Business
Coworking Spaces Free Small Businesses From Office Troubleshooting
A broken printer is the kind of mundane problem that can sap the energy of the most motivated entrepreneur.
But tech troubleshooting isn’t in the job description of financial consultant Shannon Simmons. Even though she runs her own small business, she doesn’t worry about a lot of administrative duties that might otherwise fall on her shoulders.
Her company, The New School of Finance, shares space in one of a growing number of coworking facilities in Toronto. In addition to a small, enclosed office, her rent covers vital amenities such as furniture, technology and access to board rooms where she can run workshops.
The office is found in one of 80 coworking locations in Toronto, run by 39 companies, according to a study released this week by commercial real estate firm Colliers International.
Shawn Gilligan, the Colliers analyst behind the report, admits he was surprised by how many coworking operations have moved into the city in the last two to five years, providing an alternative to traditional rent or lease arrangements based on square footage.
He found the highest concentration, about 15 per cent, in neighbourhoods just east or west of the financial core.
Gilligan said he initially figured coworking was a trend that might die out. But he changed his mind after looking more closely at how the companies in such places work, and who is attracted to the spaces.
“With traditional office rates increasing to such a high extent, (coworking) is an attractive option,” he said.
Coworking offices like the one where Simmons rents can provide a range of options, depending on what a business needs.
An enterprise that simply needs a mailing address can sign on for virtual office services. Freelancers, tired of sitting in coffee shops with their laptops, can rent communal “hot desks” for as little as $25 a day on a drop-in, first-come-first-served basis.
There are also proprietary desks that come with locked drawers and lockers all the way up to private, walled off offices.
Some coworking spaces are geared to specific sectors, such as the arts or technology, but many put diverse jobs in close quarters. A graphic designer at Workplace One’s Wolseley office works next door to a French wine representative. Down the hall, there’s an office that’s part of Toronto Star columnist and Quebec celebrity chef Ricardo Larrivée’s business.
Coworking is also a way for larger companies or institutions to test the Toronto market, or create a presence in the city.
The Colliers research showed that neighbourhood is key to coworking renters, who want to be close to the residential neighbourhoods that attract young, educated workers. They’re often walkable and have good transit access.
“It’s a combination of available space within a good price,” said Gilligan.
For Simmons, location was key when she chose to locate in a building operated by coworking company Workplace One near Bathurst and Queen streets.
“I chose the Queen St. location because it’s where I live as well. It’s also where a lot of my clientele lives. It’s perfect. I can bike to work and it’s accessible,” she said, adding that there is also parking available.
Having an office with a door was huge, because she needs privacy to discuss her clients’ financial information. Many other spaces she considered were “hot desk” arrangements, shared surfaces where various users come and go.
Simmons’ office is tiny but it lives large, with a receptionist, common areas and a kitchenette at the end of the hall.
All the amenities are overseen by an office manager Mary-Lynn Sinclair.
“She’s half the reason I stay,” said Simmons.
The Wolseley St. location was the first of three offices Workplace One has opened in Toronto since 2011. The company operates another in Kitchener.
The gritty feel of plank floors and exposed brick aren’t for every client, however, said Workplace One director of leasing and operations Adrian Wong.
“People like the character of a brick-and-beam building but if they are looking for silence this is not for them,” he said of the Wolseley office.
Workplace One does not own its buildings. It runs offices that are typically 85 to 95 per cent full, said Wong. “The only thing we cannot do is your work,” he tells clients, who are referred to as “members”.
Those clients get 24/7 access to the office and a range of facilities and services, including a shuttle from Union Station to the King St. location near Strachan Ave. during the morning and afternoon rush.
Other coworking companies might provide telephone reception or more traditional business environments.
“It’s a crowded market and part of my job is educating” clients, said Wong, who greets by name virtually every member he encounters through a tour of two Workplace One locations.
The firm’s King St. office is a more polished contemporary space, all smooth surfaces. The exposed brick of the Wolseley boardrooms gives way to rich wall murals and chandeliers in the King St. meeting spaces.
When Andrew Carty and his partners in marketing and advertising agency send+receive began looking for offices, they weren’t really sure what they needed.
They considered about eight coworking spaces and some permanent offices before renting a private office with three desks at Workplace One’s 4th floor King St. space.
“When you don’t know what you need, this is a good solution,” said Carty.
“This is a little bit of a Goldilocks solution for us,” he added. “There were some places that were a little more funky that didn’t feel right, and there were places that were certainly much more kind of cubicle-corporate that didn’t feel right either,” he said.
A major attribute of coworking is flexibility, said Carty. The agency’s team grows and shrinks according to the work it’s handling. They can rent more space as needed.
“Being able to start the business with less commitment to overhead is a real benefit for us. It would have been more daunting to start an agency if we had to sign a 10-year lease,” said Carty, although he concedes that a more proprietary design might appeal down the road.
You pay a little bit for the flexibility, but when it comes to the ability to scale up if they need to and the fact that they didn’t have to invest in printers, furniture all those other things, the upside outweighed the downside, he said.
The opportunity to meet people working in other fields at the coffee pot is a bonus, say coworking office users.
“It’s given us access to some coders and developers that we are looking to partner up on projects with because we need some of that,” said Carty.
“There’s some vibrancy with a lot of different people in the space.”
Beauty enthusiasts rejoice! Beauty Week at Hudson’s Bay is back in Toronto for another year. It’s time to stock up on all of your fall essentials and, maybe discover some new ones.
From Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 27, you can expect a truly elevated beauty experience in-store with incredible special offers, limited-time gifts, and exciting activations.
If you’re a diehard beauty lover, you’ll already know that Hudson’s Bay is the place to shop thanks to its extensive range of over 195 skin and makeup brands from both luxury labels and masstige brands — including Tata Harper, Estée Lauder, YSL, Nars Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and so much more.
Throughout The Bay’s Beauty Week, visitors can take in some at-counter activations and interactive expert-led tutorials, where there will be chances to get makeup touch-ups from top-tier brands, try a spritz of the most alluring fragrances, and sample tons of new products.
This year’s Beauty Week highlight is the ‘Best in Beauty’ tote, a meticulously-curated selection of 30 deluxe samples from an array of top-tier brands like Dr. Barbara Sturm and Shiseido spanning skincare, fragrance, and makeup — all in a super sleek bag.
The tote, which is valued at over $300, is retailing for just $39 and is a fantastic way to explore new products (without breaking the bank). However, there is a limited quantity, so if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll need to be fast.
Wondering exactly what Beauty Week’s free gifts with purchases entail? If you spend over $95 at Lancôme, you will receive a six-piece set valued at $130. Or, you can get an Estée Lauder gift valued at $170 with purchases over $80. (And that’s just to name a few.)
If you’re a Hudson’s Bay Rewards member, you’ll also get $20 in Hudson’s Bay rewards when you spend over $100 on beauty.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have several non-combat jobs, some of which do not require a college degree or past work experience.
Life in the forces has several benefits, such as paid education plans (college, university and graduate-level programs), 20 paid vacation days, health and dental coverage for you and your family, maternity and paternal leave, and pension plans. You can learn more about the benefits in detail here.
And to make it easier to gauge if you qualify, the listings also include related civilian jobs to see if it’s your ideal role.
Financial services administrator
Related civilian jobs: Financial records entry clerk, financial manager, accounting technician, bookkeeper, budget officer, cashier clerk, business planner technician, and verification manager.
Description: You’ll help budget resources for all military activities besides providing financial assistance.
Education: You need to have completed Grade 10.
Duties: As a financial services administrator, you’ll be responsible for bookkeeping and managing budgets. You’ll also provide support in accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Work environment: Those in this role work at CAF bases, on ships or overseas. You might also be expected to help special operation units, recruiting offices, schools, and medical organizations.
Postal clerk
Related civilian jobs: Mail clerk, mail sorter.
Description: You’ll provide postal services to members and their families at bases and establishments.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: As the postal clerk, you’ll handle mail duties.
Work environment: Besides a postal office, you may work on a ship or a mobile postal van. You might be expected to serve with Royal Canadian Navy, the Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force in Canada and abroad.
Dental technician
Related civilian jobs: Dental assistant, dental hygienist.
Description: You’ll be helping dental officers provide dental services to CAF members, their families, and dependents.
Education: Level II dental assisting diploma from an accredited college or a National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) certificate.
Duties: Those in this role will be responsible for various responsibilities, including disinfection and sterilization of dental equipment, applying rubber dams, placing cavity liners, and controlling bleeding. In addition, you’ll assist in laboratory procedures like creating casts, custom trays, and mouthguards.
Work environment: This role will require you to work in a military dental clinic, a Mobile Dental Clinic, an Air Transportable Dental System, or onboard a ship. You might be expected to work on a base in Canada or other operations in other parts of the world.
Human resources administrator
Related civilian jobs: Records administrator, data entry supervisor, receptionist, office manager, executive assistant, payroll clerk, and information management technician.
Description: Provide administrative and general human resources support.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: In addition to human resources administration and services, you’ll be handling pay and allowances, managing automated pay systems, and maintaining personnel records.
Work environment: HR administrators work at all CAF bases in Canada. They also work on ships and overseas to support the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, or Royal Canadian Air Force operations.
Medical assistant
Related civilian jobs: Emergency medical responder, ambulance and first aid attendant, registered nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, and hospital orderly.
Description: Successful candidates will help treat the sick and injured in CAF units. You’ll be assisting and supporting nursing and medical officers.
Education: Minimum of Grade 11 biology, Grade 10 physics or chemistry, and Grade 10 math.
Duties: You’ll provide initial care and essential life support treatments in trauma cases. You’ll help with health assessments (hearing and vision tests, perform basic lab procedures, etc.) and initiate and manage medical records and reports. You’ll also be expected to provide support and first aid during training exercises.
Work environment: Medical assistants may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force or the Canadian Army as part of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. Those in this role are exposed to the same risks as the forces they support.
Porter Airlines is once again stirring the pot among Canadian airline rivals, now going after Air Canada’s Aeroplan members by offering to match their loyalty status to an equivalent of their own.
The beloved airline, which recently ranked as having the best cabin service in North America, challenged the competition for the second time this year, after previously deploying a similar tactic against WestJet in the spring.
Earlier in April, Porter presented customers with a limited-time offer to match the loyalty status of WestJet’s patrons with VIPorter levels.
Now, they’re offering Aeroplan members to seamlessly transition to an equivalent VIPorter Avid Traveller status based on their existing membership tier.
Members can then take advantage of an array of travel perks that come with flying Porter, including seat selection, baggage, and flight changes.
For those currently holding an Aeroplan membership, there are two ways to acquire the Avid Traveller status for the rest of 2023:
Status-Based Match:
- Aeroplan 25K members = VIPorter Venture
- Aeroplan 35K members = VIPorter Ascent
- Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite = VIPorter First
Flight Segments-Based Match:
- 5 flight segments = VIPorter Passport
- 8 segments = VIPorter Venture
- 17 segments = VIPorter Ascent
- 28 or more segments = VIPorter First
Members will have to first submit their applications on Porter’s website. Registration will remain open until September 6, 2023.
In order to maintain their membership level through 2024, customers will have until the end of 2023 to reach the following reduced qualifying spend (QS) targets:
- Passport = $500 in QS
- Venture = $750 in QS
- Ascent = $1500 in QS
- First = $2500 in QS
Over the past year, Porter has launched an aggressive expansion strategy, including everything from introducing longer flights on newly-purchased jet planes flying out of Toronto Pearson, free WiFi, and a new all-inclusive economy experience.
With Canadians losing both Swoop and Sunwing as WestJet incorporates both into their mainline business, Porter’s direct competition is welcome to keep prices competitive.
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