My main form of generating traffic to aBetterOffice.com is through search engine optimization. I spend a lot of time trying to ensure I get some good quality (unpaid) links pointing to my site. One of my goals was to be on as few “resource” or “links” pages as I could be. While it’s fine to have a link on one of these pages, it’s typically much better if it’s on a different page. I won’t go into why except to say those links are too watered down.
Anyway, I would take a “resource” link if that was my option, but I always try to talk people I’m working with to put links to my site in other places on their sites.
Well, despite my best efforts, I did get my first resource page link. I’m happy with it because there are only a few other resources on the page, and it’s from one of the best sites in the industry.
No complaints here. Check it out:
http://www.corporateofficecenters.com/links.php
A few months ago I ran into a new website called Downsize Your Office while researching office space related websites. At the time, it was unfinished and had a number of articles from aBetterOffice on it. Since then it has taken shape and focuses on providing helpful content about how companies can save money by, you guessed it, downsizing their office space footprint.
The concept of downsizing an office continues to gain steam, and the executive suite industry is in a great position to capitalize on the idea. The biggest obstacle remains, however. How can executive suites sell the idea to large enterprise? I used to work in the printer industry and for the last 5 years the push has been to sell services rather than merely printers and related supplies. Huge dedicated sales and sales engineer teams have been deployed to help companies understand that by managing their “fleet” of printers, they can save millions.
In order for the executive suite industry to capitalize, it’s got to mobilize a sales team to aggressively go after this type of business. Unlike the printer industry, where there are several multi-billion dollar companies with tremendous resources and salespeople with experience in selling multi-million dollar contracts to large enterprise, the executive suite industry has only one giant and even they are much smaller than the Xeroxes, HPs and Lexmarks of the world. This will make it tough for the movement to gain traction.
But, I’m not doubting the industry can do it. It’s just a big obstacle, and it’s going to take a long time. I’d keep my eye on Regus, Pacific Business Centers, ABCN and all the large e-brokers (and probably some others) as companies who can get around the obstacle.
Austin Centre Executive Suites is a new serviced office space in Austin, TX. From what I can tell, it replaces AustinSuites, which has moved to 700 Lavaca (this info is not comfirmed yet).
This business center at 701 Brazos St. is owned by commercial real estate firm T. Stacy & Associates. We see and hear this trend happening more often, where real estate firms are taking over management of executive suites after the exit of a previous operator, or unleased blocks of space are being converted. I expect to see more of this continue.
I recently commented to my friend Scott Annan about how much church conversation hear in my central Kentucky Starbucks(es). Like 50% of the conversations I overhear are church related…
I stopped someone who I see working in Starbucks to tell him about an effort to start a co-working facility in Lexington. Based on my comment above, it wasn’t surprising that he is the pastor of a church that has no facility they call their church. He has no office (except Starbucks and Common Grounds), and they hold services at local historic Kentucky Theater. I’ve heard a lot of varied stories about different industries working in novel ways, but this is a surprising first… check out Rosario Picardo’s virtual church in Lexington
