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Brokers, Are You Still Walking Through Buildings?

Gone are the days of walking from building to building…

Search online, anytime with the latest from OfficeSpace.com as we introduce the prospecting must-have for the commercial real estate industry; The OfficeSpace Tenant Roster. Here’s to finally accessing up to date, reliable and affordable information on buildings and tenants through out the country!


Tenant Roster_skitch

TenantRoster_image

Interested in Earning a Free Membership?

Refer OfficeSpace.com Tenant Concierge services.

We’ve built out a trusted network of vendors, featuring reliable service providers to help businesses manage everything related to setting up their new office, retail or industrial spaces. We built this service to help tenants who come directly to us asking for help. If you have a client interested in saving time and money by connecting with our Concierge, please send them our way.

By the way, our Tenant Concierge service has no hidden fees or costs – it’s a complimentary service aimed at making tenants lives easier!

Contact us for more information on how to earn your free Tenant Roster membership. John Heimbigner | [email protected] | (800) 560-3544

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Calling All Tenant Reps!

So many inquiries, so little time

We’ve had a great 2012 and 2013 looks to be off to a fast start.  So much so that we are looking to expand our pool of Tenant Rep Brokers!

OfficeSpace.com has been extremely busy with our Portland, Denver, and San Diego launches and here is a brief summary of 2012:

  • Launched Portland, OR (Jan 2012), Denver, CO (June 2012), San Diego, CA (Dec 2012) AND
  • 243,000 visitors
  • 2,200,000 building views
  • 1,900 leads directly to listing brokers
  • Approx. 10,000 calls to listing brokers

We’re very proud of these results, however, we’re just getting started.

Destination for Tenants

OfficeSpace.com is where many tenants who are just starting to look for space first enter the market. We’re talking to these potential tenants, sometimes they simply request some marketing and listing contact information. Other times, these are tenants who are ready and willing to work with a Broker and this is when we send them to you. We are filling a void for tenants and they are finding us online.

Little Secret

As some of you may know, the OfficeSpace.com platform is open to nationwide listings even though we are focused on our home markets of Seattle, Portland, Denver, & San Diego.  In fact, we continually add new listings outside of our home markets and they are getting indexed.  In the last 30 days, much to our surprise, our non-home market web stats and lead activity has in some cases, surpassed our home market metrics:

  • 52% of visitor traffic was outside our home markets
  • 60% of our building views were attributable to our non-home markets
  • 30% of our leads & inquiries were generated from outside our home markets

The Opportunity

This is where you come in!

If you are an experienced Tenant Rep and would like to be part of our Tenant Rep Broker Pool, please email me at [email protected] with a brief bio and I’ll be sure to contact you.  Oh, by the way, our Tenant Rep Broker Pool is free to join but spots are limited, so secure your first mover advantage and get in early!

If you have listings, get them onto OfficeSpace.com, you will get indexed, you will get exposure, and you will generate leads.

With your help, we’re making finding and leasing space a smoother and easier process!

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So You’ve Leased Office Space. Now What?

That’s what we thought when we set up our new office. It was exciting and a proud moment but it also took valuable hours out of our day. We needed something or someONE to help streamline the process…fortunately for us we’re in the business of dealing with office space and all it’s intricacies and had a few tricks up our sleeves.

However, for those of you not privy to all the details, requirements and partners needed to effectively set up a new office space this can become the bane of your existence, in other words it sucks.

There are millions of sites out there to help with finding the right person for home improvements, in fact there’s a whole network (ahem HGTV) devoted to it. But what about those businesses looking to set up a new office, retail or industrial space?

Allow us to introduce you to our free OfficeSpace.com Concierge services. Did someone say “Free“? Yes, completely free services  – much like a hotel concierge is there to ensure a guest’s needs are met, our concierge is there to offer direction, advice and connections to the right people to get you up and running.

Why spend hours researching a general contractor or looking through endless quotes from furniture dealers for ergonomic work stations when someone can do it for you? Especially when that someone is an office set-up expert and has your best interests in mind.

How exactly does this “free” concierge service work? (We’re serious, it’s free…)

1. You’ve leased a new space – yay! Now what?

2. Contact an OfficeSpace.com Concierge and let them know what kind of space you have (office, retail or industrial) and it’s size.

3. Your concierge will then ask you a few short questions to assess what your company is going to need to get started.

4. Voila! You’ll receive a tailored list of qualified and trusted vendors eager to get your space open for business. (FYI – They’ll be expecting your call as our concierge monitors everything to make sure your office set-up runs smoothly.)

Can’t wait to get started – call your OfficeSpace.com Concierge today.

[email protected] | 800.614.2154

P.S. No office is too small or too big for an OfficeSpace.com concierge…

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“Good Fortune Comes to San Diego Commercial Real Estate Community…”

San Diego, CA Friday November 9, 2012 – Commercial Real Estate’s latest game changer, OfficeSpace.com, is now officially available in the San Diego market targeting both brokers and tenants.

The company’s unique position to be the next generation, all access platform for office space aims to streamline the commercial real estate process.                                 

Having already garnered attention for their creative introductions in each market,  San Diego is no different with over 600 custom gourmet fortune cookies sent to the majority of brokerages through out the community with varying personalized fortunes.

OfficeSpace.com offers a multitude of services targeted to assisting brokers; landlords and property managers connect to tenants. The broker-and-landlord-to-tenant service is completely free for brokers and landlords to list. It also includes an extensive suite of free, timesaving tools created specifically for today’s market with options to design flyers, create surverys and communicate with tenants. Tenants are offered full complimentary access right at their fingertips with user specific designated search options, map functionality, social media sharing tools while also providing helpful tips on the confusing aspects of leasing.

“We are excited about providing service in San Diego. Tenants now have access to the  information they need to make better decisions about their businesses. We also provide a robust tool set for brokers in order to compliment their marketing efforts and connect them to tenants.” – Susie Algard – CEO, OfficeSpace.com”

About OfficeSpace.com

OfficeSpace.com’s innovative service will help add great value to the San Diego Commercial Real Estate Market. Other markets include Denver, CO and Portland, OR. To add a listing, find an office or find out more visit OfficeSpace.com.

History OfficeSpace.com
Experienced internet entrepreneurs Susie and Alex Algard purchased OfficeSpace.com in late 2010. Frustrated by some of the trial and tribulations of their own experiences trying to find office space for companies they were involved in, they decided it was time to make a change in the commercial real estate space. Susie, CEO of OfficeSpace.com, was previously a senior executive and founding member at WhitePages.com, a top 30 internet property.

OfficeSpace.com also operates one of the leading commercial real estate marketing and analytics services in Seattle, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Cincinnati & Columbus.

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It’s a Beautiful O’Dea

Today is a special day for one of the OfficeSpace.com team members. Our own John Heimbigner is being inducted to the Athletic Wall of Honor at his alma mater, the noted Catholic Boy’s School –  O’Dea High School in Seattle, Washington.  John’s athletic contributions to the Fighting Irish soccer team led to a state title and continue today as Regional Director for Seattle United.

John will now join the ranks of other alumni who have received this well deserved award of distinction. It looks like you’re in good company John!

Congratulations once again to a true team player we’re sending you multiple high fives filled with pride! We hope you have a great O’Dea!

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Movin On Up (Part 2)

Chalkboards and Chairs and Chartreuse Oh My!

Last Thursday was the big reveal for our new space! This was it, a sneak peek at our new digs. (Side bar – the biggest concern when setting up a new office always seems to be the floor plan aka “who am I sitting beside?”. It may be engrained in us from high school but that’s okay because we’re all about embracing our youth here at OfficeSpace.com.)

Potential Floorplan (open concept) w/ Chalk “Brainstorming” Wall.

Amongst the concerns we laid out in last week’s blog “Movin On Up Part 1” were – what to do with our office furniture and whether or not we should design the space ourselves. Well, it turns out the best laid plans are ones that involve doing a bit of both.

1. For our furniture/supplies dilemma, we referenced Pinterest obsessively and tried to incorporate our own furniture with a few creative ideas from Pinterest ie. Our Chalkboard Wall.

2. We also figured out the most efficient way to get rid of the furniture we couldn’t re-use was to sell it to our neighbors in the same loft space. We already share the same esthetic and neither party had to travel far for deliveries and pick ups.

3. Despite our own in-house decorating efforts we still needed a bit of assistance so we hired a local designer to help walk us through a few things. Keep in mind small budget doesn’t equal 100% DIY. We were still able to bring on a professional who could help tie everything together and offer some affordable solutions.

4. In keeping with our brand identity we’ve decided to add accents like throw pillows and desk supplies in our team colors while keeping everything else “Ikea” white. This keeps costs down, is easy to refresh and won’t look dated in a few years.

Next Friday is the actual move and we’re sourcing things like gently used boxes for packing (more enviro-friendly/economical) and looking at how to introduce ourselves into our new subleased space which happens to be shared by a large Seattle web based business who has been kind enough to offer us our new home.

Stay tuned for the finished product and a new look at Chez OfficeSpace.com.

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Movin On Up! (Part 1)

Big News! We’re moving offices!

Our Current Space (the team hard at work!)

Yay! Streamers, confetti, balloons!

Excitement, pride, growth – all good!

Suddenly, those feelings were followed up by the pending loom of “ah nuts, moving means packing means boxes means design choices and so on and so on”… Just when we got comfortable and everything had a place. We needed to retreat to the “Living Room”..

The “Living Room”

Yes, there are many questions we here at OfficeSpace.com have now been faced with regarding our upcoming move. So we thought who better to share them with then you.

  • First we thought, what do we do with everything?
  • Do we bring our old furniture to the new location? Recycle it? Repurpose it? Resell it?
  • Start from scratch?
  • Hire a designer vs do it ourselves?
  • We’re a small team with a budget to match so how do we maintain our hip, cool, start up, tech office vibe we pin daily on our Pinterest board?

You might be asking, aren’t these some of the many things you deal with when tenants contact you about moving and finding office space through OfficeSpace.com? You’re absolutely right, but there’s something to the saying “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”. So, as we continue our adventure over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned and our progress as we approach moving day (October 5th!)

Do you have any office moving horror stories or perhaps any great recommendations or tips? If so, please feel free to send them our way.

P.S. We’ll be keeping this…

Obligatory “Office Space” poster
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Looking Forward, The Price of Uncertainty…

On this day every year we can’t help but stop and think about what happened, we get lost in thought – where we were, and how we felt. We remember the tragedy and remain curious about the details of the final memorial space. Eleven years later it seems there’s may be some closure on the status of the 16 acre site or is there?

Announced on the eve of the anniversary, funding support was finally sorted for the memorial museum although no completion date has been set, progress none the less. And, there seems to be cautious optimism on the leasing front as at least 1/2 the skyscrapers are expected to be filled over the next 5 to 8 years. Douglas Durst, chairman of the Durst Organization, which is co-developing One World Trade Center and handling its leasing for the Port Authority, has outlined a very positive attitude “We’re very optimistic that we’ll have the building fully rented by the date of 2017, 2018,”. A considerable percentage of the 3 million square feet of office space has already been reserved by publishing giant Conde Nast, who is rumored to be taking 25 floors. Said to be “like a stamp of approval” by Dan Fasulo, managing director for Real Capital Analytics, a commercial real estate research firm, Conde Nast’s presence will definitely be an asset in attracting other businesses.Image

Despite huge costs associated with effectively running the former WTC site, it’s museum and the memorial, it seems those involved feel the rise in commercial real estate, visitors to the site (4.5 million since last year’s 10th anniversary), government support and donations will aid in offsetting the financial responsibilities. After the 1993 truck bombing it was next to impossible to find businesses to secure space at the site. However, the neighborhood has changed, there’s much more happening in lower Manhattan than there was 20 years ago so it’s difficult to predict whether this optimism is on the mark.

Do you think this is a fair estimation of time considering some of the towers have not yet begun construction? Would you consider leasing in the former WTC space? Do you think the 60 million a year operating budget can be responsibly maintained without further borrowing and debt being accumulated?

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How to Launch a Product With a Budget Less Than a Direct Mail Campaign

We recently completed our beta launch in Portland OR in late January of this year and it went well as far as I could tell.  In the first 3 months, we had connected around 350 tenants to landlords, property managers or brokers.  Tenants had found space using our site and leases were being executed.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  The challenge for us, however, had been educating brokers on our new service and how it actually works for parties, the broker and the tenant.

Nevertheless, when it came to launching in another city, I didn’t want to execute the same way.  What bugged me was despite the email campaigns in Portland highlighting our new service to brokers, I knew at best, only 20% of those emails were being opened.  We sent beautiful folders to every broker describing in detail how our service works but I was sure a large percentage of those went unopened and into the recycling or worse into the trash.  So, we began brainstorming other ideas.  Our goal – to reach every broker and explain exactly what it is we do and again, how OfficeSpace.com can help them.

This past week, we announced the launch of our new service, starting in Denver, while we were at an industry trade show.  Instead of sending out direct mail, we delivered customized gourmet cupcakes complete with an edible OfficeSpace.com logo to every brokerage in greater Denver – that was over 600 cupcakes in total.

I reasoned even though it’s an edible item, certainly people would remember who gave it to them.  We built a campaign around our delicious delivery, building anticipation through our social media channels.  We created postcards to go with our cupcakes letting everyone know we were celebrating our birthday in Denver – and the cupcakes were free, just like our service.  We encouraged our recipients to use social media to tell us how they liked our gift and we waited.

I can already definitively say this campaign was much more successful and cost-effective than our first and here’s why: when we began to make our follow- up calls, people wanted to talk to us.  They wanted to tell us that they liked our clever idea and more importantly, they wanted to know what the company was doing.

If we could be this creative just to get their attention, what would that mean for the types of products we could create to help them? We achieved what direct mail could not: a captive audience (with full tummies to boot!).

Susie Algard
CEO & Founder
OfficeSpace.com
follow us on twitter: @officespace_com
follow me on twitter: @susiealgard

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Commercial Real Estate Startup Reinvents the Way Business Owners Search for Space

new home page

June 13, 2012 – OfficeSpace.com knows a change in commercial real estate technology is coming— in fact, they’ve known and are readying to launch their free broker and landlord-to-tenant service in its second market.

After its successful beta launch reaching 24,000 tenants, connecting 350 tenants to brokers and landlords and covering 186 million square feet of space in Portland, Ore. OfficeSpace.com officially launches its new service, starting with Denver, Colo. on June 13.

“As an entrepreneur, finding the right space was always more difficult that I anticipated,” CEO and Founder Susie Algard said.  “The system of waiting for someone to call you back just to give you the space details or rate information is highly inefficient.  All of the tools were focused on people who were familiar with commercial real estate, not for people who only need to find space once every few years.”

In Denver, OfficeSpace.com currently covers over 172 million square feet of space and over 3,000 buildings available for tenants to search.

The days of expensive broker-to-broker subscription services are behind.

“By providing open access to details on an office space, we are helping all business owners during their research phase,” Algard said. “In particular, we are serving an audience whose needs are currently not sufficiently met – small business owners.  It’s difficult for brokers to make small requirements profitable, but we have created tools to help them directly with that.  We connect qualified tenants to brokers for free.”

OfficeSpace.com’s website offers free viewings and listings and social media tools for sharing. The company most recently launched a free Broker Tools suite for brokers to create flyers, surveys and communicate with tenants.  It also features photo-friendly interface and information on the confusing aspects of a lease for tenants.

About OfficeSpace.com

OfficeSpace.com is a start up with the goal of creating an efficient marketplace connecting tenants with landlords and brokers.  The company, purchased by Internet entrepreneurs Susie and Alex Algard, launched it’s new beta service launched in Portland in January 2012 and to date, has serviced over 350 tenants looking for space.  OfficeSpace.com also operates one of the leading commercial real estate marketing and analytics services in Seattle, Spokane, Denver, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus and can be found at www.officespace.com.

Contact:
Ninette Cheng
Marketing Coordinator, OfficeSpace.com
office: 206.686.4545
[email protected]