How can I create a work share space for multiple tech companies?
We are in the process of putting together a shared workspace and would like some feedback from people who have created or participated in a shared space themselves. What worked and what didn't?
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Mar 30, 2015
You need to identify if people want to just rent a space or will there be opportunities for collaboration, if there areas for collaboration then the cluster development model is one of the best model or you just draw up some service level agreement with each other. Alternatively you divide the space according to the square footage people wants and rent them the space with or without communal space.
Mar 26, 2015
I often consider this and I would very much like it. The US Gov't and many large companies are encouraging telework, I want to be around other people to work, and away from the distractions of home. But I need serious bandwidth for the VPN into the office(s) with which I work. The network infrastructure would be a big deal. I want to be able to have secure network availability as a benefit of choosing the shared workspace ahead of Starbucks. If the shared workspace is the only space that some of the tech companies have, then they need a secure intranet as part of their infrastructure. I've only set up one company is a space. I'd be concerned about the bandwidth and network security for multiple businesses.
Mar 25, 2015
Ultimately the goal is to emulate and piggyback off your group interests and add to spark more questions. Value starts with knowing how to engage a guideline or plan mutual agreement.
Mar 25, 2015
Look up the concept of enterprise social networking for many options. Mango, Yammer and many more could do the job but you will need to be clear on what features you need. Office 365 for business also offers a few useful features. Consider "facebook for business" as a concept
Mar 23, 2015
Hi Cheryll,
I can speak to the real estate. This will be you biggest decision.
1st, I recommend limiting liability in the lease. Your attorney can best address this issue and you may want to discuss: personal guarantees, letters of credit, and security deposits and what they can mean if you want to get out of the lease.
It helps to lease space that is already built out, so it will not cost either the Landlord or you (the tenant) much money to get the space ready for occupancy. The position is that the less it costs to turn-key the space means there is less risk for all parties; and therefore, and you can argue that the security requirements should be lower as there is less money on the table to protect. Construction costs are much higher than in residential, and if it costs $40.00 to $50.00+ per rsf the Landlord will usually want to protect that investment.
2nd, you may want to address the Subleasing section in the lease. Most commercial leases put a lot of restrictions of Subleasing, and since this will be the goal and main business with your space you want to remove any profit sharing clauses, and limit consent requirements.
3rd, signage. If you are taking a significant portion of a small building, or a floor in a building, it would be beneficial to be able to offer signage rights to a perspective large subtenant. This could put you ahead of the competition, as most shared service spaces cannot offer this. Moreover, it should not cost you anything to win this in negotiations.
4th, leasing is essentially about rights to control the space. To that end you may want to consider a right to terminate the lease, if this is a new business venture. If the business is strong and established you should be looking for rights to extend and renew the lease into the future. The subtenants should have a notice period to terminate their sublease. Three (3) months is common, but if you can get four (4) months that would be better for your business.
5th, and last. Virtual offices are very profitable, from what my executive suite and shared service clients tell me. There are unlimited amounts of clients that you can have virtually, as they don’t take any physical space. They tend to stay with the same company for long periods of time for continuity, and many companies do automated withdraw which helps guarantee cash flow.
Best success and wishes with your venture! Feel free to contact me if you have questions and/or comments.
Sincerely,
Greg
Mar 26, 2015
It is my pleasure, please feel free to contact me if you need any more info. Consultations are no cost or obligation. Best success and wishes.
Greg
Mar 22, 2015
Design multiple cabin for small business e.g freelancer IT persons...
Mar 22, 2015
You can use Share point a shared work space, or even google documents, or traditional ftp shared servers which you organize and categorize and have access shares those who has sign in account with the ftp server and hence will be able to download, upload, update work, and organize work. I am sure you have to have leader to manage and coordinate the ftp, or share point or google shared drive to be able to give authority and give access to fellow members who are sharing work space.
Mar 21, 2015
I'm for putting in a lot of sofas and bean bags - shared communal areas whereas the work stations are small, less comfortable / inspiring and more cloistered.
Mar 21, 2015
Hi, I am a one man band and use Mavenlink to organise my projects and many deadlines, and I pay for the privilege.
Though I've not managed to make it sync with my Quickbooks (probably because I am UK based), I have used the workspaces with clients and colleagues.
I have done that because it avoided missing emails and also I could upload documents.
The project management also has Gants charts which techies love and the project elements are now stronger, apparently.
You might take a look as I am sure I had a free trial period before buying. I have also upgraded since using over the past two years.
And for the cynics, I have no affiliation to this company, but am a customer and receive nothing for sharing this with you.
Apr 9, 2015
I know the OP was possibly referring to hard physical space, but that's not always possible/sensible and proximity shouldn't stop collaboration from going on.
Those of you who use (pay for) Skype may have been approached by them recently about a new project called Skype Space.
This would look to offer a good many of the things I use Mavenlink for without anyone having to be signed up to the system to use it.
You might find this to be a useful place to try and build the kind of thing you are looking for.
Mar 21, 2015
Trello has a nice offering for setting up workflows and tracking who has what and who has completed what. It uses cards which can be formatted to include to do lists or one item. Worth the free test drive.
Thank you for taking the time to go over this with me Gregory. I got a few tidbits from your response to think about.