5 ms·

I wish more companies had this mentality, it's amazing how much talent pool they are leaving out there by not allowing remote work for some positions. Especiall

I wish more companies had this mentality, it's amazing how much talent pool they are leaving out there by not allowing remote work for some positions. Especially for those of us that live in the Midwest but cannot leave for any number of reasons.

bane 13y ago
Honestly, the "right" way for companies to do it is to simple lease an office near a concentration of a few workers. Even if it's just 4 or 5 employees, a nice office with internet and a kitchen isn't very expensive. That way it's not "remote" work, it's just another corporate office location. Checking online in Kansas City, MO. 13,000 SF of office space runs < $10k/mo. That's a bargain. Spot checking other places (Colorado Springs, Nashville) doesn't run too much different.
- bchociej 13y ago
  That's exactly right. A friend of mine in St. Louis is currently negotiating $14/sq.ft. down to, ideally, $12. Last I heard from my CxO friend in California, he was excited to find $30. To me, it's shocking that anyone would start a business out there. (Okay, not really... there is a lot of money out there and it flows much more freely. But I couldn't personally justify spending my cash on 2.5x more expensive real estate!)
  - patrickmay 13y ago
    $55 this week in midtown Manhattan.
  - vonmoltke 13y ago
    In the right suburbs of Dallas, you can get flex space for $6/sqft - $9/sqft. The area has great support infrastructure and talent pool for doing hardware, too.
  - hagbardgroup 13y ago
    Quality of life is becoming much higher in both KC and STL over the last few years. Residential rents and house prices are cheap. Offices are practically free. The restaurants are becoming better and attuned to coastal sensibilities. One point that should be mentioned it that both STL and KCMO have significant violent crime problems. The STL crime rate has been improving impressively. When I went there recently, I was shocked by relative improvement. Neighborhoods that were dilapidated in the mid-00s are now happening spots. Flee the coasts! Opportunities await in the country!
- ben1040 13y ago
  Yep. I work in St Louis for a company based in Palo Alto. There's three of us working here out of a small office, and they were able to get a place for pretty cheap in a neighborhood with a lot going on. Our company's real estate manager is super big on finding us spaces that are close to lots of walkable things (for lunch, drinks after work, shopping, etc) and doesn't want people out in some suburban business park. The team here in STL started out in late 2012 as one guy in a coworking space. I hired on eight months later. Another few months after that we picked up a third person and the company leased us a space, bought us video conferencing gear, gave us a budget for supplies and stocking the fridge, and has been super supportive of whatever else we might need. I've been really happy with the whole arrangement. Collaborating over video conferencing and chat is pretty easy and I've rarely run into situations where I really felt out in left field. I've found that when I've visited the actual office, people have a fairly "heads-down, get your stuff done, and generally use asynchronous methods to bug people" work style anyway (and a lot of people prefer to work from home one or two days a week rather than ride Caltrain), which lends itself ok for remote teams.
- supergeek133 13y ago
  For real, I mean I'd even be open to taking a paycut for something like that too. There are quite a few companies I'd love to work for as a Product Manager, Solution Architect, or Community Manager (I've done a lot). But I can't even entertain the idea because I can't leave MN. I'd even consider a part time commute story as well (fly there once a month or something). It's rough!

bane 13y ago

Honestly, the "right" way for companies to do it is to simple lease an office near a concentration of a few workers. Even if it's just 4 or 5 employees, a nice office with internet and a kitchen isn't very expensive. That way it's not "remote" work, it's just another corporate office location. Checking online in Kansas City, MO. 13,000 SF of office space runs < $10k/mo. That's a bargain. Spot checking other places (Colorado Springs, Nashville) doesn't run too much different.

bchociej 13y ago
That's exactly right. A friend of mine in St. Louis is currently negotiating $14/sq.ft. down to, ideally, $12. Last I heard from my CxO friend in California, he was excited to find $30. To me, it's shocking that anyone would start a business out there. (Okay, not really... there is a lot of money out there and it flows much more freely. But I couldn't personally justify spending my cash on 2.5x more expensive real estate!)
- patrickmay 13y ago
  $55 this week in midtown Manhattan.
- vonmoltke 13y ago
  In the right suburbs of Dallas, you can get flex space for $6/sqft - $9/sqft. The area has great support infrastructure and talent pool for doing hardware, too.
- hagbardgroup 13y ago
  Quality of life is becoming much higher in both KC and STL over the last few years. Residential rents and house prices are cheap. Offices are practically free. The restaurants are becoming better and attuned to coastal sensibilities. One point that should be mentioned it that both STL and KCMO have significant violent crime problems. The STL crime rate has been improving impressively. When I went there recently, I was shocked by relative improvement. Neighborhoods that were dilapidated in the mid-00s are now happening spots. Flee the coasts! Opportunities await in the country!
ben1040 13y ago
Yep. I work in St Louis for a company based in Palo Alto. There's three of us working here out of a small office, and they were able to get a place for pretty cheap in a neighborhood with a lot going on. Our company's real estate manager is super big on finding us spaces that are close to lots of walkable things (for lunch, drinks after work, shopping, etc) and doesn't want people out in some suburban business park. The team here in STL started out in late 2012 as one guy in a coworking space. I hired on eight months later. Another few months after that we picked up a third person and the company leased us a space, bought us video conferencing gear, gave us a budget for supplies and stocking the fridge, and has been super supportive of whatever else we might need. I've been really happy with the whole arrangement. Collaborating over video conferencing and chat is pretty easy and I've rarely run into situations where I really felt out in left field. I've found that when I've visited the actual office, people have a fairly "heads-down, get your stuff done, and generally use asynchronous methods to bug people" work style anyway (and a lot of people prefer to work from home one or two days a week rather than ride Caltrain), which lends itself ok for remote teams.
supergeek133 13y ago
For real, I mean I'd even be open to taking a paycut for something like that too. There are quite a few companies I'd love to work for as a Product Manager, Solution Architect, or Community Manager (I've done a lot). But I can't even entertain the idea because I can't leave MN. I'd even consider a part time commute story as well (fly there once a month or something). It's rough!