Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
We sort ours , and everyone just checks with us every time they come in. They will also email us if they're expecting something important. On the address issue, we have two separate addresses , ours and our members shared address. Our office used to be three separate offices 501,502,503, and was turned into one large office, so this is why we actually have three address. Most of the companies are startups and need an address. We give them that, and when city inspectors comes, they have our business listed several times and have visited so often, they just leave a paper for the member to sign and return to the city. They just ask if this business if currently working out of our office, not a huge inconvenience. They pretty much understand the business model and we have never had an issue with it. As for the community members vs virtual members, we have a $50 plan which is our most chosen, its basically a person who drops in only once a week, but this has turned into a virtual office membership. We don't mind because this leaves plenty of room for members who actually use the office frequently in the shared space. Also it never hurts to have extra funds coming in, besides we do background checks and if there is anything shady we just deny the membership application. Say what you will but Miami is Miami, and background checks are a MUST! On 8/4/2011 3:59 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org http://indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.com mailto:telbitconsult...@gmail.com wrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com mailto:dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org http://indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com mailto:k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.com mailto:jer...@blankspaces.com wrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com http://www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 tel:323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 tel:310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
I have started taking a copy of a person's drivers license. Last week two shady types came in and I told them all I need is $$ and to make a copy of their licenseshave not seen them again (but I am expecting a business license in the mail in the near future!). What is the best way to do a real background check? Thx, Mike On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 5:15 AM, Bianca Rico r...@miamishared.com wrote: We sort ours , and everyone just checks with us every time they come in. They will also email us if they're expecting something important. On the address issue, we have two separate addresses , ours and our members shared address. Our office used to be three separate offices 501,502,503, and was turned into one large office, so this is why we actually have three address. Most of the companies are startups and need an address. We give them that, and when city inspectors comes, they have our business listed several times and have visited so often, they just leave a paper for the member to sign and return to the city. They just ask if this business if currently working out of our office, not a huge inconvenience. They pretty much understand the business model and we have never had an issue with it. As for the community members vs virtual members, we have a $50 plan which is our most chosen, its basically a person who drops in only once a week, but this has turned into a virtual office membership. We don't mind because this leaves plenty of room for members who actually use the office frequently in the shared space. Also it never hurts to have extra funds coming in, besides we do background checks and if there is anything shady we just deny the membership application. Say what you will but Miami is Miami, and background checks are a MUST! On 8/4/2011 3:59 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few
[Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Donate $1.00 to the Carol Phan Dollars for Scholars College Scholarship Fund and help us help a Tracy, CA student go to college. http://forcarol.wordpress.com/carol-phan-scholarship-fund/ Mike Pihlman AltamontCowork / ForCarol.com, Inc. 95 W. 11th Street, Suite 205 Tracy, CA 95376 Phone: 209-757-8862 Web: http://AltamontCowork.com http://altamontcowork.com/ Twitter: @AltamontCowork Facebook: http://Facebook.com/AltamontCoworkhttp://facebook.com/AltamontCowork Drive Safe! Never
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Donate $1.00 to the Carol Phan Dollars for Scholars College Scholarship Fund and help us help a Tracy,
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
I write an email to each person who gets mail that day: You Got Mail :-) On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.comwrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options,
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
Derek! So glad to see you writing in, and so glad to hear that Suite133 is still rockin'. We need to coordinate another field trip! Anyway, I'd definitely try to get in touch with the folks using your address as their own without actually being members. It's just shady and they need to know you've noticed. Sending back mail is one thing, but sending the message that what they're doing isn't cool is another. Yes, it requires you to do more work, which sucks. But if it were me that's what I'd do. Best of luck, and hope to see you around soon. Susan __ Office Nomads officenomads.com 206-484-5859 On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:15 AM, Derek Young de...@exit133.com wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
ha! that's cute! -- Tm Mahdi Director Founder, Cg6 Inc. unlocking the creative markets. toronto: studio 207 - 201 weston road, ontario m6n 3p1 canada | http://twitter.com/Cg6Inc co | 1416.238.6881 w | www.cg6.com my | cvfolio.cg6.com/ tm.mahdi/ | about.me/tm.mahdi e | tm.ma...@cg6.com get your own Movable Ink On 4-Aug-11, at 4:11 PM, Mike Pihlman wrote: I write an email to each person who gets mail that day: You Got Mail :-) On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.com wrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up aren't community members. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.com wrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
I recently moved from the US to the UK and used a mail forwarding service, they scan your mail, email you and post an envelope scan online. You can then choose to scan, forward or shred. They won't forward credit cards or bank statements https://www.mailboxforwarding.com - seems like a ok business. A few companies do it but it can be pretty expensive. Karl On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 1:43 AM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: OhI then either put it in their cubby, on their desk (if they claimed one), or in a slot in a mail sorter thingy. On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: I write an email to each person who gets mail that day: You Got Mail :-) On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.com wrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.com wrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
Thank you for the input. We'll figure something out the next time we're reminded of these pseudo-business members. re: mail - We sort the mail as it comes in. If it looks like a check and the member doesn't visit on a regular schedule, we MAY send an email. Let's just say that we don't exactly have a formal process. Susan - Let's definitely connect sometime before I leave town. Suite133 is here. Our company took it over from my original partners when we outgrew our own business model. Same space. A few difference faces. Derek On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 1:27 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: I recently moved from the US to the UK and used a mail forwarding service, they scan your mail, email you and post an envelope scan online. You can then choose to scan, forward or shred. They won't forward credit cards or bank statements https://www.mailboxforwarding.com - seems like a ok business. A few companies do it but it can be pretty expensive. Karl On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 1:43 AM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: OhI then either put it in their cubby, on their desk (if they claimed one), or in a slot in a mail sorter thingy. On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.comwrote: I write an email to each person who gets mail that day: You Got Mail :-) On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.com wrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up *aren't community members*. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.com wrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received
Re: [Coworking] Ghost Businesses ...
In Santa Cruz we sort the mail and deliver it to the peeps who have dedicated workspaces. For our Cafe members we keep their mail in a big file cabinet, divided into files per member. We email them once a week to let them know they have mail. One of my favorite things to do during the day is deliver mail to members. It's a nice feeling to see the smiles when I hand them a check and it's also nice to get to say hi for that brief moment :) ~ iris @iriskavanagh nextspace.us On Aug 4, 2011, at 12:59 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: How does everybody handle the mail delivery itself? Do you notify people that they have mail or is it their responsibility to check for new mail when the come in? The latter is our approach - we do basic sorting but that's it. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Mike Pihlman telbitconsult...@gmail.com wrote: We have had that happen several times...resulting in mail coming to us. Up until now, I had been writing on the letters that come in (like the person's business license) Return to Sender and just giving it back to the postal person. However, a coworker says I should just put them in the circular file...I am thinking of that option. He says we are under no obligation to keep the mail, or send it back. Mike On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Virtual offices are legal - but the services don't fit the core values of coworking without some weird bending reality. Our focus is on community workspaces. People who never show up aren't community members. If they want a service like a virtual office - there's companies that do that. I don't think coworking should be confused with this service though. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 2:58 PM, Karl Long k...@karllong.com wrote: now that's some savvy marketing right there :) There should of course be a special fee for people who do such a thing. I don't think there should be legal issues if virtual offices are legal, certainly no problem in London. K -- @karllong http://experiencecurve.com On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jerome Chang jer...@blankspaces.com wrote: We first see if they've listed themselves at our address on Google Places, then contact them, then either return to sender or sometimes have them get a membership! Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work FOR yourself, not BY yourself www.blankspaces.com ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 ph: 310.526.2255 | 1450 2nd Street (@ Broadway), Santa Monica, CA 90401 On Aug 4, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Derek Young wrote: Hello Wise Co-Working Friends, It's been way too long since I've participated with this group. Suite133 is still here and growing. We may be neglecting our coworking community duties, website, and self-promotion, but we are still here. Here's my question for you. Have any of you had companies register your address as their own without actually being a member? In the four years that we've been around, this has happened twice. First it was a limousine company. Then it was an alarm company. We first discovered it when someone dropped into our office to look for one of the companies. A few web searches later and we discovered our address all over the interwebs and in business license filings that were not related to us. At first we got rather worked up about it. Our attorney, however, told us to not worry about it as there was no actual harm being done to our business. So, just the other day a few more people dropped in to see someone about an alarm system. Again, our attorney (who has a desk here) tells us that this is a problem for state/city government types that handle licensing and not us. I'm curious. Have any of you run into this before? If so, what did you do? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you, Derek Young Suite133 - Tacoma, WA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to
