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Today, a blog about the company that could and our brand new home. Hughes & Co. has, for two years, existed on a telecommuting model. This was for a few reasons, but fundamentally it was because we were a start-up and we didn't take out a loan, we didn't accept a grant and we had a lot of building to do before a space was feasible.
Well guess what... TODAY IS OUR DAY!
Hughes & Co. took the plunge as of March 1st to take on having an office of our very own. The change came about because we've grown, because we wanted to work more closely, because the projects have gotten bigger and because our clients are working on more involved projects with us and we needed a collaborative space.
The space is located at 73 Ontario Street in St. Catharines downtown core. We are a short walk from fellow innovators, we are amidst the bustle of a downtown that is undergoing a revitalization and we are centrally located for the local members of our client family.
Simply put, it means we just changed the game for our firm. In stead of lagging collaboration through countless WebEx meetings, we are working hands-on in person and making projects come to life faster than ever before. It is a welcome change and it is necessary at this stage in our company's life... we are officially what we would call an agency, and we are the only dedicated Inbound Marketing agency in Niagara. In fact, we are the only ones inbounding at all!
We work with a lot of people in the home-design business and so we took notes during conversations, explored colours and asked a lot of questions before we embarked on making this office what it is today. The goal was three dedicated work stations for the three full time members of the team, then a collaborative space and a relaxing space. We have 500 square feet to work with and unbelievably, it all fits and it works incredibly well!
We picked "Hughes & Co. blue", white and charcoal as the colours for the walls, ordered plenty of cool stuff to adorn our walls including some sweet finds from Startup Vitamins, and loaded the office with high-end tech that will make doing our jobs a breeze!
Because we are now working out of an office space we are opening our doors at 9am and closing them at 5pm. This was one of the biggest challenges of our previous working model.. we were less productive with our time and we found ourselves struggling to get things done between 9 and 5. This resulted in late nights around the computer, 11pm phone calls to add finishing touches to client projects and the like. Not really our cup of tea.
In the new space we have the goal of retaining a normal working schedule, and because our marketing projects are retainer based we have a very good idea of how much work is on our plates at any given time. This makes it much easier to budget our time, predict our outcome requirements and ensure that every client is getting exactly what they expect from us in terms of hourly commitment and monetary outcomes.
So there you have it. We are officially moved in, we are working hard and we are growing! Three new clients entering the portfolio this month with room for one more... it could be you!