Your Brave Ideas Weekly Review

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Office Investors | Building Owners | Office Operators | Startups | Scaleups

Happy Friday!

This week I saw a post on X that reminded me of the GCUC UK roundtable I hosted titled: "Does Brand Matter?"

It's a good observation from Ken Ashley , an Atlanta, Georgia based tenant rep broker with over $3.2 billion in lease volume.

Sales: Speaking and listening with the intent to convince.

Sales is a refined skill that we all need in our businesses.

Marketing: What they think about you before you walk in the room.

Marketing requires a different skillset, that often I see sales people trying to do - which is often a bad combination.

So I was compelled to repost Ken's "tweet" above and add my own definition, for brand:

Brand: What they tell their friends about you.

Who wants everyone to tell their friends that you're always trying to sell them something?

Leading with brand in marketing is my preferred combo.

What do you want people to tell their friends about you, or your company?

And that is why brand matters.

EVENT: Balancing Technology and Human Interaction in Flexible Workspaces

📅 28 Nov (next week)

Last chance to grab a ticket!

This panel featuring 2 operators + 2 tech companies will delve into the pivotal role technology plays in the evolution of flex workspaces.

Find out the most critical technology onsite teams use daily to operate sites, the top tech trends, the most overrated solutions as well as how to balance tech adoption with human interaction in the customer experience.

Tap here to see the speakers

Members of the Flexible Workspace Association get 50% off

(Promo Code: FlexSA Member)

Work hard, play hard

Work hard, play hard, be kind and have fun!

We can be professionals and be serious without taking ourselves too seriously.

And remember….

collaboration > competition

Go make friends and grow your business!

Lovin the snap above from GCUC UK

Shout out 👩🏻💻Emilie Lashmar & Lizzy Kaplan

This Week's Brain Food

Brave Ideas is curated by Lucy McInally and features ideas, insights, best practices and analysis all categorized under the 6 Pillars of Space-as-a-Service.

Be sure to forward this to your favorite colleague and help them grow!

(Click here to subscribe)

This newsletter is sponsored by the Brave Consortium.

Our collective of companies help Brave and it's landlord partners reposition office assets to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses.

Visit bravecorp.co/brave-consortium

COMMUNITY

🎙️ Exploring Coworking Spaces and Personal Growth

in conversation with Suzanne Murdock and Pauline Roussel

"Coworking is the same dish but everyone cooks differently and the more we work collectively the more we can understand each other" – Pauline Roussel. Tap into the conversation. 

Building Coworking Communities is Not Easy

says 👩🏻💻Emilie Lashmar

But it's also incredibly rewarding. Simple actions, like celebrating a member's milestone can have the biggest impact. Read more from Emilie.

We’re now seeing how communities build by themselves

in conversation with Lucy McInally and Christian Schmitz

Unlike a physical place built with bricks, a community is built upon human experience. Within a community, everyone has different feelings, desires, background, etc. – these factors define communities.  Read the full interview by Lucy

HOSPITALITY

🎙️ The Role of Hospitality in Creating Memorable Experiences

in conversation with Liz Elam and Ryan Simonetti

This episode is filled with insights on growth, resilience, and the intersection of hospitality and coworking – a must-listen for coworking operators and enthusiasts alike. Tap into the conversation. 

6 Common Myths that Hinder the Full Potential of Art in Hospitality

by Curaty

Art, often seen as a luxury, is increasingly becoming an essential element in hospitality design…While many recognise its aesthetic appeal, its strategic value in enhancing guest experiences and brand identity remains underestimated. Read the article.

TECHNOLOGY

The Time Paradox: When Being Busy Keeps You Stuck

by Keke Patissier

Whether it’s simplifying reporting, streamlining processes, or cutting out wasted effort, we believe solutions should feel like a relief, not another thing on the to-do list. It starts with tackling the fundamentals, so teams can focus on what really matters. Read Keke’s article. 

🎙️ AI, Storytelling, and Exceptional Service

in conversation with Bernie Mitchell, Sonya Whittam, and Julie Firth

Together, they explore how coworking professionals can incorporate AI into marketing, streamline content creation, and adapt to ever-changing customer needs. Tap into the conversation.

🎙️ Why Real Estate Needs Data-Driven Leadership

in conversation with Caleb Parker, Founder of Brave, and Markus Steinby

Markus calls for interconnectivity among different stakeholders in the real estate value chain to foster collaboration and drive positive change for both the environment and investor returns. Tap into the conversation.

Watch this sneak peek clip:

WORKSPACES

Coworking Reclaims its Name and Reputation in a Flex Workspace Era

says Mike LaRosa

There's something special about traditional coworking spaces. Mike recaps the latest edition of the Coworking Europe conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. Read Mike’s article.

𝗜𝘀 T𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼-𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴?

asks Dean Connell

The nature of how we all work, enabled by technology, is evolving so fast that hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, lounges, etc, can all facilitate 'working' with lower barriers to entry than actual workspace providers. Read more from Dean. 

MANAGEMENT

3 Predictions for the Flexible Workspace Industry in 2025 

by Jane Sartin

With shifting priorities for businesses, including a wish to encourage staff to work collaboratively and in person again, modern office space is looking different from that of a decade ago. This will inevitably have implications for how the workspace is managed, cleaned, and maintained. Read Jane’s article in Facilitate Magazine.

Over 90% of the Top Asset Managers Feel Optimistic

says Zac Goodman

TSP brought together 26 real estate asset managers…and discussed AI, the improving occupational market, and how they are all trying to get closer to the customer, and work on improving our retention rates in a world of shorter lease terms. Read more from Zac. 

Office landlords are focused on amenitising buildings

says Dave Cairns, Board Member at Brave Corporation Ltd.

Employers are focused on amenitising workspaces. Employees are focused on... Read more from Dave. 

BRAND

🎙️ Landlord Flex That Scales

in conversation with Hector Kolonas and Jonny Rosenblatt

Hector and Jonny dive deep into what makes Spacemade unique, from creating individual brands for each asset to leveraging unique amenities like bouldering walls and podcast studios to fostering meaningful connections among users. Tap into the conversation. 

Coworking Europe was on Fire

says Zoe Ellis-Moore

Zoe's recap of Coworking Europe points out a recurring theme throughout the event was the expansion of pan-European brands into new territories. Read more from Zoe. 

FINANCE

The Bill for Upgrading Office Buildings Worldwide Could Hit £1 Trillion

says Marvin Gort

London is among the cities most at risk of large-scale regulatory non-compliance, with 9.4 million square metres of office space potentially stranded under moderate scenarios. Read Marvin’s article in Workplace Insight. 

5 tips on writing good investor reports

by Damon Hemmerdinger

Communicating with investors is a required skill for anyone who wants a career in real estate. Read Damon's tips on X here

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water

says John Arenas

To optimize investment in office asset conversions you may only need to replace an obsolete capital stack. Read more from John here

Can real estate survive as a distinct asset class, or will it be absorbed in the real assets and private equity envelope?

asks Valentina Shegoyan

Real estate continues to be seen as a low volatility anything but equity-type risk by academics, actuaries and institutional investors. Read more from Valentina

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See you next week!

Caleb