"Why I Love Venture X" – The True Power and Outrageous ROI of Coworking in Naples A guest blog. Written by Tim Houghten of G-Code Magazine
Taking one last look online for office spaces in Southwest Florida before intending to open my own coworking venue, I stumbled upon Venture X. Now I'm a Venture X addict…and here's why… Forget all the regurgitated spam about saving money on brick and mortar office space of your own, getting out of your home so that you can work without the kids jumping on your laptop, gaining more credibility than working at Starbucks, or how much more freeing remote working and outsourcing is for a second.
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The #1 reason I love working at Venture X is the ROI
I am normally an overly miserly entrepreneur that could easily make Scrooge look like Santa Claus (just ask my kids), especially when it comes to business expenditures. In fact, my funding partner keeps on begging me to spend MORE money. If I spend a cent, it doesn't just have to be recouped, it needs to be returned many fold, and yield the maximum possible ROI. At Venture X it has. Like any good geek I've tested it. I worked here for a month. Took a month off to compare. Now I make sure to secure my membership for several months in advance so I don't have to miss a beat.
Even before launching G-Code Magazine, I saw a daily increase in earnings from working on freelance writing assignments and with business development clients. When it came to working on the new entrepreneur magazine the boost received from the Venture X gang was incredible. Seriously, after one conversation with Venture X founder Brett I had people shaking my hand and excited about the project. Other members were even promoting G-Code on Facebook before we had even written a single line of code or content, or the magazine had a Facebook page! While it's hard to pinpoint the direct ROI in dollars, between web traffic, brand leveraging, increased contacts and productivity the yield has easily been in the thousands of dollars range over the last few months alone.
Averting Loss
Before setting up residence here, I had actually chosen what I thought was a more prestigious virtual office in Miami, only to have mail lost, including a 5 figure cashier's check. At Venture X, you get an immediate email when you've got mail and there are secure mailboxes. So that's potentially tens of thousands in gains and maintaining your timing edge over the competition – priceless. Plus, unlike Starbucks, there is never a shortage of outlets, never masses of flies, the coffee is free (add $10 a day to net profits), and you don't have to listen to ridiculous conversations that trash your focus.
8 More Reasons Venture X Members Have The Edge On The Competition:
- Collaboration and cross promotion opportunities
- Highly focused work zone that dramatically increases productivity
- For home workers it'll absolutely make things at home a lot smoother too
- Increased web traffic
- Intelligent minds abound for instant access to resources other spend hours browsing Google for
- Convenient to food and shopping; Pandora for last minute Mother's Day gifts & Naples Flatbread for healthy seared tuna salads
- Professional meeting space
- Inspirational surroundings
(Note to Brett: please clear space in front of Steve Jobs' quote on the wall. That's the best part of the place, that everyone seems to relate too)
Don't Get It Twisted – Coworking Is Great For Introverts Too…
While coworking spaces like this are great environments for networking and meeting others, they are also extremely valuable for introverts too. I should know. I'm probably one of those natural introverts that could quite happily head off to the desert to fast and write for 40 days or hole up in a cave and meditate on my martial arts moves like a Buddhist monk for months. Yet, if you want to propel your freelance career or really launch an exciting startup that takes off right, coworking spaces like this are the place to do it. You can stay in your zone, undistracted or engage in stimulating conversation with plenty of diverse experts. Side bar: So I'm not really that miserable or angry – I'm just focused, and would love to help you grow your business too if you join the community here. Just don't sit in my favorite seat!
What Makes Venture X the Boss of Coworking Spaces?
- Amanda the office angel; always smiling and never lets anything rock her day
- Brett; for his patience, introductions and eagerness to help you promote your project
- You get missed, or at least everyone does a really good job at pretending they miss you if you are AWOL for a few days (Travis – where are you man??)
- It's full of friendly people that want to pull each other up
- Did I mention you actually get your mail?
BIG THANKS to all the Venture X crew (especially Becci & Lotus of the Lennon Group) and everyone else for your support, shares and visiting the site, even if you haven't yet, cause I know you will.
The Future Really Does Work Here…
Can't imagine ever wanting to move out, even for space needs. Thankfully the new remodel promises more private offices and team workspaces if you want it; so plenty of room to grow. Now we just need Venture Xs everywhere so that we can experience the same great environment when travelling.
