and so much more.

Sadly, 2013 did not bring back an NBA team, but there is a game changer in town. OfficeSpace.com’s long awaited new platform is about to change the way players in the commercial real estate arena engage with clients.

In fact, businesses and commercial real estate pros now have a new online stadium with OfficeSpace.com’s improved site and service for the Seattle market.

Since launching its new service 18 months ago, OfficeSpace.com has served thousands of tenants looking to lease office, retail and industrial spaces.  OfficeSpace.com allows tenants unrestricted searches of its comprehensive database with over 27,000 properties, at no charge, something typically not done in the traditional commercial real estate world.

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Today, we are proud to launch our free service in our home market of Seattle.  “We felt this was a great time to launch as the business community is thriving and there are a lot of eyes on Seattle right now.” says Susie Algard, CEO. 

Businesses can now search from over 7,000 available listings in the Greater Seattle area. We expect the number of tenants coming to access these listings will grow quickly, as we are the city’s only commercial real estate site offering this type of platform.

The new site has a clean design aesthetic with an intuitive, user-friendly map based search, photo rich listings, and advanced search filters, all of which were created to make the tenant search experience much more engaging and efficient.

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“With today’s launch, we are excited to be bringing more qualified tenants to the broker community.” says Algard. OfficeSpace.com’s new site was designed with these relationships in mind. The commercial real estate audience can benefit from several complimentary marketing tools, including nationwide tenant rosters, a no-software flyer creator, comprehensive market surveys, and upgraded property listings.

So, while the city sits waiting patiently for another opportunity to bring back the NBA, we’ll continue to up our game to better serve the Seattle market. We’re no substitute for a basketball team but we’re practicing our virtual jump shots none the less in hopes of a CRE MVP title.

OfficeSpace.com is now serving Seattle, Denver, Portland and San Diego with upcoming markets on the horizon.


Tagged: #Seattle, brokers, commercial real estate, commercial real estate broker, CRE, cre technology, Denver, find office space, Portland, seattle office space, start-up, startup, technology

Close Encounters of the CRE Kind.

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The OfficeSpace team had the pleasure of hosting it’s first home town event for the CRE community in Seattle this past week. It was an intimate evening with an open format for answering questions on our broker services, product demonstrations, all of course while engaging with everyone on the latest commercial real estate talk in the Pacific NorthWest.

Perhaps the most surprising comment of the evening was how fantastic it was to speak with our team in person. More than once we heard “How often do you get to speak to a website face to face?”.  Being in the internet game with our heads down, working hard to make our site as efficient and user-friendly as possible for both the broker and the tenant communities, we sometimes forget how important that face time really is.

It’s a recurring theme in the tech start-up community as we “Eat. Sleep. Breath.” with our computers  and our “Eat. Drink. Learn” event was a great reminder to stop, drop everything and talk…in person.  We look forward to continuing this trend as we grow and continue to answer your questions – face to face, over the phone and of course, online.

A generous thank you once again to our sponsors, Gateway Construction and Complete Office Furniture who provided some fantastic give-aways and support of the evening.

We even managed to snap a few shots of the evening’s festivities as posted below.


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Tagged: #OfficeSpace, Broker, commercial real estate, cre technology, networking, Seattle, start-up, technology

When Does it Make Sense to Use a Broker to Find Office Space?

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With the explosive growth of small businesses in the U.S., more entrepreneurs are finding themselves negotiating and closing leases without the help of a broker. While at times it makes sense to do this, using a broker in the right scenario can greatly assist in securing the best possible lease for you and your company.

Before deciding whether you need extra help, it’s important to understand what motivates brokers and how they can benefit you during a lease transaction.

Getting their attention. Knowing how brokers get paid is important to understanding their motivations — and why sometimes, they don’t return your calls. Most brokers get paid a percentage of your total lease value, which is typically between 3 and 5 percent. However, this often isn’t the full amount your broker will receive, as they usually have to share a percentage of their commission with their brokerage companies.

Getting to a signed lease can be a lot of work. This can involve conference calls or face-to-face meetings, searching for spaces that satisfy your requirements, setting up and attending property tours and actual lease negotiations themselves.

A broker will have to do these steps for a company regardless of if they’re looking for 10,000 square feet of space or 500 square feet of space, but the difference in size means that the amount the broker receives will be significantly different.

This is why you might want to — or have to — represent yourself in a lease transaction for a smaller space. If your space requirements are bigger or more complicated, then there are instances where using a broker may be in your best interest.

Knowing the landlord landscape. It’s tempting for experienced entrepreneurs to think that they can deal with the landlord directly and save money by not using a broker, expecting that the landlord will pass savings on to them. While there may be times when this is true, there are just as many situations where it isn’t necessarily the case.

While you might do a lease transaction every three to five years, brokers do many deals every month. The end result is that brokers are likely to know more about the landlords operating in the local area than you do. They know the property owning landscape well: who is flexible, who is motivated and who will go the extra mile to accommodate a tenant.

For example, let’s say you are a growing company with the stability to sign a long-term lease if desired, but want to retain a short-term lease for greater growth flexibility. In situations such as this, an experienced broker can guide you to spaces with landlords who are not only flexible, but can accommodate you in alternative buildings while under your current lease.

Let’s say you run out of space two years into a five-year lease, you may have the option to transfer your lease terms and move to a larger space in their portfolio. Additionally, as opposed to having to take a large space that is intended to be grown into, a broker may be able to negotiate rights of first refusal on adjacent spaces one or two years into your lease term, saving you from paying that rent from the onset.

Striking a creative deal. A broker may also be able to work out a plan that works best for your company’s financial needs by getting creative with how your rent escalation is constructed. If you are working on a product launch that runs on an 18-month cycle, a broker may work with you to escalate your rent accordingly instead of a traditional 12-month rent increase cycle.

If you are facing a scenario where you may have run out of space completely, they may even be able to negotiate a lease buyout with the landlord so that you can move into their new space without paying double rent.

There are no hard and fast rules on when to work with a broker. Before putting in a lot of work shaving a few percentage points off your lease by saving the landlord from a commission, ask yourself if you’re paying for something that you shouldn’t have to or if there’s any flexibility that is worth more to your company than the rent savings.

These factors could amount to much more savings than the commission saved and passed to you.

This article was written by Susie Algard and  originally featured on Entrepreneur.com. See original source here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235529


Startups, Get Your Finances in Order Before Leasing Office Space

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This post was authored by Nathan Smith, a commercial real estate consultant and owner of Austin Tenant Advisors


 

As a startup or new business owner it’s important to be financially prepared before starting the process of looking for and leasing office space. Gathering your financial information and making your startup look financially strong in the eyes of a Landlord takes longer than you think so you want to do this well in advance. By preparing in advance you better your chances of gaining the Landlord’s confidence in your tenancy and increase your chances of negotiating better office lease concessions such as tenant improvements, rental abatements, etc.

Similar to how banks preapprove you for a loan, Landlords want to make sure you are financially qualified before they lease you office space, especially in hot markets like Austin, TX.   They will be investing time, resources, tenant improvements and other lease concessions in your tenancy so it’s imperative that you prove your financial ability & stability to pay any upfront costs and rent for the duration of the lease term.

Proving that your startup company is financially qualified takes more than a great business idea, having a large 401k, or a big expensive house.

  • If you are a startup company that has been around for a few years Landlords want to see current profit & loss statements, cash flows, balance sheets, and/or other sources of financing and funding. Depending on the landlord’s perception of your financials you may need to securitize the lease with a security deposit, letter of credit (LOC), personal guaranty or a combination of the latter. Your financial strength, lease term length, total lease amount, tenant improvement costs, & lease commissions will determine the amount needed to securitize the lease.
  • If you are a brand new startup with no track record or you’re an existing one with weak financials Landlord’s will probably want the person signing the lease to provide 2-3 years of personal tax returns and/or a personal financial statement. Depending on the Landlord’s perception of those personal financial statements they may require that the lease be personally guaranteed, need a larger security deposit, or need a letter of credit (LOC) that will cover the landlords up front costs to do the deal (e.g. tenant improvements, lease commissions, etc.).

Before you begin the search for office space, make sure you have your financials in order and have them ready to show Landlords. You might also consider having your business plan and pro-forma available to show your current and future financial projections.

Do all that you can to put your best foot forward, however because you are a startup Landlord’s still may require you to sign a personal guarantee, pay a larger security deposit, or have a letter of credit (LOC). You only get one shot at making a good impression! The more prepared you are and the better your finances look the better chance you have at proving to the Landlord that you can pay rent AND in receiving office lease concessions.

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Nathan Smith specializes in helping startups companies find, lease and/or purchase office space in Austin, TX. He has advised over 300 companies in finding the best office locations, negotiate new leases and lease renewals, facilitate relocations and expansions. Outside the office Nathan enjoys hanging out with his wife and two children in Bee Cave, TX and is an avid runner and cyclist that participates in many local triathlons and running events.


Tagged: #OfficeSpace, Austin, commercial real estate, find office space, office space, start-up, TX

Creating Productive Office Space in 5 Easy Steps

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Let the Sunshine In! – Adjusting Light and Temperature

These may seem like basic necessities for any office space, but the benefits of maximizing their potential are often overlooked. While people are naturally more enthusiastic when they’re comfortable in their environment, as no employee wants to be stuck in a sweltering, dark space, recent studies have shown that fine tuning these two factors can actually have a direct impact on a person’s levels of motivation and fatigue – two key elements of workplace productivity.

For example, one study tested subjects with both daylight and artificial light throughout the course of several days. From that, they found that those who had daylight exposure had significantly better performance than those with artificial light exposure by  the second day. Additionally, another study from Cornell showed results indicating that office productivity actually improves as room temperatures approach a predicted thermal comfort zone.

When considering your space, it is important to learn the details of how the HVAC system works so that temperatures can be adjusted according the day and season (as opposed to leaving the settings at a fixed point, as found in many workplaces). Additionally, employees should be situated near spaces with as much natural lighting as possible, particularly if their work quality is heavily reliant on productivity markers. As the cold reign of noisy, blinkering fluorescent lighting comes to an end, many innovative new lighting options have appeared, including those that serve emulate sunlight itself – which are often useful options to invest in if your work space lacks access to natural lighting.

Turn Down For What? Better Office Productivity!

While it’s true that some of us are more sensitive to noise than others, it’s generally agreed upon that excessive noise is a distraction to most people while trying to work. Unsurprisingly, studies have been performed where up to 99% of those sampled reported that their concentration was negatively affected by various office noises, such as incessantly ringing telephones and constant background chatter.

In addition to being a general annoyance, workplace noise is a serious threat to overall productivity, and is an issue that requires attention now more than ever as offices frequently choose to adopt an open floor plan – less walls does equal more opportunity for noise to travel. Luckily, there are practical ways to control sound in the work space, in order to create a more peaceful and productive environment for employees.

Regardless of your floor plan, it’s always a good idea to create areas of refuge within work spaces where workers can go to focus their concentration, such as a privacy room, a quiet section in a corner outside of all the usual busy distractions, or a sound-proofed conference room – solutions that can usually be enacted without a great deal of time or cost. Other noise reduction options include everything from larger scale projects like sound-masking systems, to smaller solutions such as communal play lists comprised of music that employees can all agree to. At the end of the day, even taking the first step of simply being mindful of the noise levels and looking for solutions can be a great first step towards improving the workplace environment.

The Benefits of A Thoughtful Floor Plan

The debate about the superiority of open floor plans vs closed ones is ongoing, and remains as heated as ever. However, there are certainly ways to make improvements to productivity that work under both options. In it’s most fundamental sense, this comes down to striking the right balance for your space, and being attentive and thoughtful in regards to creating a layout that serves to help employees in achieving their specific work goals.

If you’re in an open space, as mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to create spaces where workers can go to concentrate away from the high-traffic areas. Conversely, if your main work space is primarily closed, having open collaborative areas where workers can get together to brainstorm, discuss, and interact with each other in a personal manner can be a boon as well. Optimally, the goal should be to foster an environment that allows for both privacy and collaboration, as each is needed.

In addition to these conceptual tips, there are also more practical things that can be done, such as organizing the work pace so that people don’t have to constantly walk across the entire room (and thus distract others) in order to access a commonly used area or piece of equipment. A little bit of observation and consideration can go a long way when planning an office layout.

Love Your Body – Ergonomics and Workplace Flexibility

While this ‘tip’ might be commonly known, it’s still important not to underestimate just what good posture and functional desk space can do for productivity levels. Ensuring that your office is equipped with appropriate equipment (chairs, desks, the right technology, etc.) is always a worthwhile investment. Taking this a step further, many companies of late have been giving the option for workers to choose from a variety of different setups – from standing up with an adjustable desk, to sitting on a medicine ball, as well as all the more conventional options in between.

Sometimes we all need a change in scenery to get our brains going, or a chance to get up and stretch, and in this regard workplace flexibility can be a significant step toward providing better overall productivity. Many companies even allow for telecommuting, which is great when possible, but improving workplace flexibility can be something as simple as creating a space where workers can move around and refresh their minds and bodies if needed.

In the most basic terms, efforts to make the office space an enjoyable, comfortable, and efficient place to work can do wonders for performance and productivity. So whether you’re searching for your next office space on Officespace.com or simply looking to spruce up your current office, taking the time to give proper attention to some of the factors discussed above can be a great first step towards improving any type of working environment.


Tagged: office space, productivity, Tips, workplace

Why Brokers Won’t Return Entrepreneurs’ Calls

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It’s a common complaint among entrepreneurs looking for office space. Why don’t brokers call them back? The truth is that the majority of brokers do return inquiries.

At OfficeSpace.com, we’ve found that how you phrase your initial request about space has a huge impact on whether or not you get a response. After analyzing 10,000 email requests in the last six months, here’s what we’ve determined to be the top three types of requests that do not get responded to quickly.

The wishy-washy entrepreneur  

When inquiring on a space, you have a wide range of what will work for you. You may have a huge range of space that you might need, and you don’t say when you need the space. You might need it right away or you might need it in six months. It can be fully built-out space or a wide-open bullpen.

While you might get lucky with a broker who is willing to spend the time extra time talking to you and helping you figure out what you truly need, most brokers won’t know how to prioritize their response for you as they fear you are not serious or that you will require a lot of work.

The short-term entrepreneur  

You request a month-to-month lease or something short term (less than one year). If you’re requesting a short-lease term you might as well be saying please do not call me back as far as a broker is concerned. This is fine to request if you are looking at a sublease or executive suite, but it’s not realistic for most landlords, so brokers will not want to waste their time with you.

The secretive entrepreneur

You don’t include enough personal information like your full name, company and any further details or descriptions of what the business use is for the space you’re inquiring about. The only thing you tell the broker is that details on the company are “under wraps.”

Brokers tend to de-prioritize these kinds of inquiries, because it gives them the impression that your business could be dangerous or illegal, which is obviously something the landlord would not allow in their building.

While it’s normal for entrepreneurs to want to keep details of their companies private for competitive reasons, there needs to be a balance with providing the necessary details for landlords. They will want to see financials and even a business plan if you are a startup with no track record.

Best practices

Based on our analysis, providing your full name, company name and specific details are ideal. For example, you might say that you are currently in a 5,000 square-foot space and are looking for bigger space, need a kitchen, two conference rooms and access to storage.

You can also count on a faster call back by including details that show that you’re an established company or what your timing is. You don’t need to divulge all your information, just enough to make the broker know that you are serious.  It’s not imperative that you sound like you know everything, just that you are serious.

So, the next time you spend the time to make the calls or emails to a broker, remember to give enough details and be thoughtful to get the fastest response back.

This article was written by Susie Algard and  originally featured on Entrepreneur.com. See original source here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235894


Tagged: brokers, CRE, entrepreneur, small business, tenant education, tenant tips

Tenants. Tenants, Everywhere.

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Throughout the past year, one of our goals has been to develop a better understanding of who our users are. While we have always had a general idea about this, it was important for us to confirm our understanding of the matter, especially considering how much we’ve grown over the past 12 months.

We’re now averaging nearly 150,000 new users visiting OfficeSpace.com per month. So we had to ask ourselves: who exactly are our users? And more importantly, what are they looking for?

We set out to find the answers by, well, simply asking our users themselves. We implemented a short survey on our site and received a flood of responses.

In short, here’s what we found:

  • Over 75% of participants said they were tenants who were searching on their own.
  • 80% stated that they were interested in seeing what was available on the market.
  • 31% wanted to see photos and floor plans.

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What does this mean? Tenants are actively searching for available spaces on our site, and the majority are using OfficeSpace.com as the starting point for their office search. While this doesn’t come as a huge surprise to us, it’s a great feeling, as our efforts over the past year have been focused on improving this very experience. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, and we’re continuously working towards improving the search experience across all fronts.

More importantly, this confirms how online platforms like OfficeSpace.com are an amazing opportunity for CRE brokers to market their listings and ultimately connect with tenants. Unlike existing pay-to-access services (e.g., Loopnet, Costar), that are primarily used to market to other real estate professionals, our unrestricted platform attracts tenants who are actively searching and researching on their own. With over 75% of our users being tenants searching for space without any initial help, the majority are looking to connect with someone as evidenced by the number of tenant inquiries we pass through on a daily basis. A recent survey also revealed that nearly 60% of all tenants and investors start their commercial real estate search online.

So tell us, how have online platforms like OfficeSpace.com changed how you find and connect with tenants?


Eco-Friendly Office Space: Modern Ways to Make Your Office Greener

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Contemporary office culture has come a long way since people first started talking about green solutions. Here are a few things to consider when you’re taking steps toward creating more sustainable office practices.

Don’t Forget Your Tech

In today’s office world, suggestions like “recycle your paper” are swiftly becoming much less relevant than energy saving tips involving technology. Although, of course, it’s still important to recycle waste paper, or choose recycled paper in the first place, in increasingly paperless offices it pays to consider the energy use of your electronics. If every person in your office is using a computer, imagine the impact of a company-wide policy governing their energy usage.

Program all computers to enter sleep mode after ten minutes of inactivity, and shut down your computer completely at the end of each day rather than allowing it to enter sleep mode. And if you’re still using screen savers, skip it—screen savers are a vestige of the early days of computers, when the image of your desktop would eventually be burned into your screen if left on too long. A static image—or better yet, black—requires much less energy to run than a moving screen saver. Or better yet, if you’re walking away for a few minutes, just turn your monitor off completely. It won’t affect your computer’s memory, performance, or state in any way, but saves energy just like turning off a light switch.

Choose Energy-Saving Appliances

There are many upgrades you can make in your appliances that will go a long way toward saving power, many of which are already becoming the new standard. Just as energy efficient light bulbs are the new norm, LCD monitors have been swiftly replacing the CRT monitors of the past, and if you haven’t made the change yet you should as soon as possible—not only are they three times as efficient, but the upgrade is inevitable. It’s also worth it in both the long and short run to invest in efficient hardware—when buying your computer processors and accessories, look at Energy Star 4.0 ratings or high EPEAT marks.

There are many things offices don’t even think about that can be made more efficient with upgrades—for example, using virtualization technology to consolidate your servers, reducing your need for multiple physical servers (which are huge energy suckers).

Consider Green or Alternative Buildings

The amount of resources used for brick-and-mortar buildings and traditional methods of construction are often overlooked. The Construction Materials Recycling Association estimates that the construction and demolition industries account for 250 million tons of waste each year (which doesn’t include roads or bridges), and these C&D materials make up approximately 35 percent of all waste generated annually. Luckily, there are greener modes of construction for office space. LEED-certified buildings are increasingly becoming a popular trend in CRE. Through LEED, developers and owners are provided with measurable solutions for creating more sustainable buildings. There are also alternative options, especially if you’re feeling a bit more creative, such as such as PVC fabric buildings, which require a fraction of the construction materials or transport, allow greater amounts of natural light to enter, and are made of entirely recyclable materials.

Incorporate Telecommuting

Telecommuting is more feasible in the workplace now than ever before. With dozens of ways of instantly communicating through video, audio, and computer screen shares, the necessity of in-person meetings has been largely reduced. If your employees or partners can work from home, they save a bundle in terms of the energy that would otherwise be spent on commuting. If you have meetings with clients or partners that would usually require someone driving for miles, consider having digital meetings whenever possible. You might want to allow employees to work from home a day or two out of the week. You’ll save money on your office resources while also saving some gas. 44 million Americans currently telecommute full-time, and that number is growing daily because it offers so many practical and environmental advantages.

In this constantly evolving modern workplace, the ways we think about going green need to keep evolving as well. What are some other things you implement to make your office greener? Let us know in the comments below!

About the author:

This post was authored by Peter Kim, a freelance writer with a passion for the environment and green business. He has worked for a home improvement company and writes about the construction industry, maintenance advice and tips on how to live a greener life. 


Tagged: #OfficeSpace, CRE, environmental, green, LEED

Podcast with OfficeSpace.com’s Susie Algard

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OfficeSpace.com’s CEO, Susie Algard, is featured in this week’s podcast of The Champions for Corporate Tenants.

Tune in as Algard sits down with Stephen Cugier and Gil White to discuss the origin and evolution of OfficeSpace.com, what customer data is revealing about tenants, how technology is influencing the search for office space, and more!

Click here to listen to the full audio or hit play below:



Why We’re Celebrating 2016 [Video]

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The team at OfficeSpace.com wishes you a Happy Holiday! 2016 flew by, and we want to thank you for helping us have our best year yet! Millions of tenants used OfficeSpace.com, hundreds of thousands of broker-to-tenant connections were made, and tens of thousands of brokers got exposure nationwide.

We put together a video to recap the amazing year we had at OfficeSpace.com:

 

OfficeSpace.com A Year in Review (2016)

 


Tagged: commercial real estate, CRE, OfficeSpace.com, Video

How Are Tenants Searching for Office Space?

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Finding your first office space can be one of the most exciting, yet nerve-wracking experiences. The team here at OfficeSpace.com has interacted with millions of tenants who have been in the same position. This is why in an effort to shed some light on the process, we recently surveyed tenants about their search experience. Part …

What’s The Most Important Service a Broker Can Provide a Tenant?

Rail Yard Telecom Concierge® Now Available on OfficeSpace.com  

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Access to fast, reliable internet is essential for any business looking for their next space. That’s why we’ve partnered with Rail Yard to provide prospective tenants with internet connectivity information. With Rail Yard’s Telecom Concierge®, OfficeSpace.com users can now access telecom services and quotes for properties across 40 cities! Here’s what OfficeSpace.com users will see …

Don’t Forget These Five Must-Haves When Signing an Office Lease

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