Office Space News
The Private Office Offers Free Business Consulting in Down Economy
Published March 30th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
The economic crisis has not only witnessed the rise of serviced offices and virtual offices – lower-cost alternatives to traditional office space – it has also witnessed the rise of creative schemes that aim to differentiate one brand from another.
Looking for office space in the New York City area?
Some serviced office companies are offering “relaxation rooms.” Others are offering HR outplacement services. Still others are offering free business consulting. The Private Office, a provider of shared offices in Westchester County, New York, is doing the latter.
The Private Office just announced plans to offer free “expert consultations” on business needs for its prospective clients. The shared office company seems to be using this perk as a lead generation tool to compete in an executive office suites industry that’s seeing its fair share of new entrants and expansions by major brands.
Who’s the Expert?
Expert advice is only as good as the expert who offers it. So who’s behind the free consultations? None other than the president of The Private Office himself, George Russell. Russell is a bona fide expert indeed. He graduated from Yale University and received an MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan. Russell bases his consulting on his 20-plus years of experience on business structures in a wide variety of industries.
Russell has also traveled extensively overseas and has applied his background in international business to his center in New York. He has been published in The New York Times, the New York Real Estate Journal and the Westchester County Business Journal. He has lectured on Financial Statement Analysis at Yale and spoke at the Annual International Facility Management Association Conference. He was interviewed by the president of the Westchester Business Council on WVOX radio and provided expert testimony to the U.S. Congress on Small Business.
“Over the years, we’ve seen business owners and management repeat the same errors regarding development and the interface between physical systems and operational requirements,” Russell says. “Rather than serving as a passive vendor of office space and services, we are offering our experience as a free consultation, one way to contribute to the greater good during the current economic crisis.”
What Will I Learn?
Russell went on to describe exactly what entrepreneurs can expect during this free business consultation. The session will focus on developing flexible business models using remote workers, economies of scale for staffing, and cutting overhead. The consultation aims to help new and prospective clients create a seamless integration between business infrastructure and core function using many of the capabilities provided by an office business center such as videoconferencing, 24/7 staff support and establishment of a management center.
This is a great perk to generate leads for new clients, and a great service to entrepreneurs in a down economy. Although it’s fairly easy to replicate this value-add – other serviced office companies could play copycat and probably will – The Private Office has an advantage in that its president is a legitimate expert with plenty of good advice to share. Other executive office suite companies may not be able to make as bold a claim. Still, I expect competitors to form strategic alliances, if need be, to begin offering up value-added services like this one.
As for The Private Office, the company has an office business center in Rye Brook, New York and one in White Plains, New York. The Rye Brook facility has seminar rooms and complex I.T. infrastructure. The facility is located near a major transportation hub with shuttles providing connections by arrangement. There’s also a 150-seat amphitheater, videoconferencing and full administrative support. Clients have included Cemex, Morgan Stanley, the National Thoroughbred Association, Pepsi and the Royal Bank of Scotland as well as professionals in finance, law and accounting. The company was originally founded in 1985.
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Rob Zeus April 7th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Everybody wants business advice in a down economy. The question is whether this is the type of business advice they want. For all of the CEO’s credentials, his advice seems to focus on why they should rent a serviced office and how to make the most of it. I do think it’s a great value-add, but it’s also a little self-serving unless they expand beyond the serviced office realm and offer some real business advice.
Melanie Jones April 10th, 2009 at 7:37 am
This is another great example of serviced office companies getting creative in a down economy. I think customers of executive office suites should get bold and start asking for what they want. Customer retention is just as important as customer acquisition. Why not just ask your serviced office provider for what you need to stay competitive or relaxed? Who knows? Maybe they’ll implement your idea.
Bill Brookshire April 10th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I agree with Melanie. I think the consumers are in the driver’s seat with companies of all sorts, including serviced offices. Everything is open to negotiation in this economy. If you can find a serviced office project with high vacancy rates, they might be willing to negotiate on rent. What do they have to lose?