You Might Not Need an Office. You Might Just Need Office Evolution.

Recently, a representative from a financial planning and investment firm walked into Office Evolution Troy with a pretty common commercial real estate problem.

Their current office was no longer available.

Their new office wasn’t ready yet.

And their clients weren’t going to stop needing financial advice while they waited for construction to finish.

The initial estimate for their new space was about six weeks. Having been around commercial real estate and build-outs for a while, I smiled internally at that timeline. Maybe it will be six weeks. Maybe it will be three months. Maybe it will be six months.

Construction has a way of deciding these things for you.

In the meantime, their advisors can work from home. They can take Zoom calls. Their corporate branch handles their mailing address, so they don’t need mail service from us.

What they do need is somewhere to meet clients face-to-face.

And that’s where Office Evolution fits beautifully.

Do You Actually Need Another Office?

During the tour, the representative mentioned that they might be interested in a dedicated private office, depending on what their boss preferred.

Absolutely. We have those.

But I also suggested they consider something else.

If the team is already comfortable working from home, why pay for a dedicated office every single day when what you actually need is professional space for a few hours at a time?

Take a look at our Conference Room Plan instead.

They took the idea back to their boss.

And that’s what they chose.

Our Conference Room Plan is $69 per month and includes $60 in monthly credits toward hourly space. It’s the only one of our memberships specifically designed with conference room credits because we built it for exactly this type of client.

They don’t need to be here every day.

They just need us to be ready when they do.

An Office When You Need One

The Conference Room Plan gives members access to all of our hourly spaces.

There aren’t certain rooms they’re prohibited from using because they chose this membership. They can select the space that makes sense for the meeting they’re having that day.

Maybe one advisor is meeting with one client and wants a small, simple private office. We have an interior office for $15 an hour.

Maybe they want an executive-style window office. We have one available for $20 an hour.

Maybe they want something a little softer, with a couch and chairs.

Maybe the entire team needs to get together and they need a conference room.

Maybe three advisors all have client meetings at the same time and need multiple rooms.

Book what you need.

Use it for an hour. Use several spaces. Use it for a day. Come back next week.

The membership gives you the infrastructure without requiring you to carry the cost of a dedicated office that sits empty when you’re working from home.

For this particular firm, that’s perfect while they wait for their permanent office.

But they’re far from the only financial professionals we see working this way.

Financial Advisors Are Actually a Great Fit for Flexible Office Space

We have several financial advisors who use Office Evolution Troy in almost exactly this way.

Some are associated with larger investment firms that already provide their corporate address and infrastructure. They don’t need another mailing address. They don’t necessarily need another permanent office.

But they have clients throughout Southeast Michigan, and sometimes they need a professional place in Troy to sit across the table from them.

And when you’re asking someone to trust you with their money, the environment matters.

These aren’t meetings where you necessarily want to balance a laptop next to a half-finished latte at a coffee shop.

Privacy matters.

Presentation matters.

Technology matters.

The overall experience matters.

Our financial advisors know this, too. Almost universally, they arrive 20 or 30 minutes before their clients.

They get settled. They connect their laptop. They put their presentation on the screen. If something isn’t connecting correctly, we’re there to help troubleshoot it before their client walks through the door.

Their name is on the room.

The space is ready.

We greet their client.

We can offer them coffee.

And when it’s time for the meeting, the advisor gets to focus on being a financial advisor instead of being the IT department, receptionist, facilities manager and coffee runner.

Sometimes the Easy Button Is Worth Driving For

One of our existing financial professionals regularly sends her clients to our Troy location even when another flexible workspace would technically be closer.

Why?

Because she knows what she’s going to get here.

She has tried the alternative. She’s shown up elsewhere and discovered that questions had to be handled online, on-site support was limited, and even something as basic as the Wi-Fi wasn’t necessarily something the person at the location could help troubleshoot.

That’s frustrating when you’re working alone.

It’s a much bigger problem when your client is sitting there watching you deal with it.

At Office Evolution Troy, we’re here.

Need a paper towel? We know where it is.

Need a spoon? Got it.

Coffee? Absolutely.

Wi-Fi issue? Let’s figure it out.

Backup Wi-Fi? Yep.

Can’t get your laptop talking to the screen?

Let’s get it working before your client arrives.

These aren’t particularly glamorous things. They’re also exactly the kinds of little things that can turn an otherwise professional meeting into an unnecessarily stressful one.

Our job is to make the space the easy part.

Professional Doesn’t Have to Mean Permanent

There’s sometimes an assumption that serious professionals need serious real estate.

And I understand why.

If you’re an attorney, accountant, consultant, financial advisor or other established professional charging professional-level fees, you want your environment to support the image you’ve worked hard to build.

You don’t want to look temporary.

You don’t want to look cheap.

You don’t want your client wondering whether they’re paying premium fees to someone running their business out of a coffee shop.

But here’s the thing:

A professional office doesn’t necessarily have to be your office.

It just needs to work.

Office Evolution Troy isn’t built around pool tables and ping-pong tournaments. We’re not a coffee shop with some desks tucked into the corner. And we’re not a giant open room surrounded by glass walls.

We have real walls.

We have doors.

We have locks.

We have professional meeting rooms, technology, high-speed internet, staffed reception and hospitality.

And we have a frankly shocking assortment of coffee.

We’re a professional business center designed for people who want to walk in, get to work and have everything function the way it’s supposed to.

Keep an Open Mind About What Your Business Actually Needs

Our new financial planning client may only be with us for a few months.

That’s okay.

Our virtual memberships, including the Conference Room Plan, are month-to-month with 30 days’ notice to cancel. When their new office is finally finished, they can move into it.

Maybe that’s six weeks from now.

Maybe commercial construction has other plans.

Either way, we’re here to fill the gap.

But their situation is also a good reminder for professionals who aren’t between offices.

Keep an open mind about what you actually need.

Maybe you need a dedicated private office.

Maybe you don’t.

Maybe you love working from home 90% of the time and simply need somewhere exceptional for the other 10%.

You can still meet clients in a beautiful professional environment. You can still have your name on the door. You can still have someone greet your guest, offer them coffee and help you get the technology working.

You can look like you spent a fortune on your office without actually spending a fortune on your office.

Sometimes the smartest office isn’t the one you own, lease or occupy every day.

It’s the one that’s ready exactly when you need it.