LivingSocial Closes NY Offices

Courtesy of LivingSocial

Back in December 2010, Amazon announced they would invest $175 million in Livingsocial, the daily deal company who was competing with Groupon. The future certainly looked promising for this startup but only 3 years later, it’s facing challenges in the market. 

The first quarter of 2013, LivingSocial posted sales of $135 million, up 23% on a year ago, but it also reported a net loss of $50 million, from net income of $156 million in Q1 2012.

Just recently, TheNextWeb published that LivingSocial would be closing their NY offices at Fifth Avenue and they're terminating the local events division. According to Sara Parker, head of communications, some of their staff who can’t work remotely is still being provided separate office space in New York (Hey Sara! Call OfficeList, we’ll help you!) while the rest will be working remotely. Less than a month earlier, LivingSocial had also closed the doors of its Seattle office and their staff is also working remotely. 

According to TheNextWeb, “over 60 part-time employees in New York, which provided onsite support to the previously mentioned events, will also be let go by October 1st — once LivingSocial concludes its final, locally-focused events in the city”

The company claimed it was a decision made to focus on achieving profitability and not reducing costs. 

What’s the future of LivingSocial? Nobody knows, as they recently mentioned they had job vacancies and were looking to grow their call center team in Tucson. Somewhat contrasting with the situation in Seattle and New York. 

The fact is the market for daily deals is not at its best moment. Groupon, its biggest competitor, reported in February a considerable loss and it also lost its founder and CEO Andrew Mason.

What do you think of LivingSocial closing its NY offices? What’s the future of the daily deal market? Share your thoughts in the comment section. 

Rules for Dating in The Office

(Photo: Frederic Cirou/ PhotoAlto/Getty)

According to the bureau labor of statistics, Americans spend 10 more times working than they do socializing. This means, there’s not enough time to meet new people outside of our work environment. In fact, 59 percent of people now admit to having had an office romance at some point. 

How should companies face this inevitable challenge?

• “Cupid contract” is a solution some companies have found to face these situations. It’s nearly impossible to avoid the effect of cupid, but it’s important to have a legal written support where staff members acknowledge they have a voluntary relationship in order to avoid any claims for sexual harassment. This contract benefits other members of the company as it guarantees there will not be any preferential treatment and it also benefits those involved in case things go wrong, the contract offers the guarantee that any repercussion –like retaliation from one of the parts- can be taken to management’s attention to avoid your normal development at work.
  Tip: Avoid dating your boss, it will most likely not end well for one of you.  

• Dating is banned: Some of the most traditional companies still have this type of policy where dating between staff members is forbidden. Although reasons like avoiding gossiping, maintaining the chain of authority, avoiding preferential treatment and not risking confidential information may seem strong enough; the truth is it will still happen even if it’s forbidden. Companies need to evaluate if the cost of having a couple in the office would be higher/lower than losing a member of the team only to comply with the rules.
  Tip: We strongly suggest you don't use the companies email to send love letters, you never know who else is reading that! 

• And more recently, some companies have decided to openly accept this kind of relationships. The reason is newer generations are changing the way businesses are run. According to a Workplace Options survey, nearly 85% of 18-29 year olds would have a romantic relationship with a co-worker, compared to just over 35% for 30-46 year olds and about 30% of 47-66 year olds.
  Tip: Are you a supervisor? watch out! you'll be surprised to know that 40% of those 18-29 year olds would date their supervisors.

If you do decide to date someone in your office, just keep in mind that it's not romantic to hold hands during presentations, the photocopy room is visited by more people and you shouldn't call your boyfriend "bunny wabbit" in front of his colleagues unless you want him to be embarrassed the rest of his life. 

We’d like to hear from you. What office dating policies do you have in your office? Have you experienced any positive/negative situation? Were you one of the lucky ones that met your wife/ husband at work?

The Cost of Useless Meetings

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said, "Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."

And he wasn’t wrong, as a survey carried out by 3M Meeting Network of Executives, revealed that 25% to 50% of the time people spend in meetings is wasted.

Another study made by Get a Kly, a consulting firm that provides corporate coaching and training, says that professionals lose 31 hours per month to unproductive meetings. That is almost 4 business days a month!

So why are companies dedicating so much time to something that is actually costing them more than bringing them value?

Few companies realize the real cost of each meeting and how extending them is increasing the costs even more. Some applications have developed to try and suggest a real cost on the meeting you are having, these Apps (try MeetingCalc or Meet or Die) ask you to type in the number of attendees and their titles, it will reply with an estimated figure of what you are tying up in your meeting instead of turning it into executives who would be working and being productive.

One of the effects these meetings are causing is to extend the working hours of the team.

This doesn’t mean meetings are useless. Of course they are necessary, but allowing them to prolong more than scheduled, to discuss topics that were not in the agenda or personal situations, ends up turning each meeting into a waste of time for the rest of the attendees.

Ken Segall, creative director of Apple once shared his experience in Fast Company Magazine about a meeting he attended with Steve Jobs, and wrote how Steve threw a lady out of a meeting because he thought she didn’t have anything to add. Nothing personal, but business does not admit space to lose focus or time. Here are some suggestions of how Steve Jobs carried out his business meetings.

1. Throw out the least necessary person at the table.

2. Walk out of the meeting if it lasts more than 30 minutes.

3. Do something productive today to make up for the time you spent here

Perhaps it may not work for every company, but we would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how to keep focused on the subject of your business meetings.

And if you're on the road and need a place to meet, give us a call at (866) 354-5478 or visit OfficeList and we'll help you arrange a meeting room rental in the US or Canada.

Top 5 People You Should Be Following on Twitter

Most influential people in Twitter

Did you know that as of July 5th 2013 there were 554,750,000 registered Twitter users with an average of 58 million tweets a day? Although there are only 115 million active users each month.

That’s a lot of information! With so many people using Twitter, who should you follow? The most popular ones? those who tweet the most?

We’ve prepared a short list of the ones we consider most relevant and those who influence more people. Don’t worry, you will not find Kim Kardashian, Charlie Sheen or Justin Bieber.

We know each person has its preferences, but if you want to read business tips and advice, here are the most influential people you and your company should be following.

• Dalai Lama: Regardless of believes or religion, we all need some sort of spirituality and through his tweets, he inspires people all over the world and shares his wisdom. @DalaiLama

• Bill Gates: With a net fortune worth $66 billion, this man is the richest person in the US and the second one on earth. A role model as he dedicates his time and fortune to his charity, many of his tweets have philanthropic messages that teach us about life. @BillGates

• Richard Branson: Most of his business is in the UK, but he tweets continuously about business ventures and entrepreneurship. @richardbranson 

• Arianna Huffington: One of the most successful media and technology entrepreneurs, her blog “The Huffington Post” has surpassed some of the most traditional media. @ariannahuff

• Warren Buffet: Known for being a brilliant investor and listed as the second richest man in the US according to Forbes magazine. Most of his tweets will be about business and finance. @WarrenBuffett

We know we are leaving out many more, and that’s why we’d love to hear who are the ones you follow. Send us your comments on who should have been included in the list. 

And don’t forget to follow OfficeList's Twitter account, don’t miss any tips about business, real estate, startups and office rentals.

Congrats Premier Business Centers!

Premier Business Center's new image

If 10 years ago, the owners of Premier Business Centers would have been told they would become the largest privately owned operator of executive suites in the US, they probably wouldn’t have believed it as it was a project that was only starting in a very competitive industry. 

And last month, in June, they achieved that huge milestone, as they confirmed their 70th location. Premier was able to maintain business during the hard time of the crisis and decided to expand when prices were low, taking advantage of a great opportunity that consolidated them as one of the biggest players in the serviced office industry in the US.  

This last center is located in The Water Garden Santa Monica, CA and is expected to open by fall of 2013, but it’s already being pre-leased. “It’s the perfect environment for working professionals who are in need of a Santa Monica-based location to achieve their business goals.” said Jeff Reinstein, chief executive officer for Premier Business Centers. 

And just as women spend hours in the hair saloon to look nice for any special occasion, Premier also “dressed up” for this special day, but they decided to do it in a more permanent way. The company launched its brand identity transformation and their website re-design. This new version also allows visitors to select services in an as-needed basis, offering more flexibility and following the trends of the market, which is looking for more alternatives constantly. 

We can’t predict what will happen in the next 10 years, but what we do know is that those companies that know how to come stronger after an economic downturn, are the ones that will be leading the way and setting the pace for the rest of the market. Congrats to Premier Business Centers and cheers to continued success!

If you'd like to receive more information about this new Office Center in Santa Monica or any of the other Premier Business Center's locations please contact us at (866) 354-5478 and our team will be able to guide you through the search. 

Upcoming Workspace Events and Local Networks

Courtesy of Global Workspace Association

We’re getting closer to that time of the year when everyone in the executive suite industry is getting ready for its annual gathering, the Global Workspace Association Conference 2013, this year will be held in Buckhead, Atlanta from September 18th through September 21st 2013.

It’s not only a great moment to meet new people who have joined the industry, to learn from our panelists, to continue updated on new trends, but also the perfect excuse to have fun with those we’ve meet from previous conferences.

And although this is the biggest and most notorious event in the workspace industry in the US, we can’t forget that around the country there are many other local events organized by city networks who are also promoting the executive suite concept, promoting best practices and learning from one another based on experiences. 

A great example is the Workspace Association of New York (WANY); the association groups independent office and workspace providers in the whole New York area. Their last meeting was one month ago, when they celebrated their 8th anniversary with case studies, international guests, reviewing trends and finishing with a few drinks while getting to know colleagues. 

South Florida’s member network also had its meeting last month, reviewing the latest trends for office spaces and analyzing workspaces as a service. 

San Francisco Local Members Network is coming up, their next event will be July 19th/13 at Pacific Business Centers in Spear Street. They will be talking about best practices, opportunities, co-working and of course meeting new members. Make sure to book your place before July 12th.

Have you joined your local member network already and have you booked your place at this year’s conference in Atlanta? If you haven’t, what are you waiting for!

Do you have any events coming up or would you like to share with us your local member’s network? We’d love to hear from you, write to us in our comments section or call us at (866) 354-5478 and we'll help you spread the word.

Hilarious Office Blunders!

Office Blunders

Most of those who spend almost 8 hours sharing office with work colleagues, know that it’s not all about working. Those unexpected moments when something happens, when something breaks the routine and makes us laugh, those are the moments that remain in our memories and are part of the fun of working surrounded by others. We’ve listed a few of the most memorable office blunders we’ve had in our office, enjoy!

• Inappropriate message: Every once in a while you innocently open an email sent from a friend and as it loads you realize it’s not exactly what you thought, and you’re so unlucky that as it loads, your boss or a colleague will be right behind you watching how you blush and desperately try to close the message.

• Walking into a glass door: Many offices have glass doors, but with so many things going on in our heads, the odds of someone crashing with one of those doors is very high. The bad news for the one that crashes is that, it will sound so hard, that the whole floor will know what happened. 

• Caught napping: You just finished your lunch and you feel your head is heavier than a bag of sand. Your eyes are closing, but you’re not going down without a battle! You do your best to keep your eyes open but luck has its own way. Just as the CEO is walking by, he realizes you’re napping. It’s embarrassing enough to not fall asleep again. 

• Getting drunk in the office party: You had a few drinks, lost control and then you can’t remember much. The next day you’ll realize you made a fool of yourself dancing “I’m Sexy and I Know It” or crying while hugging your boss and trying to kiss the girl who works beside you. Although your office friends will have a laugh, we strongly suggest avoiding this.

• Wrong chat: A few years ago, a supervisor received a message from a person he just had an argument with, saying “Who does he think he is? What an idiot!”. Unfortunately the sender had not realized he sent it to the person he was talking about. Oops!! 

• Wrong email: A friend of mine was once writing an email which included some confidential information about one of his providers, when he was writing the email address, auto-correct suggested an option from his contact list and without thinking much he selected it and sent it. Oh no wait! That wasn’t the right person! He had just sent it to a competitor. Big mistake, not only did he blush, he almost loses a client.

These are just a few of the office blunders we’ve had at OfficeList. Every office has its blunders, share them with us in our comment section or through Facebook and Twitter, we’d love to hear from you!

Retail Sales Are Pushing The Economy

A recent report by real estate company, Cushman and Wakefield, reveals that the US is currently the largest online retail market in the world and account for almost a third of global online sales with approximately $187 billion-worth of retail goods sold online in 2012 (according to data provider Euromonitor). 

The most sold products online are books, clothing, travel related items, electronics, beauty supplies and perfumes.

According to the study, online retailing globally has been growing at an average of 18% per year over the last three years – significantly higher than the 1.3% growth per year seen through other retail channels.

But growth is not exclusive to online sales. A report by real estate research firm REIS Inc reveals that vacancy rate for retail properties in the US has reached its lowest level in more than three years, reaching 10.5%, compared to 10.6% from last year, meaning physical retailers are also living a good moment.

We can’t talk about a total recovery yet, as nationwide vacancy rate in 2008 was 7.7%, but a recovery is slowly happening, especially in bigger cities. San Francisco's vacancy rate was just 3.9% in the second quarter, compared with over 16% in Tulsa, and Dayton, according to REIS .

While retail space is booming, office space vacancy rate is unchanged and according to REIS, it remained at 17.2% for Q2 of 2013.  

What can be expected for the future?

About 31.5 million square feet of new retail space is expected to be delivered this year, that’s low compared with about 200 million in 2007 and 2008, but it’s higher than in previous years when new developments were nearly frozen. And for 2014, almost 70 million square feet of new retail space is expected to be delivered, that’s more than twice of this year. New developments are a clear sign of what the market should expect. 

No doubt this increase in retail sales will have a positive effect for the entire economy. Have you been buying more lately? Has your company felt an increase or decrease in sales? Let us know, share your thoughts with us. 

And if you’re looking for available office space in the US and Canada, just give us a call at (866) 354-5478 and we’ll help you find the most suitable space for your business.

Best Cities For Startups

Best Cities for Start-Ups

Young professionals who are looking to have a tech startup are now looking for the cities that offer most benefits such as available talent from universities, flexible regulation, available office space, low real estate prices and safe neighborhoods to live in. Another factor that also influenced the decision is where venture capital is flowing to. 

A survey from the National Venture Capital Association listed the top 10 cities for tech startups. The NVCA list measures overall venture capital investment in each respective market to compile its data.

10. Chicago, IL: 56 deals adding USD $330.71 million of equity invested and companies like Groupon, Orbitz and cars.com got the city into the ranking.

9. Philadelphia, PA: 61 deals adding USD $140.98 million get Philly into the list. Their most famous companies include Beyond.com, Kenexa and Duck Duck Go.

8. Austin, TX: 64 deals adding USD $475.51 million, sites like RetailMeNot and NetSpend, it’s also home to SXSW, a conference and music festival which also includes emerging technologies.

7. Seattle/Bellevue, WA: 82 deals adding USD $671.43 million. Big companies like Microsoft and Amazon are based in this city, inspiring others like Zillow and Jobster.

6. Washington, DC: 92 deals adding USD $397.00 million in the nation’s capital with companies like iStrategyLabs, Socialtables, TroopID and SmartThings.

5. Los Angeles, CA: 150 deals adding USD $754.88 million. The media and entertainment industries are gladly welcoming new players like Eventup, Usamp or Instacanvas. 

4. Boston, MA: 212 deals adding USD $1,395.90 million, with many of its entrepreneurs coming from its 74 universities like MIT or Harvard University. This is where Facebook started, as well as Kayak, TripAdvisor and Zipcar.

3. New York, NY: 271 deals adding USD $ 1,640.65 million. The city has created regulation meant to attract tech companies and given them all the benefits. Most big companies like Google and Facebook have an office in Manhattan, but other were created in New York, like Tumblr, Etsy and Kickstarter. 

2. San Jose, CA: 327 deals adding USD $ 3,251.12 million. It’s Silicon Valley! Facebook is based here, but hundreds of others have started in San Jose, companies like Hewlett Packard or Google. 

1. San Francisco, CA: 495 deals adding USD $ 4,243.52 million. The city attracts young professionals who want to live and work here. Companies like Craigslist, Twitter and Airbnb started here. The number of deals tells us why San Francisco ranked 1st. A more competitive environment, but willing to invest in good ideas. 

Whether you’ve chosen to base your office in Chicago or San Francisco, make sure your focused on developing your new business, and OfficeList will help you find the ideal office for your startup, call us at (866) 354-5478.