Business Centre Archives

Time to start looking professional and ditch the pajamas

By Ian Payton|2019-06-17T22:44:32-04:00June 17th, 2019|Business Centre, Flexible Office|

With today's technology, working from home is much easier than it was 5 or 10 years ago. But is working from home always best for your small business? Yes, it’s convenient to begin your working day and not even have to get out of your pajamas in the morning. And while many small businesses get their start by working out of their homes, as their businesses mature and becomes full-time ventures, working from home is not always best in terms of reflecting a professional appearance and stability. Even having a more ‘business-like’ address is better than using your home address. One of the first steps that many small businesses are taking, is to move out of their homes and into an office that doesn’t always require a physical space. Today, small businesses have many options to have a professional address, but where to start and where expansion can take place [...]

What is Coworking Office Space?

By Ian Payton|2018-04-11T16:25:59-04:00April 11th, 2018|Business Centre, coworking office space, office space for rent|

Coworking: The Who, What, Why & Where for Startups & Entrepreneurs As a marketer one of my prime resources for promoting all our products are the questions that potential clients ask about our services. Since coworking is a new offering in the flexible workspace category that we didn’t have a lot of questions about, I used a tool which identifies the questions in the suggestions that users get when they enter search terms into Google. The best content that I can add to a site is content that answers questions our website visitors may have about our offerings. Coworking: What Does It Mean? Easily the $64 question as even the spelling is disputed as to whether it is coworking or co-working. What it means depends on who you’re asking. To some users it means: All non-traditional office space (flexible workspace) A workplace design and environment Office space with themed amenities […]

You Can be a Coworking Nomad

By Jim Hedger|2017-11-10T22:43:43-04:00November 10th, 2017|1 Yonge Street, Business Centre, coworking office space|

Imagine a utopia where people are no longer compelled to be connected to one location, a life where the world isn’t limited by distance or borders but is instead open to exploration at whim and supportive of cultural immersion. Imagine living on a remarkably unified planet. For many entrepreneurs, that world already exists. A few months ago we looked at the Rise of the Digital Nomad, that type of entrepreneur who lives to travel and has found ways to work independently or as part of a team while constantly moving from one place to the next. While their lives might seem chaotic and messy, some of the most productive and yet peaceful people find their grounded selves constantly moving over ground yet continually able to serve their clients. That they’re able to balance work and flight so easily is amazing though how they do it is more a mixture of […]

What to Expect if NAFTA Talks Fail

By Jim Hedger|2017-10-14T00:20:39-04:00October 14th, 2017|Business Centre, Business Networking, small business advice, temporary office space|

Most businesses in Canada share a deep seeded defect that is so common as to be part of our DNA yet so malignant it corrupts the very foundation of Canada’s national sovereignty. The flaw is not a fault of planning or ideology. It is not caused by neurosis or insecurity. It is a simple yet subtle mixture of geography and the physics of supply and demand. Most Canadian businesses are entirely dependent on access to the American market, or are reliant on serving businesses that are successful only because they enjoy easy access to the American market. Stretched primarily along a 6400km border with our southern continental neighbour, approximately 35million Canadians live a relatively excellent life by finding ways to collaborate with or feed the enormous appetites of a post-industrial consumer society eleven times bigger than our own. Some are haulers of water and hewers of wood and miners of […]

NAFTA Redux – Renegotiating Prosperity

By Jim Hedger|2017-08-10T20:18:40-04:00August 10th, 2017|Business Centre|

For over a quarter century, a set of trade agreements with the United States and Mexico have underpinned the Canadian economy and become the primary focus of the economies of Ontario and of Toronto. The original Free Trade Agreement between the US and Canada was signed thirty years ago and expanded to include Mexico in the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. Before an agreement was in place, North American trade was subject to a patchwork of tariffs, quotas, and often arbitrary duties imposed on goods and services that crossed some of the longest borders in the world. Since the agreements were ratified, three of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies have virtually integrated with each other, forming the one of the largest and most prosperous trading blocs on Earth. Starting one week from today NAFTA is being reopened and renegotiated. Though economists suggest the vast majority of North […]

The Numbers Game of Networking

By Jim Hedger|2017-06-20T18:23:38-04:00June 20th, 2017|1 Yonge Street, Business Centre, Business Community, Business Networking, entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship|

Everyone’s world revolves on an axis of networks. In business, government, or academia, those networks scale much larger but in the end, most human endeavour centers around well established networks of trusted friends, colleagues, associates, and contacts. If you need a babysitter, chances are you call one the teenage child of a friend. When deciding on a restaurant to take our families to, we rely on the recommendations of friends and associates. When seeking essential service providers like a doctor, lawyer, or accountant, we tend to ask our contacts about their personal experiences. Beyond recommendation websites like Yelp or local search engines like Google, humans rely on the wisdom, experience, and assistance of others in many facets of our lives. Building one’s networks is often a difficult challenge. Much like high school or university friendships, one’s business networks will serve to define one’s character, access to opportunities, and overall resourcefulness, likely for […]

Working from home has its challenges, but looking professional does not have to

By Ian Payton|2019-09-16T14:16:55-04:00June 1st, 2017|Business Centre, Virtual Office|

As the writer of this blog, I primarily work from home and only go into the office a few times a week. Today was a great weather day (well until it got cloudy) and I took my laptop outside and did some work in front of my apartment building. While I was out there, one of my neighbors (who also works from home) came out to get some fresh air and take a break from his work. My neighbor Blake is a hair stylist who works on films, creates wigs for movies and live theatre as well as takes on cutting hair for private clients in his apartment (yes, he has a professional hair studio set up in his apartment). Today Blake was stressed out, but by work. His stress came from a friend who could not understand that because he was home, that he was still working and could […]

Does your start-up really need a private office space? Here are some questions to ask yourself.

By Ian Payton|2017-05-18T16:26:22-04:00May 18th, 2017|Business Centre, Virtual Office|

The first few months (or even years) of a start-up are often executed from the owner’s garage, basement or kitchen table. But as the business grows, it’s time to move. However, where you go is just as important. Your location can affect your company’s productivity, creativity and community – not to mention budget. Insiders agree that choosing the right environment depends on the work that’s being done and the people who are doing it. Some entrepreneurs are taking the plunge, either buying or leasing commercial office space to give their start-ups credibility and authenticity. Is opening up in your own office space a smart move early on for a new business? If you’re considering leasing traditional private office space, you should curb your enthusiasm long enough to ask yourself these questions. What will it cost to lease office space other than the monthly rental payments? When you’re considering leasing office […]

Seven tips for starting a successful small business or start-up

By Ian Payton|2017-05-16T10:33:50-04:00May 16th, 2017|1 Yonge Street, Business Centre, small business advice, Virtual Office|

The biggest fear of starting a small business is failure, but there are things you can do to limit your chances of failure and increase your potential for success. While most of the advice here is not new, we are going to remind you of them and try to put a new angle on them so they make more sense. Have passion for your work. Having passion for your work does not mean that it is your only calling, but you need to be excited about it to the point where others see your passion. Starting a small business is not easy, and if it seems too easy, you might be doing something wrong. It is important that you enjoy what you are doing, because it will take a lot of work and personal energy to ensure that your small business venture has a chance of being successful. There are […]

Adjusting to a business centre from a home office

By Ian Payton|2017-05-09T09:11:50-04:00May 9th, 2017|Business Centre, coworking office space, Meeting Rooms, Semi-private offices, Shared Offices|

That time has come that your business has outgrown your home office and you need real office space (even if it is shared or only part-time) that has a professional business address. Your best choice is a downtown office business centre that has several options. When we talk about office space options at a business centre, three primary ones come to mind: Private offices, semi-private offices and shared office space/coworking offices. For the purposes of this article, we will be talking about adjusting to shared office space/coworking offices – since that will probably be your best option when you first move out of your home office. Shared office space is also your best option in terms of flexibility regarding when you can utilize the space. Why? You pay only a small monthly fee for unlimited access during regular business hours. With coworking, you become a member and choose from various […]

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