AdvantEdge Workspaces Blog

Author: Gabrielle Jones

You’re an entrepreneur on the move. Your business is growing by leaps and bounds and you have a great product or service that your clients are excited about. You’d like to access capital to grow your office space or hire more administrative staff, and you think you’re ready to take the ultimate step: going public. However, you may want to think twice. Facebook’s IPO performance recently begs the question is going public the way to go?

In one of our previous blog posts, we explained some executive suites terminology that could be initially confusing to a professional in search of shared office space.  We ended that post with a promise to delve even deeper into the industry lexicon, so now onto part two!

In the business world, you are where you eat. And whether you have full-time or virtual office space, eventually you will have to step outside your work zone and engage in that ever present business staple: the power lunch. Esquire's Eat Like a Man blog says "Washington is a business-lunch city, and they know how to turn out an excellent meal in whatever time you have available." Keeping this in mind, here are a few places that consistently top the District's best lunch restaurants lists.

As executives seek to cut costs and maximize returns for their investors during the global economic crisis, the wellbeing of their workers at the office is being forgotten!  In an interconnected world, your office space should be a reflection of the global economy where ideas and solutions flow freely between people and across barriers.  With the advent of mobile communication technology, employees are now more physically mobile than ever. Even though we could theoretically work nowadays alone from our couch (and in our pajamas), people are not machines!  We are a social species who need interaction to live healthy personal lives.  So why not transfer that concept to the design of your office space?

Carefully composing note cards and organizing agendas are two strategies for a productive business meeting, but often times it's the simple things that are overlooked. Consider these common lapses in business meeting logistics to ensure you aren't forgetting anything.

For most businesses, telecommuting is no longer a trend, but a way of life. With the advancement of virtual offices and video conferencing, it is easy to see that technology is good for business. Technological development allows for businesses to grow faster, smarter and further. There are no physical boundaries with web based businesses.

Advances in technology have allowed for the opening of many virtual doors in our everyday lives, and for the business world, it has brought to us the virtual office. Various companies and academic institutions now use virtual offices for the majority of their needs, and successfully avoid the costly headaches of constructing an office, renting traditional space in long term leases, and commuting to and from their place of work every day.

Are you coming to D.C. for business and bringing your team along for the ride? Has the city decided to construct a parking deck right outside of your corner office? Who can work with all that racket going on? Holding meetings in your living room or video conferencing from your hotel bed may be comfortable, but it is still a far cry from professional.

Are you tired of being crammed in your cubicle, staring at beige walls for hours on end? What about that coworker who seems to help himself to your milk in the community fridge? Good riddance! It is time to break free from the constraints of a physical workplace and move into your new virtual office.

Like any work model, running your business from home has its pros and cons. Since working virtually removes the physical proximity to your teammates, work-at-home professionals must possess strong communication skills.  In order to make the most of your virtual office, we propose a few tips for managing and communicating with your clients and co-workers.