Office Space Advice
OBCAI Executive Director Discusses Serviced Office Opportunities, Challenges
Published February 19th, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire
As incoming director of the Office Business Center Association International (OBCAI), Richard Meyers is tasked with helping the executive suites industry players leverage the opportunities and navigate the challenges by developing strategic resources to serve the membership.
Meyers is no stranger to building successful associations. In addition to founding Association Growth Management, an association management company, he also served as executive director of the Alliance Business Centers Network, director of Government Relations & Communications for the National Nutritional Foods Association, and as a liaison between franchisees and franchisors for the corporate marketing department of IHOP Corp.
aBetterOffice.com caught up with Meyers to discuss his views on the opportunities and challenges the business center industry faces today and his priorities for OBCAI.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities in the industry right now?
I’m like you. I ask people that all the time. Obviously, I’m hearing virtual office space. The virtual office industry has grown a lot over the last few years and it still has the most potential to grow. I sometimes wonder if it is cannibalizing tenants or if it’s sort of an entry level option that lets companies grow and become real tenants in our office space.
What about the challenges for the association? You’ve got a lot of goals. Do you foresee any stumbling blocks?
I’m confident in where we’re going. I have the blueprint. I’ve done it for another associations. It’s just a matter of proving it to members so that they have confidence that their association is going to provide value for them. This association attracts great people. It attracts people who are entrepreneurs and who are people-persons. They share information readily among competitors, which is not done in a lot of industries.
People in this industry are willing to participate in various programs and try new things. I know that if we give them the forum to exchange ideas and discuss best practices things will snowball. There’s a lot of goodwill. People want their industry association to succeed and to thrive. We have that advantage. And the board and the staff wants to provide quality services to our members.
What’s the next biggest priority in your master plan? Where do you go from here priority-wise?
We’re going to focus on putting together a conference that is second to none. We’ve revamped the format this year. We’re going to announce the program very early this year – in April. You’ll see some serious changes in pricing structure for the September Conference in Miami. We’re also going to make sure all the information is available much earlier.
We are also offering a webinar schedule. We announced the first 12 webinars and we’re going to finish the rest of the calendar year in the coming weeks. I’m optimistic because of the caliber of the membership and the caliber of the board. When you combine that with what should be a growing economy at the end of 2011, I’m optimistic that we’re going to be able to do great things here.
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Elizabeth Sanchez February 19th, 2010 at 9:25 am
It looks like Meyers is still taking a pulse on the industry. Clearly, there are challenges in the serviced office space and the association. Meyers seems optimistic, which is his job, yet also realistic about the task ahead. It will be interesting to see how quickly they can make those changes and what kind of impact it results in.
Bill Brookshire February 19th, 2010 at 9:40 am
I am betting there are challenges Meyers hasn’t seen yet. But that’s par for the course. I think revamping the annual conference model could be a very good move. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what that looks like. One thing is for sure, Meyers is setting out to make positive changes for the business center industry.
Jonathan Price February 22nd, 2010 at 6:50 am
I wonder if Richard will re-introduce the international meetings? They had really fabulous sessions in Rome and in Madrid in the early 2000s.