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Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Editorial
Tough times call for the ingenuity of entrepreneurs
By E. Douglas Banks
MHT's Galen Moore: N.E. firms target individual carbon footprints
MHT's Galen Moore: Cambridge Innovation Center celebrates 10th anniversary
MHT's Galen Moore: Six Mass. tech firms head to world economic forum
Hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since the late-1990s age of telecommuting really took off. Back then, faster residential Internet speeds and a shift in workplace culture led to the notion that telecommuting was a way to attract and retain top talent. It brought about “hoteling” and “job-sharing” — employees using the same cubicle at different times of day or on alternating days, offering increased efficiency.
Telecommuting has always been touted as a work-life balance issue, but the truth is that companies are doing all they can to reduce fixed costs these days. And face it: People who work remotely do enjoy flexibility, but most of them would admit it’s hard to cut that tether when their workstation is right next to their kitchen. So companies battle which model works best: the cost of human interaction or the flexibility of a mobile work force. People need a place to meet, to plan, and, frankly, to get down to business. Well, we’re here to say they don’t need to sacrifice their desire for a good real estate deal at the altar of cost savings.
We asked entrepreneurs, architects, brokers, and landlords to offer up their advice on stretching the dollar in a down economy. For entrepreneurs, options abound for high-energy, low-cost centers of innovation and business incubators. For others, options range from vacant suburban buildings to business condos.
Sure, you can complain about longer sales cycles, tight customer purse strings and friends out of work. Or you can see opportunity: gently used equipment available on the cheap or sublease deals for wired, furnished space. These are the days for everyone to be entrepreneurial. After all, “entrepreneurship,” according to a definition offered to me by MIT’s Ken Morse, is “pursuing a project without having the resources needed to finish it.” And who isn’t in that boat these days?
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