Office Space Advice
Q & A: Adam Stark Talks About Serviced Office Differences
Published June 16th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Stark Business Solutions is not the dominant player in the executive office suites industry. But it is a stable, reputable and growing one. Stark Business Solutions has four locations in New York – White Plains, Mt. Kisco, Harrison and Scarsdale – and is looking for strategic expansion opportunities.
Stark Business Suites offers full-time office space, part-time office space and virtual business bases aimed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses make the most of their most precious resource: time.
aBetterOffice.com caught up with Adam Stark, president of Stark Business Solutions, to discuss competitive differentiators in the executive office suites industry and the biggest challenges facing the industry today.
Are you seeing an uptick in business during the recession? How much of an uptick?
Our business has remained very strong during the recession. We’ve seen year-over year-growth in excess of 30 percent.
How do you market/advertise your business? Has that changed in this economy?
We go through many different marketing channels, including traditional print, outdoor signage, and electronic/Internet. We have continued to aggressively market throughout this period. We also maintain an active public relations campaign to highlight major events.
Where are you seeing more growth? On the serviced office side or the virtual office side?
We’ve seen strong growth in both areas.
You’ve said your business model is based on the fact that every professional has different needs and priorities. How does that translate to what you offer?
We provide a customized approach to our clients. We work with them to try to understand what they need to accomplish and craft solutions accordingly.
One example is when we had a client that came to us when he was looking to start up a trading operation. We worked with him and his team to craft a comprehensive solution that included the installation of a specialized trading floor, installation of high-end VOIP telephone equipment with customized speed-dialing capabilities, high-speed fiber optic connection, and a modular arrangement that could expand and grow with him.
Another example is a matrimonial attorney that we worked with who needed access to facilities in lower Westchester and upper Westchester in order to support their client base. We developed a package for them that allowed them to have a private conference room dedicated to their needs in our Mount Kisco facility while providing them with bundled access to our lower Westchester locations, all at a fixed cost.
What differentiates Stark Business Solutions from the local competition?
We focus on clients that are looking for a premium service and are willing to pay for quality. Our staff is intelligent, articulate and customer-focused, and our infrastructure — furniture, phones, fiber optics, etc. — is all second to none. A cheap office is great—until mission critical items don’t work properly. We work very hard and make substantial investments to materially limit those occurrences.
My partner and I have our offices in the facilities so that we can ensure the experience remains first rate and so that our clients know where to go if there is a problem. We also maintain a very transparent sales approach—no hidden extras. Our clients find that very attractive. We also focus on building a community amongst our clients. By avoiding “swing space” customers and other types of transient business, we become a home for our clients, rather than a hotel.
Do you have a specific target audience within the general “entrepreneur and small business owner” target that many in the serviced office industry are going after? And why do you target these specific audiences?
We are looking for successful, established professionals. We find that these are the types of clients that place great value on what we have to offer.
What do you see as the biggest challenges for companies in the executive office suites industry these days?
For companies like ours that focus on customer service, it can be hard to differentiate yourself from offerings that appear to be less costly. There are many “cheap space” options currently on the market. However, cheap and value are not the same. Unfortunately, some people can be led into situations that appear to be comparable to a turnkey offering like ours, only to find out that there are key service elements missing and/or hidden costs that turn that cheap office into a very expensive solution.
You are expanding and growing. How do you decide where to go next? What are you basing those decisions on?
We want to be where our clients want to be. As such we try to find locations that are highly appealing to the types of clients that prefer our centers. We then try to find buildings that have the amenities our clients like and are well maintained.
What are the most popular services you offer?
Our telephone receptionist service is always a hit with our clients—both full-time and virtual. People don’t realize how much value it adds to their businesses until they try it. Once they do, they rarely go back to not having it.
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About the Author
Melanie Jones June 16th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Stark seems to have a very good handle on his serviced office business. His answers show true insight into the needs of alternative office space users. The fact that he customizes solutions for the specific needs of his target audience takes a page out of the commercial real estate’s build-out book, but puts the cost on the shoulders of Stark. Nice model.
Rob Zeus June 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I haven’t come across a telephone receptionist service I can totally feel confident about. At least not on the virtual office end. Of course, I haven’t tried them all. Does anyone have any direct experience with telephone receptions services that can recommend a good provider? I can see the value, but not if the one who answers the phone botches it.
Bill Brookshire June 16th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I like the fact that the owners are actually officing in one of the serviced office facilities they own. That shows confidence in the service. I mean, it would look pretty bad if Stark and his partner had an office in a nearby building instead of at their own property. That may be a good question for folks to ask when they visit a property… Do the owners office here?
Elizabeth Sanchez June 16th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Start Business Suites seems to be extremely customer service-focused. That’s a breath of fresh air for companies that have leased at traditional Class B office buildings. It seems to me that companies like Stark are offering Class A service at less than Class A prices. In this economy, that should help them fill up executive office suites. Customer service is a huge differentiator in today’s world.
Marcus Hester June 16th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I like this guy Stark. He tells it like it is. He’s not willing to rent out his excellent serviced office space for cheap. But he is willing to provide plenty of value to the folks who choose to rent his executive office suites. I read before that Stark took on an investor. That’s good news. This is a quality outfit that deserves to see growth.