NYC Office Space and Entrepreneurs The official blog of Sunshine Suites.
Give us your elevator pitch.
We operate two businesses out of Sunshine Suites:
Vergenza is a luxury erotic tools company that promotes shameless sexual artistry to the modern lover.
Muffin Cupcake is a boutique consulting firm focusing on marketing, branding, and operations for emerging businesses.
How has Sunshine helped you or your business?
Sunshine has helped me to connect to an array of other start ups that have either used our services, helped connect us to potential clients, linked us to important business partners or just cool people to meet. It’s been a rewarding place for us to work and meet other start-ups. The location also helps us out a lot. We run around the city for various reasons and I love to roller blade to the places I have to run around to. It’s great being in Noho and having a home base so centrally located.
What is your primary motivation for being successful?
Glamour! Fame! Glitter! Power! Feathers! Gold! Marquis Lights! Money! Love! Gems! Space Travel! Precious Metals! Global Domination!
How would you like to see the Sunshine community improve and how do you think we can achieve said goals?
I think the Sunshine community does a great job of connecting us inside the facility, but I think if we connect to more outside resources, it would help me get more precious metals and more feathers.
Tell us your opinion on something you think is important to the community, but that we didn’t ask above.
I think that the community should celebrate me more! I come to Sunshine NoHo pretty much every day of my life and I’d like to be applauded when I walk in the door. So if everyone could rise from their work station and wave a hello to me, that would be great! Or I’ll settle for Katie if you think she would do that!
Sunshine was recently covered as part of an article on how freelancers are collaborating in shared office spaces. Read the full article here.
This time around we have a profile of member company Dynamax Realty NYC / TW Group New York, you can visit their sites at http://dynamaxrealty.com and http://twgroupny.com
Our elevator pitch:
We are a real estate brokerage and property management firm that grows wealth through real estate. We perform analysis to help clients purchase the right property and for investors, we will manage the property to maximize returns. Our differentiating factors are:
- We are real estate investors
- We have an in-house real estate attorney
- Strong financial analysis expertise
- Property management services
How has Sunshine helped you or your business?
Sunshine provides an inspiring community of fellow entrepreneurs where we feed off of one another’s drive and enthusiasm. The conference rooms and reception area are very presentable and always impress our guests including clients, recruits and reporters.
What is your primary motivation for being successful?
Doing what we love and looking at the results, whether in terms of team size, deals, client base or marketing exposure.
When times are tough, we remind ourselves that we’re on an entrepreneurial journey that most people only read about.
How would you like to see the Sunshine community improve and how do you think we can achieve said goals?
We like the networking events that Caitlin is running. The Silicon Valley-like community is Sunshine’s core competency. The networking events allow entrepreneurs to share positive energy and enthusiasm. It’s also great for business referrals. We’re starting to realize that Sunshine entrepreneurs represent a market by itself.
Sunshine should increase the frequency and size of the networking events. The ones we attended had about 10 people. If the size can be increased to 20-30 people per event, it will be more powerful. To increase the size, maybe offer more drinks and food. You can also have these events at a local bar/lounge that is quieter to allow conversations.
This time around we have a profile of member company AccuTutor, you can visit their site at http://accututor.com
Give us your elevator pitch.
AccuTutor is an education company that provides personalized instruction for all ages and subjects. Whether it’s English, math, languages or even computers, we provide customized service, usually in the comfort of the client’s own home.
How has Sunshine helped you or your business?
Sunshine has enabled us to meet our critical business needs at a fair price. Besides 24/7 access to a workstation with fast internet service, we have access to conference rooms to meet and to interview prospective tutors. I looked at several different options for office space but none matched Sunshine in the value-for-money metric.
What is your primary motivation for being successful?
What drives me to be successful is independence and flexibility. I’m sure I would have made more money had I stayed in Corporate America, but being an entrepreneur is dramatically more enjoyable in a multitude of ways.
How would you like to see the Sunshine community improve and how do you think we can achieve said goals?
Sunshine is a loose community, not a tight one, much like the apartment building in which I live. I think it would add tremendous value to current tenants as well as prospective ones if Sunshine could foster more connections such as the ones that the Shiners Networking Group seeks to forge. Whether it’s finding suppliers for business needs (e.g. an attorney or accountant), networking connections, or just a support system, Sunshine can provide something that a solo office cannot. How is a tricky question, as not everybody wants to be interconnected, but I’m sure there could be an opt-in for getting hooked into the ecosystem. My priority would be an online group/bulletin board/wiki—a great place to look for suppliers (“hey, who knows an attorney who handles x?”) and networking contacts (“I’d like to have coffee with someone who’s an independent college advisor. Is anyone here one? Or know one?”). I’m sure many other uses would arise. We should also offer seminars open to Sunshine members—for example, how to deal with Workers’ Compensation, delivered by someone qualified to present. For instance, we recently gave a free seminar to a company on preparing families for Back-to-School.
Tell us your opinion on something you think is important to the community, but that we didn’t ask.
If we can’t have Astor Wines as an affiliate, is there some other way to work with them? Perhaps as host of a networking event?
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
Hi Sunshine Suites! I am a professional photographer, specializing in weddings, events, portraits, & still life. With a background in fine art photography, I strive to create beautiful images for my clients using great light and strong compositions. You can see more of my work at www.kfoleyphotography.com and www.kristinefoley.com.
How long have you been a part of Sunshine?
My company, Kristine Foley Photography, has happily been at Sunshine Suites for almost three years, and I love when a new client comes into the conference room and remarks on how fun and cool the space is. In my business, image is everything so I need an office that projects creativity and professionalism.
What about Sunshine has helped you to be successful that you think others should take advantage of?
I have been a long-time member of Shiners, the networking group at Sunshine. Not only have I have gotten job referrals from Shiners, but I have established contacts as well as friends in the office. I encourage everyone to come to one of the meetings.
We are going to be doing a continuing series of profiles of companies in our community so please drop by a Shiners meeting and get involved!
By: jakehow | Published: June 30, 2008 | Filed under: Announcements
Hello there. Sunshine is constantly searching for new ways to organize and promote the collective power that we have within this community. As such, we figured it is high time we got on the blogging bandwagon. As of right now there is not really a plan for how we are going to end up using this as a tool to help the community, but we have a few ideas:
- interviewing and introducing interesting new members to the rest of the community
- reaching out to other groups outside of Sunshine members
- talking about new technologies, businesses, and services that help startups and small businesses
- soliciting opinions on our current offerings and/or things we should be doing differently or better
However, we figure everyone else might have some initial ideas that they would like us to pursue, and or suggestions for possible content. Please let us know in the comments.
From the article:
Yesterday I spent some time with Cheni Yerushalmi. Cheni is the managing director of Sunshine Suites, a shared work environment. I’ve heard Cheni pimp Sunshine at many of the NYC meetups over the past few months and figured it was a typical Regus-style office setup. You know the type – you get a cube or an office in a large, cold, white-walls location. No one talks to each other, they work and leave. Boy, was I wrong!
Click here to read the full version.
From the article:
The recent national economic slowdown has several implications for all types of New York businesses, ranging from downtown startups to the biggest Wall Street financial institutions. In a time of uncertainty, many business owners need to keep their real estate options open.
Real Estate Weekly
Cutting out what’s not needed and keeping what’s good, The newest type of rental offices.
“Sunshine Suites” is a unique company that divides space on a single floor and rents it out to companies that have 10 employees or fewer.
This is the ideal setup for companies who don’t have the budget to rent out an entire floor or to purchase office equipment, or who just have a few employees. A space with one desk costs $295 per month; phone, internet, fax, and copier, and other equipment are included. In an extreme case, you can bring in a computer and be set up for business the same day.
People from all different industries work here every day, so networking becomes natural. While leasing from “Sunshine Suites,” you can receive benefits usually only available at large corporations, such as group health insurance and gym membership discounts. In a time when real estate values continue to skyrocket, we would like to praise this unique rental system.
Translation: Sarah Pew
From the article:
When Fernando Figueroa, the owner and only employee of a software development and Web site design company called B Realm, fell behind on his $550 monthly rent for a tiny 50-square-foot cubicle at 45 West 21st Street, help came from an unlikely source: his landlord.
“I wanted him to stay as a tenant,” said Joe Raby, a founder and managing partner at Sunshine Realty Management, which specializes in leasing entire floors and then dividing the space and offering it to small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. “An adventure travel guy moved in, needed a Web site, and I referred him to Fernando. It helped him get the business and pay the back rent.”
That was not a typical commercial real estate transaction – nor was Mr. Raby’s recent offer to let Mr. Figueroa have free rent if he would sit at a desk just inside the office space and sign for packages. But then this isn’t a typical office: a swimsuit designer is next to a direct-mail marketer; real estate brokers are next to concert promoters; a 15-year-old Pomeranian named Amadeus roams the space like a mascot; and tenants go snowboarding with their landlords.
Click here to read the full article.
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