Is a Virtual Office a Real Office?

 

                       

I like the definition of the word, "virtual" in the Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary. It defines it as "very close to being something without actually being it." That, in essence, is the definition of a virtual office. A virtual office is something very close to being an office, without actually being one.

It's not something ethereal or intangible like the concept of virtual reality. We don't put you to sleep and plant a subliminal notion in your mind that you have an office, where you can hang out at the water cooler with gorgeous members of the opposite sex. There are things that are real and there are things belong in the realm of fantasy. We're talking about something real, functional, and utterly practical.

At the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows, located in Queens NY, a virtual office is an office that you can use on on as-need basis. It's not an office that you can move in to and decorate. The offices are already decorated. You can bring a picture of your family, and place it on the desk while you work, if you like. You can use one of our offices for an hour, for a day, for a week - whatever you need - and pay for it by the hour. Prospective tenants of the Executive Office Center have a range of virtual office service packages to choose from, as well. You can see them online at: http://executiveofficefm.com/virtual.htm.

Most of our tenants use our office suites as a place to meet clients. These rooms are usually used for meetings with individuals or two to three people. If you need to meet with a larger group,  you can use the Executive Conference Room, which seats twelve around the table. We have about forty attorneys who regularly use our offices, and nearly ten psychotherapists, as well. The other tenants of the Executive Office Center are mostly small businesses and non-profit organizations. All of our tenants are featured on our consumer website:  http://everythingunder1roof.com/

Can you use the Executive Office Center as a regular business address? Of course. A listing of your business is placed in the lobby, along with other tenants and virtual tenants of the office building. You can use the address on your stationary, and as a reference location for Google and other search engines.

Can you use the office to receive mail? Yes. At the Executive Office Center, you get your own secure mailbox. Even better than that, we'll receive your packages, Fed Ex envelopes, and even call you if it looks like something important.

Having a virtual office (or a serviced office suite) at the Executive Office Center is better than having a regular office in a lot of ways. You don't have the burdensome fixed costs associated with a traditional office space. You also don't pay for for internet service or telephone use. At the Executive Office Center, it's on the house.

And there are other significant benefits as well. We have a receptionist who can provide you with personalized telephone answering. You have to pay for it, of course - but not much. One thing for certain is that it's much less expensive than hiring a personal receptionist. Our receptionist also courteously greets your clients when they come into the office building.

Additionally, there is a beautiful cafeteria, where you can have lunch, watch TV, grab a cup of coffee, or enjoy a snack or a can of soda from one of the vending machines.

And let me add one more thing about the aforementioned Executive Conference Room. It is equipped with a 46" wide screen HDTV, ideal for videoconferencing and/or business presentations.  

So, is a virtual office a real office? It's real, alright.  In many ways, it's better than a real office. And it's a real deal for anyone who comprehends its exceptional value.

Virtual Offices are Unfair to Commercial Building Owners

The Executive Office Center Discourse on Business invites blog post contributions from members of the business community.  This anonymous writer has a grievance against virtual office services.

I’m not a person who likes to complain, but I think that virtual office centers like this new company, the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows are unfair to commercial landlords.  I own an office building around the corner.  It’s always been full.  Now I have a 30% vacancy rate because of these guys.

Why?  What did they do to you?

It’s not what they did.  It’s what they do.

These guys give you everything.

They give you furniture.

They give you telephone service.

They give you internet service.

They pay for your gas and electric.

They pay for your cleaning.

They pay for everything!

I mean they even have a secretary who answers your phones.

Now, how can I compete with that?  I got a regular office building.

Well, it’s not their fault, really.  That’s the type of building it is.  That’s how they operate.

You think having a cafeteria in their building is fair?  You think it’s fair to have a beautiful conference room for all the tenants to use?

Do you know that you can rent Queens office space in here on a part-time basis?  You think that helps me?  I mean, you don’t even have to sign a long term lease with these guys.  They just let you use an office whenever you want one. 

Now is that fair?  I’m asking you.  That’s why I am protesting against this injustice to regular commercial building owners.http://www.executiveofficefm.com/

Working with Normal People

It is truly a blessing when the people for whom you work, or the people with whom you work, or those who work for you – are normal.  Most of us take reasonable behavior for granted, just as we take for granted our sight, our hearing and the use of our arms and legs. 

We shouldn’t take these good and decent souls for granted because there are lunatics amongst us.  There are villains and maniacs, impostors, fruitcakes, and thieves lurking behind the most pleasant exteriors. 

I’ve had both kinds of experiences in my thirty-five years in business.  For the most part, I’ve been very fortunate.  I’ve had a wonderful and trustworthy assistant for twenty-seven years, and the great majority of the people with whom I have worked have fallen within the broad parameters of what we would call normal.

But there are those who would lure you into a sexual harassment suit.  There are those who would attempt to steal your employees while you’re on vacation.  There are those who will kill you by stealth, others by laziness and stupidity, and others by sheer maliciousness.  There are lots of people out there who are genuinely nice, but have a faulty moral framework.  This kind of person believes that it’s okay to cheat as long as you don’t get caught.  Here’s where you have to watch your office supplies.

It isn’t always apparent that someone is a nut.  You discover the fact in increments sometimes.  That’s when you’re lucky.  They betray themselves with a comment or a minor departure from the norms with which we relate to each other.  There are others, who are truly mad, who will flare up like a supernova, in a single moment of fury, vaporizing any evidence of the normalcy that preceded it.  Consider yourselves fortunate when that happens, too – unless the person throws something at you.  But all too often, we discover the evil done to us as a fait accompli – after someone has stolen from you, whether it be cash or information or personnel, or has left you in a state of chaos by either negligence or design. 

When you think about it, it is surprising that we are able to work with each other with such a high degree of cooperation.  But never forget that anarchy lurks not too far beneath the surface.  Be grateful for the reasonableness, but bear it ever in your mind that, while you’re taking too long at the copier, the guy behind you could be fraying at the edges.  

Virtual Office Business Model Becoming an Attractive Alternative to Traditional Office Space in Queens NY

Virtual office services and serviced office space are quickly becoming a favored alternative to traditional office space in Queens, New York.

The Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows , which opened in October of 2011, is the first such office center to open in the borough of Queens, and has already attracted over one hundred tenants and virtual tenants!

I am a personal believer in the virtual office business model for small businesses.  It’s such a practical and cost-effective alternative to traditional office space, it is just a matter of time before it changes the office rental marketplace forever.

The borough of Queens, NY, is a latecomer to the virtual office concept.  It's somewhat surprising, considering the fact that the idea has been around for a while, and that it's such an important component of the marketplace for office space in Manhattan. I believe that the economy of Queens, which consists primarily of small businesses, makes the virtual office model particularly relevant.

Over 100 companies have joined the Queens Executive Office Center since it opened last year. Nearly 40% of the firms are attorneys.  They are the ideal candidates for this type of office space. A lot of them don't really need full time office space, just a place to meet an occasional client. We have quite a few social workers and accountants, as well. But the rest of the companies span the professional and entrepreneurial spectrum from environmental consultants to real estate brokers.

This past week, the Executive Office Center was joined by the Law offices of Heath Goldstein & Caitlin Donahue, Expert Elevator Corp, Best Senior Home Care, the Eilav Law Firm and Lynx Electrical Corp.

When I started out in business 35 years ago, I wish I could have opened an office in Queens for $39/month and look like the consummate professional! With the advent of virtual offices, you can make it appear as if you have already conquered the world!

Why is this man upset with the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows?

Predictions for 2012

The ancient Mayans believed that world would come to an end in late December, 2012.  Nostradomus also predicted the destruction of the planet in 2012, as a result of natural disasters and a collision with another planet. 

But don't worry. Antonio Vazquez, the “Great Wizard” of Mexico says the theories of doomsday in 2012 are “big fat lies.”

Blackrock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, does not foresee the end of the world in 2012, either.  In fact, Chief Equities Strategist for Blackrock, Bob Doll, predicts that U.S. equities will experience a double-digit percentage return in 2012, the European debt crisis will begin to ease, and that China and India will contribute to more than half of the world’s economic growth, despite slowing growth.

Vice Chairman of Blackstone Advisory Partners, and former senior strategist for Morgan Stanley predicts that the economy will finally take off in 2012, with GDP accelerating at 3% and unemployment falling below 8%.  He also predicts that the price of oil will drop to $85/barrel, and the S & P will surge over 1400. 

 

Bill Gross, manager of Pimco’s $252.2 Billion Total Return Fund, offers a much gloomier outlook for 2012, if not an end of the world scenario.  He believes that the world has too much debt, and says that investors should lower their expectations for 2012, predicting 2 to 5% returns on investments in stocks, bonds and commodities.  He is betting on tax-free municipal bonds in 2012, an asset class he calls under-valued, owing to scare headlines about municipal bankruptcies and threatened defaults.”

According to Mashable, the year of Apple, Inc. is at hand.  “Apple will release a triumvirate of products, including a super slim edge-to-edge screen iPad 3, the long awaited iPhone 5 and an Apple TV…whch will seamlessly integrate the internet.”

Brad Bannon, US News and World Report, predicts that President Barack Obama will narrowly defeat Mitt Romney in the presidential election.  

The AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team predicts a brutally cold and snowy winter for a large part of the country.  

Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen says that 2012 is the year that conventional retailers will really begin to feel the heat from E-tailers.”Electronics and clothes are going to be the real pressure point.”

Writing on the American Express website, Small Business Speaker and Consultant, Barry Moltz, offers good news for small business owners.  He writes that, “after four years, frugality fatigue has hit consumers as demonstrated by the higher than expected holiday sales numbers…The macro economy is no longer stopping any small business owner from growing their own business.   It is time to give up that excuse.”

Will gold break $2,000 in 2012?  Maria Bartiromo says: “I would probably bet gold does break $2,000.  The fact is there is so much economic and political uncertainty in the world…people want save havens.  Jim Cramer agrees:  “Gold will exceed $2,000 in 2012 because the European Central Bank will have to print euros to bail out so many countries and raise the value of gold as a version of the world’s reserve currency.  Gold will be a terrific performer once again.”  

Jack Blumner, Executive Director of the ExecutiveOffice Center at Fresh Meadows, believes that the office center will double its current roster, and end the year with within range of 200 tenants/virtual tenants.  “Increased confidence will bring small business owners back into the market for office space, and the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows provides the most economical rental platform in Queens.”

Make It A December to Remember!

                 

Once First Choice Real Estate reigned as the top residential real estate brokerage in Queens County, NY.  Realtors believe, self-fulfillingly, that the beginning of the Christmas shopping season ends all commerce except for retail.  Knowing that our competitors in the real estate industry usually began to surrender this time of year, we always tried to animate our sales force in December with motivational speakers and events.  December was often one of our best months!

Your perceptions – not the state of the economy, the time of year, or any other external factor – can be the greatest barrier to your success. Think that you can, not that you can not, and make it a December to remember!

Business Advice From King Solomon The Wise

                         
                 

                      

Every fall, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Jewish tradition calls for a reading of the book of Kohelet – a canon of Jewish Scripture known to English readers as Ecclesiastes.  Kohelet was authored by King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest of all men, whose reign over the kingdom of Israel some 3,000 years ago was the pinnacle of ancient Jewish civilization.  

The words of Kohelet have had a great many modern day admirers.  The great 20^th century novelist, Thomas Wolfe, called it “the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound.” 

The song “Turn, Turn, Turn (to Everything There is a Season),” introduced by Pete Seeger in 1962 and further popularized by the Byrds in 1965, and then by Bob Dylan, was directly lifted from the Book of Kohelet. 

It was Kohelet who said, “There is nothing new beneath the sun,” but I wonder if he would have come to the same conclusion if the king had beheld an Iphone.

The book of Kohelet is a very sobering examination of life.  Its message is ultimately a religious one – “the sum of the matter, when all has been considered:  fear G-d and keep his commandments, for that is man’s whole duty” -- but along the way, he offers some sage advice for business owners.

“Two are better than one, for they get a greater return for their labor.  For should they fall, one can raise the other; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and there is no one to raise him.”

“A lover of money will never be satisfied with money; a lover of abundance has no wheat…Sweet is the work of the laborer, whether he eats little or much; the satiety of the rich does not let him sleep.”

Here’s a good one:  “Do not say, ‘How was it that former times were better than these?  For that is not a question prompted by wisdom.” (In other words, just get over it.)

“The toil of fools exhausts them, as one who does not know the way to town.”  (A traveler could be guided properly were he to ask directions.  Conversely, the fool persists in his folly to the point of exhaustion, because he refuses to consult with the wise and seek proper guidance.)

“One who watches the wind will never sow, and one who keeps his eyes on the clouds will never reap…In the morning sow your seed and in the evening do not be idle, for you cannot know which will succeed: this or that; or whether both are equally good.” (Financial advisers would call this diversification.)

And here’s a message for us all:  “Enjoy life with the wife you love through all the fleeting days of your life that He has granted you beneath the sun, all of your futile existence; for that is your compensation in life and in your toil which you exert beneath the sun. “

How Owning Stocks is Like Having a Moody Girlfriend

They both hold the promise of great returns.

Both can take you to great highs and terrible lows.

At times, you can be fooled into thinking they are predictable.

When they are good, they are good; when they are bad, they are very bad.

There are times when you can’t take your eyes off them, so tantalizing are their movements.

They can make your heart race with excitement and at other times with fear and consternation.

In both, you may often find resistance.

Neither may be reliable when it comes to support.

With both, there may be periods of elation, but they are matched by times that will disappoint.

They can both lull you into a false sense of security. 

They can both be foul in the morning, and turn around completely by the end of the day.

Conversely, they can be most agreeable in the early hours, and utterly wrathful in the later ones.

You may try to understand their behavior, and when you think you do, they will act differently!

They may at times offer you a steady climb upwards, and at others a period of prolonged descent.

When their fundamentals are sound, you should try to endure the temporary disappointments, which are inevitable.

Sometimes, you will want to ditch them; sometimes you should.

Both require you to act with discipline.

Both can lead you to drink.

Both can cost you your life savings.

The Value of a Good Assistant

On Friday evenings as we begin the evening meal that ushers in the Sabbath, it is customary to sing a poem/song (Eshet Chayil) to the woman of the house that begins as follows:

An accomplished woman, who can find?

Far from pearls is her value

Her husband’s heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.

Judaism has it right here.  The wife gets her due, as she rightly should, a serenade sung to her by the entire family. 

As we usher in the workweek, however, there are no such songs in our cultural or national heritage for our valued and beloved assistants. 

Mary Abrams, the estimable Associate Director of the Executive Office Center, suffices with, “Good morning.  How are you?  How was your weekend?   I could sing to her, I suppose, but at the risk of having a pencil thrown at me.    

Mary was only sixteen years old when my brother hired her as a part-time receptionist for our former real estate company, First Choice Real Estate.  Today, twenty-six years later, (it could actually be twenty-seven), she is married, and the mother of three children. 

I asked Mary recently to give me a suggestion for my next blog. “Write about me,” came her retort.  She was joking, of course, but her reply contained the knowledge that she is as relevant to the Executive Office Center Discourse on Business as any other subject I may choose to write about. And the fact is, she is right.

Mary has been with us for so long that it would be natural to take her for granted.  She probably thinks that we do, but every day, I am guided by her natural intelligence and her unerring intuition, and am newly impressed by her devotion and resourcefulness.

Mary played a critical role in the success of First Choice Real Estate, and she is the heart and soul of the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows.   It is only a matter of time before she becomes the executive steward of this company. 

Mary proofs everything that I write. She tells me what’s good, and what isn’t, what belongs and what doesn’t, what is great, and what will get me into trouble.  This will have to pass her scrutiny, too.

Such is the value of a good assistant.

The Friday Before a Holiday: To Work Or Not To Work

Here I am once again, in my office at 7:00 a.m. on a Friday before a holiday weekend, crunching numbers, assessing my progress, developing strategies to help me stand out from the competition. There was no traffic on the Long Island Expressway this morning – going west that is – just me and a couple of other shmendricks driving away from the sun.
 

An American Robin, by coincidence or by providence, has just landed on the hurricane fence that surrounds the rear yard of my office, carrying nesting material in his beak.  He jerks his head nervously in all directions, scanning the environment for predators, seeking more nesting material or perhaps a good worm.   Now, here’s a creature I can relate to, up early, building a nest for his family, cognizant and ever watchful of dangers in his environment.  He’s not going to the Hamptons for the weekend.  He has a family to protect and feed. 

I am not complaining about being here at the office today, while others are headed toward pleasure.  The quiet and stillness before an impending holiday removes the urgency of an ordinary business day, and lends clarity to the mind.  It’s a wonderful time to think and plan.  

I know that my phones will be relatively quiet today, but past experience has taught me that I’m likely to get a good call.  Pre-holiday Fridays, it seems, bring out the customers with the most urgent need.

The robin that arrived outside my window before by such timely coincidence has now flown off.  His tiny brain understands the imperatives of survival that many people seem to miss.  I'm sure he's not chirping “Ah, there’s no point in working today.  Everybody is already in holiday mode.”  He's chirping, "It's another day.  Gotta get on with it.  Maybe we'll barbecue on Sunday."  

Virtual Office Services Ideal for Home Based Businesses

Thousands of Queens’ business owners commute to work every morning by taking the stairs down to the basement or to another area in the house designated as a home office. 

Every year, an increasing number of entrepreneurs choose to work out of their homes, some out of preference, but most out of economic necessity. The recession has forced millions of small business owners to cut back on rent and overhead expenses.

There are a great many benefits to working at home, most notably, the cost savings.  Foregoing a traditional Queens office space allows you to save on rent and associated overhead expenses.  Additionally, you save on gas, on child care, and a myriad of other costs involved with operating a business out of a rented office space.

Another great benefit is the flexibility it offers you to tend to the needs of your family, especially if you have young children.  You can pick up the kids at school, and get them started on their homework.  You can also get the chicken into the oven at 4:00 p.m. 

Though the advantages to working at home are numerous, there is a downside, as well.  What to do you do when you need to meet with a client?  Do you really want to meet with clients or customers in your home?  In your basement?  Some home based entrepreneurs opt to meet clients at public hubs such as Starbucks.  That may work once or twice, but is not a solution for the long term.

Another downside to working in the house is the temptation to do the laundry or get sidetracked by other household chores.  Your kids can also be a distraction just at the moment that you get an important call.  That has happened to me on more than one occasion, especially when my children were very young.  They seem to demand your attention just as you pick up the phone.

Fortunately there is a solution for home based businesses in need of a professional facade.  It is called a virtual office.  The concept of virtual office services began to take shape about twenty years ago as an outgrowth of the executive suite industry.  An executive suite center offers offices that are furnished, and equipped for telephone and internet use.  They often have a receptionist to meet and greet clients and answer telephones for the tenants.  Personalized answering services make it appear as if you have your own personal secretary.  There is usually a common conference room available for scheduled use, a cafeteria, copy center, and other office amenities.

A virtual office allows you to take advantage of these services on an a la carte basis.  Perhaps you only need an office suite or conference room once or twice a week to meet an occasional client.  Or maybe you need use of a conference room to make a presentation before a group.  Some executive suite centers offer high quality videoconference services, as well.  Or maybe you just need to get out of the house and into an office environment a few days to a week in order to feel more professional.  Whatever you need, virtual office services are often available from the provider in customizable form.  You pay for your use of the office facility on an as need basis.

In sum, virtual office services allow you to maintain a professional appearance without the cost of maintaining a full time office.  It is not surprising that though the office rental market is still reeling from the effects of the financial downturn that began in 2008, the virtual office industry has continued to grow.

See why this guy is upset with Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows in Queens NY

When the Bell Rings, Come Out Fighting!

Get ready for a lickin'

When it comes to business, I like to think of the annual fight for profitability as a ten round boxing match. The opening bell rings in the early morning hours of January 2.   I’ve learned, as a mature fighter learns, never to come out flailing wildly in the first round.  I’ve never won by a technical knockout in January, but by the accumulation of points throughout the ten rounds of the year.  The first round is for the implementation of my business plan, and the assessment of prevailing economic conditions.  I dance around the ring, looking for opportunity.

Presidents Week gives us a chance to go back to our corners, and have our shoulders massaged.  But the second round of the fight is usually for minor adjustments only.  In the northeast, winter weather is a big factor.  Advertising is a puny weapon against two feet of snow.   When I can’t bring customers in through the door, I do the things necessary to bring them in at a later date. 

Round three has a variable start date – somewhere between mid March and the beginning of April, when there is a noticeable thaw in the weather.   As the weather warms, there is always a corresponding increase in phone calls.   As buds begin to appear on the trees, customers begin to come out of hibernation.  Now is the time to charge into the ring and take command of the fight.

Just as we are getting into a groove, G-d demands our attention with the holidays of Passover and Easter.   Round 4 begins after spring vacation.  I am in my corner by 7:00 a.m., loosening up, anxious to get back into the ring, and reestablish my rhythm.  This is the time of year when prospects seem most receptive.  I’ve had four months to get a feel of the market, and figure out what’s working and what is not.  I go with what’s working.       

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, marks the beginning of Round 5.  Round 5 is an important round.  The snow is now a distant memory, and the torpor of summer has not yet set in.  This is the time to move in on my opponent and hurt him. 

Independence Day, Round 6:  Thank G-d we are not in France, where people take off all summer.  What’s with those Europeans, anyway?  Remember when the nations of Europe ruled the world?  What happened to all that ambition?   Patience is necessary during the summer months.  Some people are on vacation.  Where everybody else is, I don’t know.

Labor Day, Round 7:  Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays. Man, do I love that Tuesday after Labor Day.  People are ready to do business again in the fall.  It is merely my job to identify and attract them.   I jab with my right, hook with my left, hammer away at the body, uppercut to the chin.

The Jewish New Year, Round 8:  No sooner have we got our rhythm back, here comes G-d again to remind us that our success in life is not merely dependent on the fight, but the observance of His Laws.  Business activity in New York all but ceases between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  After atoning for my sins, I return to the ring with a vengeance, knowing that the Christmas shopping season is just around the corner, that 30 day period when the department stores become the locus of the Bermuda Triangle.

 We pause on Thanksgiving to give thanks for the bounty G-d has given us.  A lot of people eat so much on Thanksgiving, they can hardly get out of their corners for Round 9 of the fight.  They believe, self-fulfillingly, that the beginning of the Christmas shopping season ends all commerce, except for retail.   Knowing that my competitors in the real estate industry usually began to surrender this time of year, I have always tried to animate our sales force in December with motivational speakers and events. 

The final round of the year is fought in the week immediately preceding Christmas.  Not everybody is shopping for presents, certainly not all of the time.  I’m looking for that one or two people who have finished shopping, or those who are waiting till the last minute.  This year I’m not giving an inch to the economy.  I will be in the ring, bobbing and weaving, feinting and jabbing, swinging away till the last moment.

One Queens Office Building Does More Than Offer Space For Rent. It Offers To Help Its Tenants Make More Money.

Executive Office Center owners, Steven and Jack Blumner may have hit upon a novel idea when they opened their state-of-the-art business center in the fall. The brothers, former owners of First Choice Real Estate, once the top selling residential brokerage in Queens, are not merely landlords.  They are actively engaged in helping their tenants make more money.

Since opening in October, the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows has attracted 50 tenants and virtual tenants, including seventeen attorneys.  “We’re right on schedule,” says Executive Director Jack Blumner, who expects that number to double by the end of the year.

The Executive Office Center, offering serviced office suites and Queens virtual office services, is the first such business center to open in the borough of Queens.  There are scores of executive suite office centers in Manhattan and Long Island, but none until now in the densely populated borough of Queens.

Executive suite centers typically offer a menu of administrative services to their tenants, but supplementing these services with marketing support elevates the concept of serviced office space to a new level.  

Jack and Steven Blumner are no strangers to marketing.  In the 1990s they made their company, First Choice Real Estate, a household name in Queens by sending out millions of pieces direct mail to homeowners in the borough.  Now they are using the World Wide Web to help accomplish their objectives. 

     What they have done is to develop two consumer websites to help promote and facilitate business for their tenants, as a value added benefit.  The two websites are www.everythingunder1roof.com and www.queensforless.com. 

·         www.everythingunder1roof.com is a business directory of the Executive Office Center at Fresh Meadows tenants that shortcuts the customer’s hunt for business and professional services in Queens.   There are presently 50 companies affiliated with the office center.  In time, there will be several hundred, says Mr. Blumner, “and we want Queens consumers to know that they can find virtually everything they need right here under one roof.”

·         www.queensforless.com offers coupon discounts for Queens neighborhood stores and restaurants, while featuring the professional and business services of the Executive Office Center’s tenants.   Consumers are lured to the website by attractive retail discounts.  Once there, they also find the many different professional and business services offered by tenants of the Executive Office Center.

   
Tenants of the Executive Office Center are also featured on the 16 foot LED display that faces the busy parking lot of the Fresh Meadows shopping center. 
    
The Executive Office Center is the perfect place for attorneys and other solo professionals and small companies doing business in the borough of Queens.  It is ideal for companies that need a branch or satellite office in the borough.  The Executive Office Center is also the closest office business center to JFK and LaGuardia airports.  Business travelers to New York may wish to take advantage of the building’s close proximity to the airports.  Day suites and conference rooms are available at hourly, daily and weekly rates. 

    

Sweeping the Sidewalk

Remembering my father with each push of the broom

I like to sweep the sidewalk in front of my office building.  It reminds me of my father. 

As the broom flicks up the dust and leaves that seem to gravitate toward the entrance to the building every morning, I recall the dust clouds that my father’s push broom would launch, as he swept up his building site at the end of each day.

I could delegate this particular task to the company I pay to clean my office building every day, but I haven’t, and I believe that this is the reason.   

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is fitting for me to remember my father in the words of this blog, because he and my mother were survivors of that most infamous period in the history of mankind.   My mother survived the death camps by the grace of G-d.  My father survived the war in the woods in Poland for two and half years, through a combination of grit, cunning, iron will, and fortitude.

My parents met and married at the end of the war and arrived in New York aboard the SS Marine Flasher on May 28, 1948.  Their first stop in the America was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where my father worked in a mattress factory for relatives.  After six months, they made their way to New York’s lower East Side.  My father told me that when he told his relatives of his decision to go to New York, they said to him, “But you will get lost in New York.”  To which my father replied:  “If I didn’t get lost in the woods for two and a half years, I won’t get lost in New York.”

In New York, my father graduated from making mattresses to making table pads, then went on to a series of jobs in the food business.  He bought a luncheonette in Brooklyn, and learned Spanish from a pocket guide, while he was still struggling to master English.  One day, a construction project across the street from the luncheonette, caught his attention.  Every day, he went outside to watch the construction.  Then, as legend has it, he went out and bought a set of architectural plans for a house for $50, and began his career as a builder.  Afterwards, he built homes in New Jersey for 40 years, until we had to retire him at the age of 75.

Back to sweeping the sidewalk:  My father once told me that being a Jew in Poland during the years of World War II was “like being nothing.”  “A dog’s life had more value,” he said.    But my father withstood the brutality of that nefarious regime with his mind and body, and dignity intact.  And he survived in America as he survived in the woods, meeting every challenge that faced him, doing whatever it took to survive. 

Like many children of Holocaust survivors, I have often asked myself the question:  Would I have survived?  Two and a half years outdoors in the cold, without food or shelter.  Would I have had the physical strength, the wits or the guile?  Probably not.  No, definitely not.  That’s why, with each flick of the broom, I say, “I’m like you, pops.  I’m sweeping, too.”

Should Prayer be Part of a Business Plan?

I have been asked on occasion, before undertaking a new business initiative, if I have obtained the blessing of a Rabbi.  Here in the secular, material post-modern western world, this is not question to which most people can relate, especially in Manhattan, where voodoo has more credibility than G-d.  This is not a sermon, by the way, just some thoughts about whether or not prayer should be a component of a business plan, along with advertising, marketing, networking, etc.

We are religious in the observance of the secular commandments that are essential to our success in business.  We go to networking events.  We use Facebook and Twitter to help make our websites socially relevant.   I’m 57 years old, and suddenly I find myself “tweeting” to an audience, even writing a blog.  We must pay homage to the secular god of our day and age, Google, in order that we may land on the sacred first page of web searches for our services.  Does it not also make sense to ask the true G-d of the universe to help us comprehend the mystery of Google’s algorithms, and help us achieve our business goals?  It doesn’t if we don’t believe in Him.  It doesn’t if we believe that after creating the world, He deserted his post.  It does, if we believe that He is within each of us, guiding the destiny of the world and of all living things.

In order to seek out the blessing of a Rabbi or spiritual leader of another faith, you have to first believe that obtaining such a blessing would in some way be effectual.  In the Jewish faith, some figures of particularly righteous character are believed to be capable of channeling G-d’s good will upon another.  Years ago, people would stand on line for hours to obtain the blessing of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the famed Lubavitcher Rebbe.  We learn from the Torah that even the blessing of an ordinary man, even a thief and a scoundrel can be beneficial.  

Most people that I know believe in G-d, but their ideas about the subject are very fuzzy.  Since G-d is an abstraction, most people do not relate to Him/Her in a concrete way, except through formal prayer, in synagogue and in church, and other houses of worship.  Most American Jews to not take a proactive role in prayer.  They rely on defense.  They go to synagogue once a year, (if they go at all), on the ominous Day of Atonement, Yom  Kippur, to ask  forgiveness for their transgressions.

The Jewish religion also affords an individual an opportunity to ask for G-d’s blessing, in the form of ritualized prayer, three times a day.  There is an optional prayer that one may insert in each prayer service that relates specifically to livelihood.

I recall a cartoon I once saw in a magazine of a man pleading with G-d to make him a lottery winner.  It showed a large dark cloud in the sky above him.  A zigzag lightning bolt emanated from the cloud along with a booming heavenly response:  “At  least buy a ticket.”

That’s the message of this muse.  If we want G-d to grant us success in business, perhaps we should consider buying the ticket.

Happy holidays to all.