Marcel van Marrewijk's Blog, page 15

Why Is Your Business Not Reaching 6 Figures?

There are many talks, myths, stats, goals, and suspense surrounding the “6 figure business class.” I’ll be asking and answering the right questions on this topic which will hopefully put an end to the curiosity bug in you looking for an answer to the question, “how to build a 6 figure business of your own?”

According to a study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, only 6% of businesses are actually capable of making 6 figures. This number further drops to 2% for businesses making 7 figures. It may come as a shocker that more than half of the business owners fail to earn more than $25,000 per year.

In a time where businesses have the power to reach potential customers across the world with a promising web app idea, why are there so few 6 figure earning businesses?

Because a business making 6 figures works differently and faces different parameters—Let’s find out how different is such a business and how you too can boost your business to make 6 figures annually.

How Much Is Enough For A 6 Figure Business?

Getting to six figures seems the ultimate goal of any business person starting a store or company in 2020. But the question remains, how much is enough as a six-figure income for a business? Because a six-figure can be anything ranging from a 100k to 999k, and that is a very vast range.

As turnover increases, so does the size of the business and with that changes the laws and regulations, the business model, pricing models, revenue sources, marketing strategy, and a million other things.

So which end of the 6 figure spectrum are you targeting to reach?

The Truth About 6 Figure Businesses

Just because everyone is chasing the 6 figure unicorn, doesn’t mean you also have to. There have been cases where businesses were more profitable when they operated on a smaller scale, and as they reached 6 or 7 figure, their sales increased, but profits dipped because the upkeep cost was way too much.

So, before we talk about how one can earn 6 figures from their business, let’s first see the truth behind the 6 figure myth that people don’t talk about.

When a business publishes their income report, what you’re often seeing is the gross sales and not the profit. This means that a food delivery service business can show $200,000 in sales, making it technically a “six-figure business”, but what they don’t mention is that it costs them $265,000 in expenses. So, at the end of the year, this company (although a 6 figure business) is in a loss for $65,000.

Let’s put the theory to a direct comparison.

Company A has an expense of $20,000 and makes sales of $75,000. So, the profit of company A will be $55,000.

On the other hand, we have company B with expenses of $145,000 and sales of $115,000 which brings the company in the 6 figure category but also incurs a loss of $30,000.

So, whose business model sounds better? Obviously, Company A even though it lies in the measly 5 figure bracket, but the profits are good (far better than company B that has only losses.)

My aim is not to demotivate you and glorify stagnant businesses. What I wish to advice is that you practice caution and common sense instead of running blindly towards a big, shiny looking number.

Now let us see what businesses like company A do wrong and how you can scale the business model of company B to a 6 figure approach.

Why Is Your Business Not Reaching 6 Figure Earnings?

There are 5 reasons from financial to psychological in nature that are hindering your business’ growth to a 6 figure entity. We’ll take a look at those 5 factors right now.

1. Experimenting Is Thought Taboo

Have you mixed chemicals in school’s chemistry lab practicals? Then you can understand that one can not get a different result by mixing the same two chemicals over and over again. So a business strategy that earns you a five-figure amount in sales can’t magically start getting your business a six-figure income all of a sudden.

You need to upgrade your business strategies with new ideas and thoughts and keep experimenting. Some ideas may fail while some will get traction and boost your sales towards your “6 figure” goal. So you and your team need to get creative and try new things until you hit the right chord.

2. Mass Vs. Class Approach

Would you like to serve 100 customers or 1000? Obviously 1000 sounds way better than just 100. But once again, numbers can lie and show you the wrong picture. What if I tell you that the 1000 customers will only buy from you once while the 100 customers will stay loyal and be consistent purchasers for your business.

Now serving the 100 seems a better approach than running behind 1000 one-time customers. This is the Mass vs Class approach of customer acquisition. The solution here is to find your target audience and serve them well enough that they bring more friends and family to you rather than you trying to chase uninterested people.

Remember that unless you are selling ice creams, you can’t make everyone happy, and then again some people are lactose intolerant. So rather than trying to please everyone, find the select dedicated audience for your business and serve them really well.

3. Unequal Energy In Different Phases of Business

The energy that you and your team brings to the business has a massive impact on your potential success or failure.

When you start a new project, follow a new passion, or in this case, start a business, you are more passionate about it and willing to sacrifice more for it in the beginning. But as things settle down slowly, you start to set up your own routine with other things in life, and the lack of energy and focus is visible towards the business.

Now one would think that the best thing is to keep giving more and more energy and time to grow the business. This could work, but only if you can keep that initial bolt of energy for the entirety of your business timeline, whether it is ten years or fifty years.

Do you really think that maintaining the same level of energy would be possible throughout the lifetime of your business? We all know the answer is a sad no, but that’s a good thing. Because now you know that running madly towards the red cloth will only make you a meaningless bull, and it’s time to become the matador rather than the bull.

You need to keep the excitement checked when initially launching the business so that you don’t get exhausted by the end of the year and start slacking. And as time passes, you find the hot spots across the year when your business makes the best sales, and concentrate higher bursts of energy on these times.

So you’ll have to set your goals and energies accurately and precisely directed towards the long-term growth of your business.

And this brings us to our next point.

4. Setting Wrong Goals For Your Business

Many businesses fail because they set the wrong goals or no goals. These goals could be in terms of financial performance, customer acquisition, expansion to new verticals, etc. One can easily set a goal to make their business’ profits grow 700% in a year, but when it comes to creating a viable plan to meet those goals and executing them through the year, reality hits hard (a rock to your head hard).

So, you, as the business owner or the wo/man in charge must understand what are the achievable goals for the business and if you are in the state to reach a 6 figure sales number this very year. Talk to your team, get an external consultant to review your books and your business plan and make sure that you are chasing something that is possible as well as beneficial to you and your business.

5. Weak At Team Building & Managing

Many entrepreneurs start from a grass root level, and hence they can’t stop getting into the bullpen. This may look like a dedicated individual, but this approach sabotages the team’s productivity and the chain of command.

I am not saying that you will not hire people, or hire wrong people for your business. Rather you will get the best people for the job but then hinder them from doing their job. Many business owners can’t let go of the “one-man army” concept and let people do what they are hired for.

You need to stop interfering in domains that are below your roles and responsibility, and just keep an oversight occasionally. When you get hands-on with your junior’s tasks, it leads to issues when it comes to accountability and responsibility, resulting in chaos and a failure to achieve your six-figure mark for your business.

Time To Fulfil Your 6 Figure Dream

Now it’s time to execute what you learned from this blog into your business and see that graph go up in a steady swing. Remember one thing, the journey that you went through to bring your business where it is at present was long, so reaching your 6 figure dream will also take time and consistent efforts and not some shortcut or quick fix.

Be patient and consistent in your actions, and you will see through your six-figure business dream.

The post Why Is Your Business Not Reaching 6 Figures? appeared first on Seats2meet.

Beat the late payment: steps to getting paid on time

This post is a guest post by FreeAgent, the award-winning UK accountancy software for freelancers, small businesses and their accountants. 

Late payments. Those two simple words amount to one of the biggest frustrations the freelance and small business community faces.

While this is a problem that has been around for some time, the government is now taking steps to try and resolve it. As well as the ongoing recruitment of a Small Business Commissioner to help resolve disputes and provide guidance, last month new legislation came into place forcing big businesses to make reports on their payments to small businesses public. While these changes may be a step in the right direction, the toxic culture of late payments will take a lot more than a little legislation to fix.

To mitigate the effects of pesky late payers, follow these steps:

Terms and conditions apply: make payment terms

First things first: make your payment terms known loud and clear. Your payment terms are the conditions that you impose on your customers to make sure that you receive payment within an acceptable timeframe. Before you start working with a client, draw up a brief summary of these terms, and ask them to sign it. As well as laying down your payment deadline (e.g. 30 days after invoicing), you might want to request a deposit in order to secure some of the cash upfront.

You can also preemptively guard against being paid late by introducing a late payment penalty into your terms. You can legally charge 8% interest plus the Bank of England base rate on invoices that are over 30 days late, and you’re also entitled to claim debt recovery costs of up to £100 for the inconvenience. Having a written agreement in place makes everything clear right from the beginning, and can give you a cast-iron comeback against any flimsy excuses.

Make sure invoices are completely accurate before sending

If your invoices are missing information, then you’re giving your clients an opportunity to take advantage. It’s vital that you list your full business details, plus a rundown of the work completed and a clear cost breakdown in your invoices. Be sure to include any late payment penalties, and if you like, you could even include your full payment terms on every invoice.

Do you use services like PayPal, GoCardless or Stripe? Make your invoices even slicker by adding an instant payment link, so making that payment couldn’t be any easier.

For more ways to make sure your invoices are untouchable, check out these tips to make sure it stands up to client questions.

Be assertive, but don’t ruin your client relationship

Relationships with clients can often be a little tricky, requiring you to constantly toe the line between being friendly, yet professional. However, if you want to keep things sweet between you, then it’s crucial that you be assertive and upfront about your payment terms.

Part of taking a firm hand could be requesting immediate payment for any work done. Our research has shown that small business owners who issue zero-day terms, often get paid far quicker than their more lenient counterparts.

Send a prompt, professional invoice (FreeAgent offers a gallery to choose from, so it’s easy to find one that fits your brand) and you’ll be off to a flying start. Once you’ve sent that invoice out, don’t be afraid to chase your client up. Be firm yet friendly, and remember – you’re only asking for something that is rightfully yours! To really take the awkwardness out of repeated invoice reminders, let FreeAgent take care of it by sending automated invoice reminders out for you.

Take it to the courts

If after all these measures your client still hasn’t paid, you’re well within your rights to take legal action. Whether it’s taking your case to small claims court, referring the matter to a debt collection agency or even getting a solicitor involved, you have lots of options to help claim what is rightfully yours. Check out our comprehensive guide on options for UK-based small businesses faced with this situation.

For more helpful articles to help you run your business and demystify the UK accounting landscape, visit the FreeAgent guides section. 

The post Beat the late payment: steps to getting paid on time appeared first on Seats2meet.

6 Technologies We Feared at First but Grew to Love

Technology moves at what often feels like a blazingly fast pace. Just as everybody is getting used to one technology in their day-to-day life, another is on the horizon. Many new technologies often seem scary when they are first introduced. We fear for our health, our safety, and our privacy. As time often reveals, though, the fears are usually unfounded and we come to love and embrace the new technologies like they were always part of our lives. 

In this article, we’ll highlight six technologies that were feared when first introduced, but in the subsequent years, we have grown to love and embrace. 

Fingerprint Login 

Biometric security systems—security authentication using elements unique to a person’s biology such as fingerprints or irises—were once purely seen as the territory of high-security facilities and the big screen. When fingerprint login technology first started making it to the consumer market, people were worried that it both wouldn’t be secure, conjuring images of spies using sticky tape to lift prints, and would put their uniquely personal data at risk from big corporations. 

The first fingerprint login enabled consumer device was released back in 2004, the Pantech GI100, but it wasn’t until 2013 with the iPhone 5S that the world truly began to embrace the technology. Nowadays, it’s hard to think of unlocking a phone without it. 

Voice Search 

Voice search is now a feature of many of the things we do; it’s in our phones, tablets, computers, and even our homes with the like of Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple’s Siri. But when it was first conceived people were apprehensive that voice search technology would lead to various companies listening in to everything we do and using that information pushed even more targeted, and unwanted, marketing at us. 

Cryptocurrency 

Cryptocurrency is only just over a decade old, and for a long time was seen as a niche gimmick for tech-orientated users. People never thought it would become a genuine currency, and were scared that it’s purely digital nature would make it easy for your hard-earned money to simply disappear at a moment’s notice—we’ve all suffered from data loss before. Cryptocurrencies have had their ups and downs, but today cryptocurrencies are used to accept payments by some of the largest companies in the world such as Microsoft, AT&T, and Wikipedia, with many more companies run trials in certain areas. 

Virtual Reality 

People may never really have been scared of virtual reality, but it was meant with a fair degree of scepticism. Outside of a few very niche cases in places like Disney World, virtual reality technology was largely seen as a gimmick with no real-world applications. As the technology developed and became more affordable, people soon discovered that virtual reality has a wide variety of uses. 

Today, virtual reality systems are used in almost every industry, from entertainment to design. Businesses such as home renovation or developers are able to create VR walkthroughs to allow customers to see their designs virtually before the build physically starts. 

 

Self-Driving Cars 

Self-driving cars were decidedly seen as a technology of the future. They sound great in theory, who wouldn’t want to be chauffeured to work in the morning while sitting back and relaxing with a coffee? But they also came with fears of automated cars driving people off the road and causing fatal crashes. While self-driving cars haven’t quite become commonplace yet, they are well on their way to becoming so. Trials are running around the world from several major car manufacturers and so far, the technology is as safe as we could possibly hope for and is only getting safer and more efficient as time goes on. 

Electric Cars 

When the concept of electric cars was first introduced people weren’t exactly thrilled at the prospect, and their fears weren’t unfounded. Initial models were underpowered and had an incredibly short range. Adding to which charging stations were few and far between, meaning that if you did run out of power, you risked being stranded. The technology has moved a long way in a short few years, and electric and hybrid cars now are the transport of choice for many people around the world. They compete toe-to-toe with traditional cars on features, power, and range, and charging stations have become mainstream in both rural and urban settings. 

Most of these technologies have only risen to become commonplace in our lives over the past few years. In that time, they have gone from the thing we were fearful or apprehensive about to things we have learned to rely on every single day. It’s impossible to tell what the next technological leap will be, and which of them will be the next thing we all grow to find invaluable in our lives.

 

The post 6 Technologies We Feared at First but Grew to Love appeared first on Seats2meet.

Nice2Meet: Interview with Maria Calafatis, Co-Founder of The Cube Athens

Image: Maria Calafatis & Stavros Messinis, Founders of The Cube Athens

“It’s supposed to be Hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it Great” Interview with Maria Calafatis Co-Founder at The Cube Athens.

On my previous post, I’ve shared my journey with Seats2Meet and the co-working space industry in Greece. In this post, I will be sharing with you an interview that I’ve had the pleasure to conduct with Maria Calafatis, Co-Founder at The Cube Athens, the first and the largest co-working space in Greece. I’ve had the pleasure to discuss with Maria Calafatis about the situation in the co-working space industry in Greece, and how the COVID – 19 situation influences the industry.

About Maria Calafatis

Maria is the Co-Founder at The Cube Athens Workspace.

Athens’ largest co-working community, which hosts some of Greece’s best experts in technology.

The Cube is also home to most of Athens’ technology events, hackathons, innovation sessions, and training events.

Through coding and business boot camps, The Cube is creating the next generation of top tier coders and business makers.

Member of the Startup Weekend – Global Facilitation Team and has been involved with Startup Weekend since 2009, helping organize, facilitate and bring new Greek cities to the SW family, after Athens, Volos, Patra, Larissa, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, and the latest addon StartupWeekendGreeceCovid19RemoteGlobalEdition, where all SW Greek cities joined forces as one to represent Greece to fight COVID-19 Virtually.

SW junkey, xa, having facilitated over 20 events around the world in cities such as Vlasic, Torino, Copenhagen, Limerick, Saarbrucken, Moldova, … and Plymouth this Fall.

Her first business was founded at a Startup Weekend.

Maria was invited to join as a fellow to the RSA community in 2016 which provides a platform for the world’s leading thinkers, sharing their ideas online, while their Action and Research Centre search for new and innovative ways to solve society’s greatest challenges.

She loves challenges and connecting with people with the same mindset as her own and turning nothing into something huge & impactful.

Her Motto: “It’s supposed to be Hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it Great”

Athens, September 1st,2020

Ricardo: Could you please define what co-working means to you?

Maria: I would say that the most critical factor is the community.  It is about understanding the needs, the talent within the community you provide for but most importantly, building bridges among startups and entrepreneurs and ensuring that it is a vibrant environment people want to be part of. It is a relaxed meeting spot where things happen, where the magic happens, where people get connected, exchange ideas, feel at home. There are projects, ideas, and startups evolving faster and more comfortably, as opposed that if you were working alone in your pyjamas in your flats.

Ricardo: What are the opportunities that coworkers get in your space?

Maria: The opportunities they get is the features that they get in the space such as good internet connection, there is coffee ready in the kitchen, the calendar is filled with events, access to fully-equipped meeting rooms, so those are the everyday essentials and services but as I mentioned previously is the fact that coworkers have the outreach and that they belong to a community, where it can be anywhere from people who are just starting even to meeting very successful local and international startup or speaker, which is something again that you wouldn’t be involved and wouldn’t have access to if you would be behind four walls, whether that is a private office away from a co-working space or your house again.

Ricardo: To what extent locals in Greece are interested in using co-working spaces?

Maria: I think Greece in general, we were the first one who opened a co-working space in Athens ten years ago then called collab; the idea was pitched at a hackathon. Things were very new and mature in Greece, even then when we went to the tax office with all the paperwork to establish, people did not know what co-working meant, what is a startup, what is innovation. Thus, they were terrified about it, and they were not very open-minded. We also acknowledged that in Greece and the mentality within the country is that they want to change but with baby steps, no matter what that change is. They do not want the change to arrive quick and disruptive; they need baby steps, they need to understand the process thoroughly, to see that is happening, and once they see that is happening and succeeding, it is easier to get involved and to be part of it. In the past ten years, the startup community has been growing and matured, and of course, COVID – 19, has brought a lot of change. We see this also with big established companies, the managers and the bosses are more open-minded into flexible working hours and flexible work because with the lockdown, we were forced to work from home for three months, and things had worked and now they realised that things do work and now it makes more sense to be flexible with your team members, than requiring from everybody being in a physical space, which because with everything that is happening because of COVID, people are trying to be more cautious and when it’s a big team or company, people are working in a rotation mode and let’s not forget, it also cuts costs for the company instead of taking over a whole building and having to pay for 50 or 500 seats, and suddenly if you have people working remotely, and you give them an X amount of money per months on benefits, and let them choose where they would like to work from we also know that this creates a lot of creativity, thus it makes sense instead of having everybody coming in. We see this often. The fact that COVID – 19 has cut down a lot of utility expenses on any big company.

Ricardo: Since you mentioned COVID – 19, do you believe that people and companies will be inclined to use more co-working spaces?

Maria: I do! At the Cube, we had freelancers and digital nomads, and it is a model that has been running for years now. In Greece, it has not yet been reached, but because COVID – 19 is a global challenge, I do think, and I do see that this is a worldwide movement that will happen. Somebody might catch up with it later than others, but it is only a matter of time, and again it makes sense. The freelancers and the digital nomads that have been coming, a lot of them are not based in Greece, and the company might be in the U.K. or the U.S., but they can work remotely, and they choose to travel the world or to go back to their base, we have a lot of Greek ex-pats that are also coming to Greece in Christmas, summer, and Easter, they come one or two weeks earlier, they spent ten days working and then the second week they spent time with their families. Therefore, is a model that is working, just getting the V.P.’s, managers, and CEOs, especially when it’s a startup environment; the mentality is already there because it comes with nature. However, when it is an old-style or old school company that has not got into that yet, but again with COVID – 19, it has brought a lot of change. If you do not brush up your skills and if the company does not move up, it will be a company that will not survive for too long and will be affected by it.

Another thing that we see is that even startups in Greece can have anywhere between 50 -300 employees physically working in Greece, and they are also hiring a lot. Due to the brain drain that is going on in Greece, with many Greeks leaving the country due to the economic crisis, this is also great to attract Greeks back. If they can work remotely, they can work from wherever they are currently and slowly attracted to their hometown. Thus, it makes sense.

Ricardo: How has your business been impacted due to COVID – 19?

Maria: The business changed very suddenly, it was and its still very uncertain times. I remember in the last week of March, we heard about the COVID – 19 on social media, and we could see and understand that things were difficult, but the situation was under control, and it was not difficult in Greece. But then I remember, we were sitting here and our community that consisted of digital nomads, and one of them was checking online and saw that Athens airport was about to close in the next three hours. As a result, all the digital nomads were looking at that time to book tickets and getting to the airport as fast as possible. I remember going picking up my son from school at 12 o clock, and then by three o clock, the mayor was on T.V. announcing that schools are closed as of today until further notice. Therefore, we saw that things were moving very quickly, and at the 8-o clock news, they also announced that the country would go into full lockdown. Our space and operation that has been running for the past ten years have never shut down. Even on August 15th, which is a popular holiday in Greece, our team is big enough, and we take shifts so that space and activities always runs. Even if we would close for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, we have never been forcibly closed. It was saddened for us to forcibly close for three months, as we were not ready, and we had a calendar filled with events.  Our business is about the community and catering to its needs. We have never canceled anything; instead, we might reschedule, so we needed to think quickly, how we are going to act, and what we were going to do. Therefore, we did what everybody else did, and we left work on Friday night, we went home, we took our laptops with us and the essentials so we can start working from home. However, it is not working from home, it is different than I’m working from home, and it’s different when you choose to do so, and it’s different when you are forced to work from home. Suddenly, operations were shut entirely, and on March 26th, we were completely shut, everybody was.

The city was on full lockdown, and over that weekend, we were discussing the next steps, always aiming to be close to the community. We are in very uncertain times; nobody knows what is happening, but we cannot just disappear until the state announces that we can go back. Therefore,   we came up with a new brand called ‘virtual meet up a guest at home,’ where what we did is that we reached out to our friends in the community, brought in every day at 7:00 a different guest speaker. He/ she would pick a topic; we would give him 30 minutes to present and then open for 30 minutes Q& A. You can find all our videos under our Facebook page, The Cube Athens, under section videos under the brand of ‘virtual meet up guest at home.’ It was a great benefit because we also started reaching out and talking to possible speakers they were not even based in Greece or Athens, which meant and means that with the push of a button, with a great tool like ZOOM, people were connecting globally not only enough and spent in Greece but also globally which is a win-win for us. During the lockdown, we also ran about a 1 ½ month, hackathon with the same brand we pitched our idea (to open The Cube)  10 years ago and set up the first co-working space here in Athens, the Co-Lab. At the hackathon, we managed to attract about 300 participants from all over Greece not only from Athens, with people joining from the U.K., U.S., Dubai, Singapore, India, which is amazing again so we very quickly understood that things were moving very fast and there we were used to doing or activity physically and let’s not forget that doing things physically takes a lot more time in preparation especially when you need to bring out a speaker or you need to deal with sponsorships or you need to do with expenses and getting the person out. Herewith the push of a button, every day at 7:00 we were on air. To give you an illustration, I reach out to you you’re in Ecuador I said: Ricardo hi, I’d love you to join the guest at home in two weeks from now 10 days 2 weeks which gives us just enough time to promote and announce on social media. Then, you would say yeah Maria that’s my date I’ve got a free slot there, send me the topic send me a short description of your presentation a short bio and we’ll set which was great fun, of course, we and the community would miss each other because you can’t beat this it’s only different being online every day than being able to shake a hand meet somebody over a coffee meet the rest of the community and host events here. After 3 ½ months of lockdown, we came back to space,  we continued running guest at home and whenever the speaker was based in Athens,  we would invite the community to visit our space, and meet the guest speaker in person or you can continue watching us online. However, I think that people were still very cautious, thereby people would not come in because people would avoid taking public transport for one that was the biggest challenge. Therefore, everybody was going around even to get to work with their car and people were trying to avoid going to the city center unless it was necessary and because they knew that we were online it makes sense we could be on zoom or Facebook live and we even see it now I mean with the community and with our members even on the floors below there still working on a rotation mode a lot of the companies and a lot of the startups have announced that until the end of the year it is that flexibility because it’s still a lot of uncertainty we don’t know what to expect and there are rumors over a second lockdown any time after October or November. Moreover, we are waiting for schools to open mid-September and they are waiting to see what will happen with those cases wise. With tourism was doing so well before to resent and with the case is that of course we tourism the numbers I have skyrocketed on the other hand Greece is a country that lives out of tourism and it was a very tough choice to exclude tourism this year and depend on local tourism so as the economy to survive. I don’t think we will be going into full lockdown again because the economy will collapse it won’t survive so the discussion that whatever lockdown they’ll go into next it will go depending on the cases and depending on the area and they’ll try and control that area out.

I am facilitating a hackathon this November in Plymouth and am supposed to be there last spring. However, as everything was canceled, we will do it virtually for now and then I had asked me to come next spring physically. Again, we are going through uncertain times, however, the good thing here is that it is a global challenge, and that brought us closer, to find ways as we are now and to collaborate and build relationships. Being online is a great tool that helps you connect that way there are a lot of benefits. I am not stressed and worried about the business per se, because with every crisis there is an opportunity, and you need to seek that opportunity and for sure being digital has got amazing benefits to it too. But again, as I mentioned it is a different experience being virtual. I see that the ex-pat community is not as worried about it because it also doesn’t forget their communities that are constantly on the move so they see a lot not only in Greece but when you’re a freelance or digital normal and you travel this is a lifestyle that you have. You are exposed to the law so you’re tougher both mentally and physically compared to if you’re an individual that has always stayed in his hometown and this is your comfort zone this is your this is what you know you know when you’re happy with that. We also have a couple of members that were here before the lockdown, they ended up here when everything was shut down, so they were forced to stay in Athens and they’re now looking into Athens and stay longer. This is because they see it as an opportunity, I mean there are a couple of members in the space that were rented out accommodation long-term and they are looking into staying here longer. Besides,  Greece is not such a bad place to be under lockdown, because the weather is very good the culture is amazing there is a lot of dudes is a lot to see so it makes sense. This morning I have spoken to three of our collaborators and we are now looking into already in September scheduling the first workshops to see how that goes and how the community will respond to that. When scheduling events, we are allowed to have up to 50 people in the space, so we are going to aim for that and see how it goes. You cannot stop your activity completely we were forced for three months now that we are not forced to go into lockdown, we will play with the idea and see what the community is comfortable with. Being an entrepreneur is about the roller coaster, the uncertainty and we strive for that and we love it, and I am sure it will bring a lot of opportunities. Another thing we’ve seen is a lot of one of the services that we provided at The Cube is hiring, and we’ve also seen a lot of international companies they see and they seek talent and it makes more sense to hire three developers in Greece and have them work remote or having it work from Greece then highly one in the USA.

Ricardo: Therefore, you are also trying to connect Greek professionals with professionals from abroad

Maria: What I am saying is that a Greek has a lot of talent, and the payroll is a lot more flexible than it would be somewhere like the U.S. Another thing we see is Greeks from the board who have already established abroad also trying to help and give back to their country and bring some connection with their roots, by opening a second branch or they’re trying to start offside projects in Greece and Athens and they’re looking for somebody to facilitate that for them. Thereby, by knowing us,  that we are the oldest ones in the market so they will come to people like us to help them run and facilitate all of that for them and we touch base with them like once a week what’s the project we look for the candidates we will do the hiring, all the bureaucracy behind it and then once a week once a month we touch base with them and see what the project is what are the ends of the week of the month and how do we achieve them. This way we also bring the talent from abroad back to Greece and there is a lot of startups like Skroutz. gr who is attracting positions for the brain drain and attracting Greeks that have left to abroad.

Taking the case of the U.K, due to Brexit,  a lot of Greeks have left the U.K and now they seek a reason to come back to Greece because startups under the environment around startups and around and entrepreneur, is completely different than an old mindset mentality 10 or 15 or 30 year ago mentality boss that is very stuck in his mentality and doesn’t want to bring innovation and creativity into space. We see that happening a lot and then we also see a lot of quite a few international companies who have come to Greece and are adapting and starting their branch here. Therefore, a lot is happening with uncertainty there is also a lot of things that will happen and arise. Greece is also a country that has been through a lot. If you think about it, we have been through three crises in the last six years. Namely, we have had an economic and refugee crisis and now we have a coronavirus crisis.  Therefore, the mentality and the culture of a Greek and the young generation have toughened up. Compared to 10 – 15 years ago, everybody wanted to work for the Greek state and with the economic crisis when they saw that even their things won’t be stable, they saw it that was not a stable job for life anymore. Moreover,  with so much unemployment, they realized that you either need to go out there and make it or break it or you need to leave and that is how we thrive in a period of crisis. We’ve started The Cube Athens, at the heart of the economic crisis, but because of the difficulties and challenges that the country was facing and young people due to unemployment, they needed a space like this where innovation, creativity, and startups were welcome. We’re running a lot of events and welcoming people and advising and mentoring it started boosting because when you are pushed to your limits, and you are in a tough position, that’s where you think the best. We saw this happening and where I am getting at is that after three crises, the future graduates will be a generation that will not expect everything to be handed to them on a platter. It will be a generation that because they have been through three crises, ‘ve also seen a lot of opportunities, and that opportunity with that crisis we will see a lot of creativity and a lot of opportunities arising. I am looking forward to that too you know it is not all that.

Ricardo: Do you think that coworkers in Greece and general locals in Greece, are eager to come to co-working spaces, share openly their knowledge and expertise among them?

Maria: At the open co-working area like the gentleman sitting at the outside Christos, he is Greek and used to work in Volos, a city outside of Athens, and he could work remotely. As Christos has family, friends, and a flat here in Athens, he decided to move here, because even if Volos was quiet, it is a small city. He has that kind of mentality even during COVID – 19. However, this also has to do with you as a person, culture, and character, and how you have been brought up.

When we have Greeks traveling from abroad, yes, they will use co-working space. But again, I think COVID – 19 has will bring a lot of change when it comes to sharing knowledge and know-how in a place like this yes because therefore people come here. After all, people want to be connected. The mentality of ‘let us sit around the table’, let’s bring yours and my know-how to the table and see how we can do something cool together,  you didn’t see that happening 10 years ago. If I expected help or a contact introduction from you, your first comment would be what is in it for me. That has significantly changed with the younger generation and the generation that is coming into it now. Still, truly depends if you talk to 50 or 67 years old, it would be more difficult to introduce that kind of mentality, compared to a 30- or 40-years old individual, who is open-minded to it. It has to do with how your personality and how open-minded you are as a person and how involved you are in general. If you are someone who is involved with co-working spaces like The Cube, Stone Soup, or Foundation, the big players of the city, this is what it is about. We are not competing between us because each one of us has an identity and we cater to our community. We will meet once a year or for a common event, where the whole community comes together whether it is a social event, hackathon, or community event for Athens. You will always see us mingling together.

Ricardo: I’ve visited SPACES in Monastiraki to see how they operate, and I’ve had to wear a face mask, which I’ve found somewhat uncomfortable, because you can’t breathe, but again it is compulsory as they’ve instructed. Given the current situation, I would like to ask you, how do you think you can improve the customer experience at The Cube Athens, given the current situation and the measures you need to enforce?

Maria: Since you have been with us for two days, as you could see, we keep at least 2m distance, the clean lady is here every day and thus everything is being disinfected. There are sanitizers throughout the space, reception. Instead of only ‘hi welcome’, now you would say, ‘hi welcome, and here’s a sanitizer’ and you will find sanitizers in the bathrooms and kitchen areas. We are not forced to work with masks, and we do not want to force our customers or maybe a better community to do so. In our community, we’ve had a meeting or two, where our guests walked in with masks and sat across from us for a whole hour or two-hour meeting and didn’t take the mask or gloves off, which is completely the guest’s choice. It is not enforced by law, but we have been cautious, and we are trying to respect all the measurements that we can. Simultaneously, as you have mentioned, we do not want to be too strict and drive away from the community, but we do not want to be too flexible, scare the community and drive them away. The building is very big, we have 1800 sq. thus when it comes to business, we have the appropriate space and accommodation to do so and to keep so that is not a problem. Event-wise, we can host events of up to 50 people and we are going to be the first ones in September. Events will be planned and scheduled, which you can find on our website the cube. gr under the events or to MeetUp.com/TheCubeAthens where everything will be announced on a daily or weekly basis. Our guest at home virtual meet up, will be up and running as of the 13th of the month also. We are very keen and eager to start running events and activities in our space to get back to normal as people say. However, I do not think we will be getting back to normal, because normal will not be like what we have used to before the pandemic. There will be a lot of change, but you know, change is good because you need it. The same way we change ourselves and up-skill all our skills and once, even at home without formal clothing or our stills and everything, whether it is a new haircut, nail color, or house decoration. I think it is the same thing, I think that people do not need to fear change, but instead embrace and welcome it and find ways to be innovative and enjoy it. Entrepreneurs will be more at ease in adapting than somebody who is used to waking up in the morning and doing things in a certain way because this is how it’s normally done, and I’ve been programmed to do it that way. People tend to not have a lot of fun when you have been programmed, and you just do the same thing repeatedly. One thing I love about this space and my job is that I never know what my day will look like, we have a lot of people coming in, at our space, and many business and collaboration opportunities, and the one brings the other. Again, there are no limits, and you get a variety of people you meet and events that you can run, and collaborations you can be part of. That does not give you a minute of the day to be bored or dulled, instead, it allows you to grow, innovate and bring more things to the table and just make it happen and this is the best part of being here and running a space like The Cube.

Ricardo: Considering the current health / economic situation in Greece, what is the future in the co-working space industry, and what is your role in the future development of the industry?

Maria: I think that we are going to see more companies using co-working spaces for their members, their employees as I mentioned in the beginning. Because of COVID – 19, the measures and the fact that they cannot have many people in a space. Two months ago, we’ve had somebody who was running a company with approximately 500 members, and he was telling us that by law, a company that big, can’t have more than 200 people working physically in the space, because they need to keep a distance. Therefore, out of the 500 employees, they can only have 200 in, and each week they change the 200, it is a rotation mode, and the rest are working from home. That guy came in and he said that it does not suit him working from home due to many distractions at home. He said that he is not creative at home and that he wants to wake up in the morning, have a shower, get dressed, and leave the house as people were forced to be locked in their houses for three months. For some people though working from home might work and I saw that myself. I do not like working, but I was forced to do it. The first week was absolute chaos, because work from home, deal with work, family, and run a hackathon. I remember that the first weeks there were days that I did not eat breakfast or shower and I was just there, trying to please everything and make sure that everything gets done, family and work, everything. It was chaotic! Then, I’ve needed to go back to my routine, waking up in the morning, have a shower and breakfast, have a work schedule, I need to have breaks, I need to do my cooking, I need time with my family and myself. When I have started planning that, it was working a lot better. Again, I mean for myself as an individual, I think it helps to keep family and home completely separate because when you go home, you are going to an environment where you want to be with your family to distress and to close the door of the work environment and vice-versa. When you bring everything together, it may sometimes cause chaos and challenges and it does not work for everyone.  I like the fact that I need to wake up in the morning and that I can close the door and leave that I’ve dealt with and that now this is my creative time, this is now where I need to focus but it depends on each person. As a co-founder and community manager, I love working in the open space with the communities, but sometimes you also get pulled away from your project or your work because you need to deal with the customer, the project, the phone, the printer, and with whatever else comes with a new guest. Maybe, what I would consider is working remotely a day or two per week where again maybe work from home, but I again my creativity comes from working with people because I love people. I am not creative when I am working completely isolated. Maybe working from a different space whether it is a co-working space, a library, or a cafe probably variety. I believe it is like working out, you need variety. If you are always in the same thing repeatedly you get tired of it. Therefore, a combination of working remotely and physically in space and I think that goes for a lot of people. If you have had the flexibility of allowing people to let them work from when they want and how they want and even the schedule. A lot of people are not morning people they may work better in the afternoon or the evening and we should not exclude that. Again, it has to do with each individual and as far as space is concerned, as I mentioned we are running the first events. Now in September, there are rumors of a second lockdown but again, nothing is official and until it does or if it does, we are keeping it positive and full speed ahead, we want the activity and the spaces. As you can see is busy, we have people coming through space and we hope we can have and welcome more people. On the floors below, we have the offices, which are mainly the teams and the startups that have their headquarters with us, while here where we are sitting is more the open space, where you can find freelancers, digital nomads, visitors, walk-ins. This is the community, the space floor where everything happens, and it is very vibrant. This is where people come for their coffee lunch break. There is only one printer in the building and it’s here on purpose, cause we want people moving throughout the space, and that’s why we’ve done things like the following: we would offer coffee, but I will place it on the sixth floor (the open space) and not on the rest floors. Namely, if people on the rest floors want coffee, they will need to come to the sixth floor to grab the coffee.

Ricardo: … and then you can connect with people!

Maria: Exactly! We have come up with tricks like this, to get them through. This is the only floor in the building with a veranda and we give on purpose this floor to the community, so everybody must go through it. All the floors have meeting rooms, but all members have access to this meeting room that we are sitting in and the meeting room across. The meeting rooms on this floor, are a lot nicer because there is daylight, they are bigger, comfortable, and fully equipped and nothing is missing. Downstairs are equipped but someone might move the projector from one meeting room to the other, they might run out of paper or they might not have markers. Still, they will need to come to the sixth floor and ask us to provide them with what is missing or get it themselves. Moreover, they will ask other members of the community about things like passwords and thus, they will need to talk to each other. Of course, due to COVID – 19, we do not do this often because of social distancing i.e. people do not want to give a handshake and we respected it. However before, we would tell them: “since you are in the community, welcome to the community, this is The Cube, everybody speaks perfect English, and everybody speaks to each other and are very friendly. If you want the password, you will need to talk to find it out from the members of the community”. Another example is the plugins, people will ask each other and say that Maria keeps them on this box, or this is the password. Small things to ensure that spaces are always active and vibrant, and things are happening. This is something you have seen yourself. You have been with us for two days, I worked at the same place as you are working. My desk gives me enough visibility of the floor so that I know and assist if anyone wants coffee or somebody is coming in or if there is anyone that needs help with the printer and co-working. I have full access to the community, and I like working with them. I do not need to be locked in a private office because it does not represent me and my position towards the community. My position is about being there for the community, being open-mindedly involved with them, caring for them, providing them with anything that they need, and this is something I love because I gain a lot. Even I was here over the weekend because we have had a working going on, which had nothing to do with entrepreneurship and startups, but it was about a first aid course by doctors catering to younger doctors. Those type of kind of events and meetups might be happening, I will be there to help them with anything they need while I am also working on my tasks. Things that we have learned, and we are constantly learning from being in a space like this and catering for space like this are amazing, and its great fun!

Ricardo: Indeed, it is great fun and I like that yesterday we just connected by giving you something to print now look here we are here. Again, thank you very much for taking up your time to meet me and answering my questions!

Maria: It was a great pleasure, Ricardo!

About The Cube Athens

Founded in 2013 by Maria Cafatis & Stavros Messinis, The Cube is a community of people who love innovation, are open to new ideas and, actively work for positive change.

More than a startup co-working space, accelerator or incubator, The Cube is defined as the « community melting-pot  » where, Cube members are encouraged to embrace learning, share expertise, exchange experiences and, celebrate success together.

Located at the heart of Athens in Aiolou Street in a seven floor building, The Cube provides offices, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, a workshop area and event spaces. The Cube hosts many Greek and international startups, digital nomads, designers, developers and change makers.

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Which technology is best for mobile app development?

In the competitive digital world, mobile is a pivotal arena that helps businesses to achieve their desired goals. The mobile app sector has grown immensely. Data shows that the figures for mobile app downloads in 2019 were at 204 billion apps, and by 2021 they might cross over 592 million daily app downloads. The growing demand for mobile apps has also increased the demand for mobile app developers. Entrepreneurs understand the importance of mobile apps, so they started to hire developers to build interactive mobile apps for their businesses. Through mobile apps, businesses can attract larger audiences, gain their attention, and allow them to use their product and services. 

Types of mobile app 

Let’s first understand the types of mobile apps before proceeding with the best mobile app development programming languages and frameworks.  

Native apps

Native apps are mobile apps built using a specific programming language for a particular mobile device platform, Android, or iOS. The native iOS apps are built-in Swift or Objective-C, and the Native Android apps are written in Java or Kotlin and use SDK for the platform. Their performance is fast, with a high degree of reliability. They can be expensive as they have their programming language and SDKs, so you have to hire a new developer for a different operating system. Native apps are more interactive and intuitive compared to web apps and hybrid apps. Things run much smoother as far as user input and output because there are extensive APIs that are optimized for different screen sizes and versions.


Hybrid apps

Hybrid apps are a combination of both native apps as well as web apps. They can be downloaded from the app store, like native apps. They run inside a container or webView ( A view that displays a web page using the standard browsers like chrome, safari, etc. ) similar to web apps. Hybrid apps allow the developers to build for any platform from a single code base.  They are cheaper than native apps because hiring a Javascript developer is cheaper than hiring a Swift developer.  They are written using web technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some of the popular frameworks to build hybrid apps are ReactNative, Flutter, Xamarin.




Mobile web apps

Web apps are not mobile apps, but they are websites that are running on your device.  They are accessed via an internet browser ( safari, chrome, etc) and will adapt according to your device. Web apps have designed fluidly, responding to being viewed on a smartphone. They are easy to host and maintain, simply uploading to a hosting account with a domain. You need a single app for all platforms i.e. iOS, Android. It is cheaper than native and hybrid apps because If you are a web developer, then you can repurpose your skills to build web apps. They are less interactive and intuitive as compared to native apps. Web apps are built using standard web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Best frameworks and programming languages for native app development: 
1. Swift programming language and Xcode

Swift is a robust and intuitive programming language developed by Apple for developers to build amazing iOS apps. It is optimized for performance and built from the ground up to match the realities of modern iOS development. Swift is a fast and efficient programming language that provides real-time feedback, using which developers are creating amazing apps. It can also be incorporated into an existing Objective-C code. It adopts a safe programming pattern and adds advanced features with minimal coding to make programming flexible and comfortable. Apps like Lyft, LinkedIn, and Hipmunk are some examples of the apps developed and upgraded in the iOS version using Swift.

2. Objective C and Xcode

Objective-C is a flexible programming language developed by Tom Love and Brad Cox in 1984. Before the launch of Swift, Objective C was the primary language used in writing software for OS X and iOS.  Objective C has object-oriented programming capabilities of small talk programming language. When you talk to other programming languages like Java, C++ to invoke functions in an object, you can call the method directly during the compile time. There are remarkable features of Objective C. It has got inherited messaging capabilities from the small talk programming language. During runtime, when you want to invoke a function, a message is sent to the object having information about that function, which has to be translated.  This particular concept gives greater flexibility during implementation. Objective C  is accused of dynamic typing because an object can receive messages not specified in the class interface. Categories are also a feature of Objective C.  They are a superclass structure that is part of the class. It allows methods to be added to class during the runtime. You can dynamically add methods to the classes based on the requirements. 

3. Java+ Android Studio

Java is an object-oriented programming language that is the official Android development language. It is easy to handle and has several open-source libraries available for the users to choose from. Java also offers the best documentation and community support to the developers.  Android mobile applications like vlc media player, Telegram, SeeWeather are examples of apps developed using Java programming language. Frameworks like TestNG and Log4J have developed using Java. 

4. Kotlin +Android Studio

Kotlin is a cross-platform programming language that is used as an alternative to Java for developing modern Android applications. Google introduced the Kotlin programming language in 2017. Kotlin and Java are interoperable, meaning they can exchange and can make use of the same information. Several developers admit that Kotlin is the advanced version of Java. The only difference between Java and Kotlin is the superfluous features of Java, such as null pointer exceptions. Kotlin is a language that has influenced other programming languages, such as Scala, Gosu, Groovy, Java, etc. 

Best cross platform frameworks for app development
1. Xamarin

Xamarin, launched in 2011, is owned by Microsoft. It is build using .NET and C# and allows developers to build applications for both iOS, and Android. Using Xamarin, developers can create rich user experiences using the native UI element. It has several tools and libraries needed to build native applications. Xamarian is an abstraction layer that manages the transmission of the shed code with the underlying platform code. On average, about 90 percent of the application code can be shared by developers across all the platforms. It enables the developers to pen down all the required logic in a single language or by reusing the existing code. Developers can achieve a native performance look and feel on each platform.  There are a few remarkable features of Xamarin: 

Cross-platform app development.
Xamarin is also included in the visual studio allowing individuals, source projects, and smaller teams to access Visual Studio Community version for free. 
Underlying SDKs are completely bound. Xamarin consists of binding for almost complete underlying SDKs in both iOS and Android. These bindings are easy to navigate and use. They also provide strong compile-time checking. Strongly typed bindings lead to fewer on-time errors and higher quality applications. 
Allows developers to invoke libraries from various languages such as Objective-C, Java, C++. These give them the flexibility to choose from a wide range of third-party code. It allows you to use the existing iOS and Android libraries.

2. React Native

React Native is a cross-platform framework for mobile application development. React Native, created by Facebook, and was first implemented for Facebook’s News Feed in 2011. Later, it was used in the Instagram application. React native uses Java as its base language. If a developer has good knowledge of Java, then he/ she can start developing applications without wasting much time getting habitual to the framework. It has gained immense popularity because of its easy learning and widespread usage. React Native framework relies on JavaScript runtime environment architecture that is also known as JavaScript bridge. The JavaScript code is compiled into native app code at run time. React native uses Flux architecture from Facebook. We can say that react native uses JavaScript bridge to communicate with the native modules. It is dependent on third party modules and libraries. There are several other features of React Native: 

Reusable codes & cost-effective. 
Makes use of JavaScript.
Compatible plugins and third-party packages.
Strong Community support.
Declarative API for predictive UI. 

3. Flutter

Flutter, developed by Google. Google has been utilizing resources in flutter development for a few years before launching flutter in 2017. It is used to build mobile applications more quickly and efficiently for both iOS and Android. The main reason behind the shift of several developers to Flutter is that the project has a single code base. It also provides a wide array of y of customizable widgets to build native interfaces. Flutter is built on the Dart language, which is also developed by Google. This language is considered a niche language in the developer’s community, but it is not a tough language. If a developer has any experience of working in object-oriented programming, then learning Dart will be a cakewalk. Flutter gives a native experience to both the developer and end-user with platform features, like scrolling, navigation, icons, plus fonts. There are a few striking features of a Flutter framework :

Uses Dart framework that has most of the components inbuilt. 
Strong widget support.
Rich Flutter API. 
Flexible User interface. 

4. Ionic

Ionic is an open-source SDK that allows developers to build hybrid and progressive web apps, using technologies like HTML, CSS & JavaScript. Developers love the Ionic framework because it offers numerous default UI components, such as forms, action sheets, filters, navigation menu, and many other UI components for attractive designs. Ionic Studio is the lite version of Ionic, but it is quite powerful. Developers can install it locally to have a visual development environment. Ionic uses the Cordova plugin to access smartphone features, such as camera, GPS, flashlight, and others. App developers can utilize these modules to build their intuitive mobile applications. There are other features of the Ionic framework: 

In-built UI components.
Support rapid app development environment and App flow ( it is an integrated suite of mobile DevOps services to automate every phase of the application lifecycle from native built to live updates) 
Complete app development kit
Support cross-platform app development as well as progressive web app development. 

Choosing the right technology

Several app development frameworks and  programming languages are available. Offering a unique set of features and benefits along with the powerful support of the innovation and incredible user experience. The best mobile app development technology is one that is user-friendly, quick as well as easy to develop, minimizes the testing efforts by a developer, provides widgets and libraries, and cross-platform compatible, etc. The above listed are some of the most popular mobile app development frameworks and  programming languages. Selecting the right technology for app development depends on what type of app you want, on which platform to launch, how it should look.

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The automated company

What is it?

A presentation by Collin Vine where he explains how Colony works.

Why is it interesting?

Colony is a platform that makes Distributed Autonomous Organisations possible. Smart companies on the blockchain. Open, smart and collaborative are the keywords. Colony uses a reputation system to give people points according to the amount and quality of input they deliver. The more points you have, the heavier your voice weighs.

Key take away/Quote

“A smart company focusses based on data on the right person on the right task at the right time.”

Watch the video

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Willemijn Manshanden uit Utrecht: “Ik kijk uit naar het netwerkgesprek tijdens de werkbezoekdag!”

Dit jaar gaat de boeken in als onvergetelijk. Bedrijven gaan failliet, de werkloosheid stijgt en werkgelegenheid in bepaalde sectoren wordt de das om gedaan. Grote onzekerheid overheerst op de arbeidsmarkt in Utrecht en dan moeten de grootste klappen nog gaan vallen. Voor werkzoekenden geen goed vooruitzicht, want waar liggen nu de kansen? Om deze groep perspectief te bieden, organiseert JobOn, de landelijke community voor werkzoekenden, op 25 november de Werkbezoekdag. Een landelijk event waarbij honderden professionals online netwerkgesprekken aanbieden om werkzoekenden meer te vertellen over het werk in hun functie of branche. Voor Willemijn Manshanden uit Utrecht is deze dag een waardevolle aanvulling vanuit JobOn: ”Ik hoop zo nieuwe kansen en mogelijkheden te ontdekken die mij verder brengen naar een volgende functie.”

Willemijn Manshanden over het belang van JobOn en de Werkbezoekdag: “Ondanks mijn ruime werkervaring in HR bij grote professionele bedrijven en mijn goede netwerk ben ik nu toch al een tijdje op zoek naar werk. Het vinden van een nieuwe opdracht of functie  gaat door corona minder voorspoedig dan ik verwachtte. JobOn speelt een belangrijke rol voor mij. Door het volgen van de gratis webinars en workshops kan ik mij blijven ontwikkelen en leer ik nog beter mijn talenten kennen. Ik leer via JobOn veel nieuwe mensen kennen, we steunen elkaar om ‘sterk tijdens deze zoektocht’ te blijven en reflecteren samen. De Werkbezoekdag geeft mij de mogelijkheid om direct contact te maken met iemand uit mijn werkveld en hopelijk zal hij of zij voor mij de wegwijzer zijn naar mijn toekomstige functie. Ik kijk echt uit naar het netwerkgesprek!”.

Laatste zetje om switch te maken

Professionals werken mee om werkzoekenden te informeren over hun baan, bedrijf of branche. Het is niet nodig om concrete vacatures te hebben, het draait bij de Werkbezoekdag om netwerken. In Utrecht doet Bram Smit mee. Hij werkt als Onderwijsdirecteur bij MBO Utrecht. “Ik zet me graag in voor werkzoekenden en geïnteresseerden om hen te helpen bij hun zoektocht naar een (andere) baan. In mijn sector verandert er nu ook veel, maar er zijn genoeg mogelijkheden. Daarover vertel ik graag meer in een online netwerkgesprek op 25 november. Het zou toch mooi zijn als ik op deze manier iemand enthousiast kan maken voor het Middelbaar Beroeps Onderwijs en net dat laatste zetje kan geven om een switch te maken. Daar heb ik graag een uurtje voor over!”, aldus Smit.

Kracht van netwerken

JobOn biedt met de Werkbezoekdag een extra steuntje in de rug voor werkzoekenden die hun baan zijn kwijt geraakt, een carrièreswitch overwegen of moeite hebben met netwerken. Pieter Vermeer, oprichter van JobOn en projectleider van de Werkbezoekdag: “Bij JobOn geloven we in de kracht van netwerken. Dat staat centraal bij alles wat we doen. We zien dagelijks dat dit resulteert in nieuwe kansen en het is altijd slim verder te kijken waar je met jouw talenten meer kansen op werk hebt, zeker nu in deze gekke tijd.”

Kansen pakken op de Werkbezoekdag

De 7e editie van de Werkbezoekdag vindt plaats op 25 november 2020. Alle deelnemende professionals zijn te vinden op www.werkbezoekdag.nl. Werkzoekenden kunnen online ‘werkbezoeken’ inplannen. Meedoen is nog steeds mogelijk, zowel voor organisaties als voor werkzoekenden.

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On a mission to identify opportunities in the coworking space industry in Greece for Seats2Meet

Coworking is something new, like it still surprises you, what bringing together people can do. That is why I was very interested in it and wanted to start a coworking space, and that is what I value: the interaction with the people that are coming here daily and then seeing new projects, initiatives, partnerships, and friendships coming to life. Of course, you know the serendipity notion, mentioned in Society 3.0, and I agree with that, and I find it in my everyday life that is always true, that you always find information, new ideas, and knowledge. You always find connections. – Olga Paraskevopoulou Stone Soup Athens (The Powered by S2M Location in Greece).

Intro: Who am I?

Hello everyone! My name is Ricardo, and I am now an MBA graduate from Hotelschool The Hague. As part of my thesis in the form of a consultancy project, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Seats2Meet, from August till October 2020, to assess the coworking space industry’s viability in Greece and provide valuable advice to Seats2Meet, that will help them grow in Greece with a focus in Athens. From the very first moment, I started this project, I was aware that I needed to examine in-depth the local market namely, the customer trends, factors influencing the diffusion and acceptance of Seats2Meet in Greece, and how the competitive advantages of Seats2Meet can be capitalized in the local market. In this article, I would like to share my journey by working with Seats2Meet as well as the main lessons learned from the coworking space industry in Greece.

 

Coworking in Greece: What does coworking mean to Greek coworkers?

For Greek professionals, coworking is more than a place to work or meet other professionals, it’s the joy of working with others, build bridges among start-ups and entrepreneurs, create things that will have a positive impact on the economy, and meet people that we wouldn’t otherwise meet if we were in an office, or if we were working in a company’s office. For many years, the Greek economy has been heavily impacted through the political, economic, humanitarian, and now a health crisis. According to data published in Eurostat in June 2020, Greece holds the second largest unemployment rate among EU member states. Therefore, many young graduates and professionals, tend to shift to self – employment opportunities. To address this emergent trend, coworking spaces in Greece and in particular in Athens, have been flourishing to provide self-employed, freelancers and digital nomads, a haven to exchange ideas, foster open collaboration, help people grow and bring innovation to Greece, a moderate innovator, based on the annual European Innovation Scoreboards.

How did I excel in my mission?

To excel in my valuable mission, I’ve traveled to Athens, Greece where I’ve had the opportunity to meet the most important players in the industry, namely Maria Calafatis from The Cube Athens, Olga Paraskevopoulou from Stone Soup, and the Impact Hub Athens team. During September, I’ve met each one of them, listened to their success stories, learned a lot about the coworking space industry in Greece, and how COVID – 19, influences coworking. I’ve also spoken with many end-users of coworking spaces namely, digital nomads Athens from all around the world, who shared their stories and experience at coworking spaces in Athens and in addition, I’ve also distributed a survey specified to frequent users of coworking spaces as well as individuals who use third spaces (cafés, libraries or restaurants) to work. . My goal was to identify how end-users of coworking spaces in Athens interact within a space. Seats2Meet is about creating communities that can connect and empower each other to grow not only as a professional but also as an individual. Therefore, for me, it was very important to identify the interaction that takes place within coworking spaces in Athens, and identify ways for Seats2Meet to cater to the needs of the local market. Also, I’ve worked myself in many coworking spaces in Athens, recorded my observations, and compared them with my findings from my meetings.

What is a coworker in Greece actually looking for in a space?

After carefully analyzing all my research findings, the most common yet remarkable finding is that the community feeling is the main reason that attracts individuals to coworking spaces in Athens. In Athens, coworkers seek coworking spaces that are more personal than polished and technical workspaces. During the interviews with coworkers, it was apparent how coworkers value the community feeling that they get in coworking spaces in Athens. Namely, coworkers want to feel that they are a part of a community, eager to meet people and expand their network.

A remarkable finding was that the COVID – 19 situation does not influence the perception that coworkers in Greece have about visiting a coworking space. Coworkers exbibit a significant preference as they appreciate being around people, an element that all the respondents missed during the lockdown, and appears on the questionnaire’s open-ended question “what did you miss most about working in a co-working space during these time due to coronavirus?”. However, coworkers value security and aim to be careful when they are in a shared space. According to the coworkers’ interview insights, even if coworkers are comfortable visiting a coworking space, they follow all the coworking facilitators and local authorities’ recommendations. Enforcing the coronavirus regulations is imperative to increase consumer confidence as denoted by the questionnaire’s answers, where the respondents consider important the regulations enforced in the coworking spaces. Despite that coworker’s value community in coworking spaces, trust is essential to foster open collaboration and sharing of knowledge and expertise. Based on the insights provided by the interviews and questionnaires, coworkers in Athens tend to frequent the same coworking spaces, namely The Cube, Impact Hub, and Stone Soup, the most well-established coworking spaces in Athens. The insights provided by industry professionals illustrate that coworkers feel more comfortable sharing knowledge and expertise within their community.

 

What are the competitive advantages of Seats2Meet in the local market?

When it comes to the existing competitive advantages, Seats2Meet has many existing ones that will give them a competitive lead in the industry that they are operating. Specifically, the valuable data gathered from the end-user allows the organization and its partners to anticipate market and regulatory trends and competitive activity

Seats2Meet is all about adapting to the ever-evolving needs of the industry. During the past two months, I’ve worked closely with both of the founders Ronald van den Hoff and Marielle Sijgers, and one of the main lessons that I’ve learned is that Seats2Meet constantly anticipates the current challenges and adapts. As an example in 2020, Seats2Meet begun offering ‘’’ hybrid meetings’’ that are opened automatically when end-users book a meeting room via Seats2Meet. During my time in Athens, I’ve had the pleasure to meet Elena Kalimeris, community manager at Impact Hub Athens, where we’ve discussed the new upcoming trend “smart working’’ which means that no physical presence is required to produce work and be part of the rest of the team I’m collaborating with. Due to the strict COVID – 19 measures in Greece, this phenomenon has been more and more common in everyday Greek business life. In this case, Seats2Meet should leverage its existing capabilities in Greek business life.

 

What is next?

COVID – 19 brought many unprecedented humanitarian challenges in our lives. One thing is for sure and all coworking facilitators that I’ve interacted with support, normal will not be what we’ve used to before the pandemic. In the next months, there will be more and more change. As Maria Calafatis from The Cube Athens supports, people do not need to fear change, but instead, embrace and welcome it and find ways to be innovative and enjoy it. After the pandemic, everyone will be more at ease in adapting than before. If there is one thing that COVID – 19 taught us is that change happens minute – by – minute and one thing are certain that we will all emerge from this crisis stronger. Seats2Meet will be successful in Greece because of the need of connecting people and helping each other grow, which is the most valuable ingredient to emerge from this crisis. With the right partners who share the same vision and mission, Seats2Meet will be successful in the local coworking scene. Greece has been a country that has been through many crises in the past decade but yet, it always manages to emerge stronger because of the young generation who is more resilient and willing to take risks and innovate. An example of this is the many coworking spaces that have been emerged throughout the crisis and managed to become successful in the country.

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Waar ga je vandaag waarde creëren?

Seats2meet.

Seats2meet Amersfoort CS verhuurt extra werkplekken

De verhuur van ruimtes is helaas weer grotendeels stilgevallen door de Corona-maatregelen. Wat we wel zien, is dat onze open lounge goed gebruik wordt. Thuiswerken is niet voor iedereen een (goede en gezonde) optie. Onze werkplekken zijn voor velen een fijn en soms zelfs noodzakelijk alternatief.



Zo lang als thuiswerken het devies is, bieden wij extra werkplekken beschikbaar. De zalen die nu toch grotendeels leegstaan, kunnen ook gehuurd worden als ‘office for one day’. Ook de werkplekken in de open lounge zijn beschikbaar voor een vrijwillige maar zeer gewaardeerde bijdrage. Voor iedereen uit Amersfoort en omgeving.



Uiteraard nemen we hierbij alle RIVM-richtlijnen in acht.


– Er zijn niet meer dan 30 personen in een ruimte
– We zorgen dat je overal de 1,5 meter afstand kunt houden
– We desinfecteren meerdere malen per dag de contactpunten voor onze gasten
– We ventileren goed en vaak



We hebben de volgende opties:

Werkplek in de open lounge € 15,- (vrijwillig maar zeer gewaardeerd)Werkplek in een afgesloten ruimte € 45,- p.p.

Wil je een factuur, dan komt er nog BTW bij.



Meer info via contact@seats2meetamersfoortcs.com of boek rechtstreeks je werkplek op https://www.seats2meet.com/…/322/Seats2meet-Amersfoort-CS.



Stay connected and be well!

 

 

The post Seats2meet Amersfoort CS verhuurt extra werkplekken appeared first on Seats2meet.