17. November 2009 by admin.

In an article last week, Inc. Magazine revealed the results of a recent survey that they conducted which indicated that business owners pay more attention to user-reviews and sites like Yelp, than average consumers do.  According to the article, “87 percent [of business owners] had written comments on review sites, while only 63 percent of consumers had done so. The small-business owners also held review sites in higher esteem: 57 percent said they found them useful in making purchasing decisions, compared to 41 percent of consumers.”

From my perspective, this seems to make perfect sense.

1. First off all, business owners have a greater incentive to be knowledgeable about the existence of sites like Yelp and the user review functions on Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, etc. than the average lay person.  Keeping customers happy often times makes the difference a successful company and a failure, so it would seem understandable that business owners would be more familiar with the various user-review sites on the web.
2. And with the impetus being there for business owners to pay attention to what their customers are saying, it’s then logical to assume that those same business owners are more likely to make comments on those sites… knowing the importance that business owner is likely to place on their feedback.

Now, as I said, the Inc. survey results seem to make sense to me… but do you agree?  Please take another brief moment to participate in the following poll about the importance of user reviews http://polls.linkedin.com/p/66406/owbsj and please leave your comments below about any experiences that you may have had with user reviews, whether they were good, bad or indifferent.

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11. November 2009 by admin.

The executive suites and virtual office industry continue to experience growth as companies of all sizes come to realize the savings and benefits of using business centers and professional services. Other trends among the workforce include the stronger pursuit of a healthy work-life balance. Coupled with the expected surge of transportation and energy costs worldwide, flexible office options will only continue to gain popularity. With all these factors contributing to industry growth, both ALLIANCE Business Centers NETWORK and Regus seem to agree that the market is headed toward services.

To differentiate themselves from the competition, office business centers are focusing on providing a full range of services to support clients’ needs.

Serviced office giant Regus has come up in recent years, changing their fortune in great part to a change in their approach and outlook. The company has increased their focus on services, improving their virtual and telecommunication offerings. Additionally, the company now offers the “businessworld” program, allowing clients to make use of business lounges and cafes with administrative support, free internet access and complimentary refreshments.

In the same manner, ABCN has wisely moved to hone in on their services offerings. Strategic partnerships with a variety of companies has allowed NETWORK centers to offer clients everything from discounted car rentals and equipment leasing to state of the art telecommunications technology and expansive virtual office services.

Technological innovations have allowed for the growth of the executive suites and virtual office industry. Clients strive to cut costs and stay within budget by eliminating travel for meetings and choosing instead to employ teleconferencing and state of the art phone systems at office centers to conduct meetings. As technologies continue to improve, office centers will offer them to clients to provide the tools and resources they need.

“The future of our industry is deeply grounded in the services we can provide to our clients,” said Frank Cottle, ABCN Chairman. “Business and commerce have become less about the need for physical space, and more about the services and conveniences clients need to work efficiently and grow their businesses.”

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22. October 2009 by admin.

I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the Alliance Business Centers Network and the superb job they are doing in hosting their annual Alliance Summit - this year’s meeting is being presented at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

The Alliance Business Centers Network (ABCN) is an organization that my company (The Boardroom at Cherry Creek) has been a member of for years - they represent over 650 executive serviced office suites around the world and provide their members industry information and a joint reciprocating agreement that allows each member center to offer conference room access around the world.  Earlier this year I sort of questioned whether or not we should stay as members of this organization, given the rough economy and the need to look at every little expense.  After attending a the first day of the Alliance Summit, I have to unequivocally recommend ABCN and said that I should have never questioned its value.

Now, I don’t normally gush about companies like this, especially in my company blog, but I’m so thoroughly excited by the opportunities that ABCN is presenting to its members, that I just HAVE to share it.  In one day alone, I’ve learned a wealth of information about:

• Creating a usable, understandable, value-based elevator speech for my organization… this is a task that I’ve been struggling with for years.
• Projected officing trends that will shape the way that all of us work in the years to come.
• Further developing a “community” atmosphere inside our executive suite.
• Bringing together creative, well-done, affordable video advertising for The Boardroom at Cherry Creek.
• Planning for the increasingly mobile workforce.
• Re-designing our work place to potentially more than double our annual revenues.
• Playing a part in the development and deployment of truly “sustainable” work places in years to come, and
• Creating a social network that provides a wealth information and revenues to its participates.

So, now that my brain is on information overload, I have to take a moment, breathe, and enjoy a beautiful New York day.  Til next time, take care.

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9. October 2009 by admin.

If you’ve followed my blog at all, you’re probably aware that I operate an executive suite/office business center that provides executive office space and virtual office services to small businesses and local professionals.  The article below was presented by the Alliance Business Centers Network and highlights how businesses like mine are experiencing increased demand even in rough times like this.  It’s a wonderful, exciting industry to be in, and it’s great to know that we can provide the services and amenities that companies need to make their own businesses thrive.

Read the rest of this entry »

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2. October 2009 by admin.

As a business that caters to the needs of small business owners, we here at The Boardroom at Cherry Creek, would like to know more about the biggest challenges that small business owners are facing in today’s tough economic climate.  Please help us out by taking this quick poll at:

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/59602/jcqny. 

Please also feel free to post comments below about what your business needs to help make it thrive.

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