Flexible Terms
The first in our series of blogs focusing on the stories behind the business spaces, we interview some of Flexspace’s unique and varied customers. The perfect small business space!
This month we highlight a flourishing business in Flexspace’s Swindon site: All About Flowers (http://www.swindonflorist.co.uk/) , and interview the founder and owner, Margarita Kurova.
“I’m originally from Estonia, and trained in a very different environment. I studied and graduated as a chemist and worked in my native Estonia for a large industrial chemical company for one and a half years.
I liked my colleagues and made some good friendships but realised that working as a chemist wasn’t sufficiently fulfilling for me. The work had some variety for me but as I was quite young at the time, spending the whole day in front of a computer screen I found was too constraining. The problem was, I knew what I didn’t want to do but I was yet to find out what I really wanted to do.
The other thing which I wanted to move away from was the incredibly cold winters we have in Estonia. Most winters the temperature can drop as low as -30 and snow can stay on the ground for half of the year. Or at least it feels that way!“
“No, not at all (laughs). I decided to do some travelling as this is such an interesting world to be a part of. As I studied German at school I went and lived in Koln for a few months. I enjoyed the experience but realised it wasn’t for me.
So then I got a job on a cruise ship for 8 months and decided I’d try England – despite knowing and speaking no English! I landed in the beautiful city of Bournemouth and whilst there decided to study floristry as I’ve always had a creative side and a love of nature. I also studied floristry in Russia and Holland so I was certain I’d found something that I love.”
“To be involved in something that nature created is a beautiful thing. I just love the creative side of the businesses as well. And to be involved in a business where there is so much happiness, is a wonderful thing.
You can’t beat the feeling of seeing the bride’s reaction on seeing her wedding day flowers or the touching messages of love that people send to each other. It’s really special.”
“I like to think that working with flowers is like composing a beautiful song one note at a time. And it’s not just flowers which provide the notes. I also use foliage, fruits, seed heads, sticks and catkins. Fabrics and ribbons also play a starring role in our creations. So maybe it’s more like a symphony than a song!
I never tire of that feeling when you create something wonderful which is appreciated by the customers. It still gives me such a buzz.”
“I take my inspirations from everywhere. The world around me, magazines, travels, gardens, markets. Anywhere really. You never know when an inspiring idea can hit you.”
“A couple of years ago, I decided to take the plunge and set up my own business.
It’s a wonderful feeling being in charge of your own future but it’s very hard work, with lots of early starts.
Once I’d secured the empty workshop premises for my business with Flexspace at a reasonable rental, I decided to take the plunge.”
“I think the thing that sets us apart from other florists is that we really take the time to try to understand what our clients want – whether it’s a final send off for a loved one or the theme of an extravagant wedding, we take the time to understand deeply what the customer is looking for – even if they aren’t completely sure of what they want at the time, we can help guide them.
“Plus I’ve a great team around me so it’s no surprise that business is continuing to grow.”
“I’d really like to do more competitions – if time allows. So far I’ve been an RHS Chelsea Flower show finalist and won a medal at RHS Hampton Court flower show! It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate your skill, creativity and expertise and learn a lot in a short space of time.”
“One of the great thing about being a Flexspace tenant is knowing that as my business grows, I can, with relative ease, match that growth to my business premises.
Plus, their spaces are really versatile – the units can be kitted out as workshop, office or studio.
The Pembroke Centre also has meeting/conference rooms – really useful for booking special events like my Christmas Wreath Making Party on the 10th December 2016 at 1pm.
Anyone wanting ideas for Christmas should click on my link below for tickets”:
http://www.swindonflorist.co.uk/flowers/Christmas_Wreath_Making_Party.aspx
Any businesses looking for versatile, flexible business space in The Pembroke Centre should click on the link below:
https://flexspace.co.uk/locations/swindon/
Open plan offices have become the norm in the UK in the last couple of decades. In the past, closed offices dominated. These days, the democratic feel of an opened up space is the preferred layout in most organisations.
However, not everything about an open plan office is desirable. What are the positives (and negatives) of turning an office space into an open one? And what exactly is a more flexible office – the so-called smart office?
Open plan offices foster a culture of communication and collaboration. Bosses work alongside junior team members. In particular, innovation-based businesses were early adopters of open plan. It helps with teamwork and staff cohesion.
In business cultures like these, good ideas can come from anybody in the company hierarchy. An open plan office certainly helps to level the hierarchy between senior staff and other staff. This allows for more voices to be heard.
In short, they are great for building team-focussed cultures as opposed to top-down ones.
Another key advantage of the open plan office is that it can improve the flow of information. For example order enquiries, order processing, purchasing, logistics and post-sale after care can be handled in one place. This offers a simple sequence within a business structure.
In an open plan office dedicated teams can still handle each phase. They are close enough to one another to pass information on. Either formally or informally. This can help weed out potential problems before they arise.
Chiefly, this is all done to promote a greater frequency of interaction between employees due to their physical proximity.
An open plan office also means that lighting and heating costs can be shared within a single space, so they tend to be money savers, too.
Despite the key advantages of open plan offices, there are downsides to consider, too.
For example, they can be busy and sometimes noisy environments. Some staff complain that they suffer from a certain loss of concentration.
With so many verbal and visual interactions between employees, too much communication can be a problem. This causes distractions and loss of productivity.
Background noise, generated by an open plan office, can mean that customers receive a less than professional service. One or other on the call may become distracted.
As well as the distracting side of open plan offices, there is a problem with privacy.
Staff and managers need to communicate in confidential ways sometimes. This can’t always be easy to achieve in a shared environment. Equally, commercially sensitive data needs to be handled privately. This can lead to problems of security if the office is too open.
Productivity can also suffer because germs are spread more easily between staff members in a shared space. This can lead to more time being taken off work for health reasons.
Finally, open plan offices may feel more democratic. But there is often no differentiation between senior members of staff and those lower in the hierarchy. Ironically, high-flyers can end up feeling undervalued and therefore choose to leave for a new opportunity. They miss being surrounded by the trappings of success.
The open plan office is evolving to meet the demands of modern businesses. Such offices take the best of open planned spaces and mitigate for their many disadvantages. Hot desking and smartphone connectivity are now favoured. In today’s offices, mixed use spaces provides the best of both worlds.
These include open plan areas for collaborative working. Cubicles and meeting rooms are useful for private talks or work that requires calmness, concentration and a contemplative approach.
In summary, the key to the so-called smart office is flexibility. Ultimately, this means being able to evolve rapidly to suit changing business needs.
And, that’s one thing that Flexspace is good at – meeting the needs of the modern business. So give us a call on 0800 033 4444 and let’s see whether we can form the perfect Smart Office around you and your colleagues.
Space is the last thing you need to be worrying about when dealing with the day-to-day trials of running a small business. With a hundred and one things to worry about before breakfast, being hampered by floor space limitations, location hangups or logistical roadblocks is frustrating.
Yet many small businesses struggle with these constraints. That’s why we believe in the value of a flexible, versatile working space. Flexspace business units can be offices, workshops, storage, stock rooms, call centres: we will set them up precisely the way you want them to be.
Even in the digital age, with most companies operating online, office space is still vital to the success of a typical SME. Geographical location affects everything from foot traffic to staffing levels, literally defining the limitations of any business.
Worse still, many businesses struggle along with their existing building without realising that a change of environment is not as expensive or disruptive as it may seem.
Flexspace managed workspaces operate on the twin concepts of versatility and utility, knowing that a company needs both room to grow and an optimised space to foster productivity.
With a variety of units across the country, such as major hubs in Liverpool, Milton Keynes and Swindon, our vision is a working space that lets businesses breathe, with room to expand as well.
The ability to grow and adapt quickly and easily is vital for the modern SME, whether it’s based in an office or industrial environment. That said, choosing the right location can sometimes feel as much an art as a science.
Typically, the most freedom is gained from a rental tenancy, but even those seeking the long-term security of a binding lease can plan for the future by selecting the right premises that allows you room to grow.
There’s a variety of ‘flavours’ when it comes to versatility, which is why we’re able to cater to self storage users, offer small workshops for rental and still provide commercial leases to small businesses.
The Milton Keynes Flexspace in the thriving Crownhill Business Area offers several units which can be adapted and personalised to the needs of expanding companies seeking to capitalise on that location.
Our Crawley space is a stone’s throw from Gatwick, with units as compact as 790 square feet which would be ideal for self storage.
Our Liverpool hub at Knowsley has units ranging from 5,000 square feet to 24,000 and more, giving access to major trade links for both small businesses and sole traders. These include the A580 linking Manchester and Liverpool, the M6, M57 and more, not to mention rail links just 2 miles away.
The key to flexibility is choice, which for us includes terms, unit types, locations and facilities, as well as floor size. Not every tenant can commit to a long lease. An industrial building may not suit a call centre. Some companies need special facilities to be fully effective.
Our answer to these needs and more is to create a hub space with a variety of units, able to adapt to each new tenancy, instead of just offering a carbon-copy industrial park with endless identical units. No two businesses are alike, so why should their working environments be identical?
There’s no doubt that a move to this kind of location can not only free your business of constraints like floor space limitations, but also open new doors which let your location work for you, providing a spur to growth and possible expansion.
Every business needs room in order to grow, so we’re proud to offer a variety of spaces to small businesses to take the next step in their development.
Take a look around our website and get in touch today to move your business onto more fertile ground.
Two of Flexspace’s longest serving Regional Managers are embarking on the Coast to Coast ride in aid of Cancer Research. Flexspace are proud to support their property business bike ride to help others in need.
Jon Cobbold, who manages the midlands region for Flexspace has been with the company for over seven and a half years. This year, as part of his pre-wedding plans, he chose to do this ride for charity.
Colin Carter, who manages the southern area for Flexspace has been with the company for over 8 years now and agreed to join Jon. Despite recently overcoming a knee injury, he has been in training for this event.
The two managers have been doing some hard training for the event. Taking up a fair bit of their spare time along with trying to raise money for this fantastic cause.
The Coast to Coast cycle ride is over 140 miles in length and several thousand feet of climbs over the distance. The men will complete the course over three days. They will pass through the Lake District and the Pennines.
They will climb the infamous Hartside Fell (5 miles of continuous climb at over 5% gradient) and finish in the North East at Tynemouth. To increase the challenge, they are also completing this on Mountain Bikes which are more suited to off road. The majority of this course will be on lanes and ‘B’ roads, so it’s going to be seriously demanding.
‘Flexspace and the managing agent (Mayfield APM) have been superb in helping them to reach the target of £1000.00 before the ride commences on 31st May 2016 and well on the way towards the £2000.00 that we want to achieve by the time we complete the course’
said Jon.
Are you looking for increased flexibility and reach without the downside of a long-term commitment or cavernous space.
Or perhaps as your staff shift to a more versatile working model, you need to be closer to where they live, and your customers are?
Flexspace has a dedicated multi-site team who can listen to you come up with all the options. To put together the perfect portfolio of locations and facilities to help your business thrive.
Call our dedicated team on 0800 033 4444, or
