Wednesday, September 19, 2012


Vol. 1  No. 1
Fall 2012

In This Issue



FEATURED PARTNER
Personally Virtual 823
President/CEO
Patricia Johnson
Personally Virtual 823 provides personalized administrative assistance for your business - when and where you need it.  Whether you need occasional, on-going or project based assistance, Personally Virtual 823 can offer that support in person at your business or home office, or virtually through the internet or video conferencing.  In July, Personally Virtual 823 partnered with Howard Corporate Centre to broaden services to a shared customer base.  "Our company provides executive-level administrative and business support services to help customers grow and sustain their businesses," said Patricia Johnson, the President/CEO of Personally Virtual 823.  "Through this partnership with Howard Corporate Centre, we can provide customers with an even broader and holistic range of services to help their businesses succeed."  To learn more about Personally Virtual 823 and how they can support your business, visit: http://personallyvirtual823.blogspot.com.




 




Managing Member's Corner
Dear Kevin,   
Managing Member
LaTaunya Howard
I am pleased to share the inaugural issue of Howard Corporate Centre's online newsletter. In it you will find centre news, business advice, and special promotions. 

I hope that you find the information useful, and I welcome your suggestions and submissions for future issues. 

Please email your feedback to info@howardcorporate.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Change Is In The Air
The kids are back in school. Fall will begin soon. A new year will start in just a few short months.  Do you see the theme here?
Change is happening all around us, so why not let Howard   Corporate Centre help you do the same for your business? For example, if you hold business meetings in your private residence or a coffee shop, make a better impression by meeting your clients in one of our conference rooms or spacious, windowed private offices with nice views from the third floor of a modern Class A building. If you use a P.O. Box on your business cards and other marketing materials, start using our professional business address instead and let us forward your mail to you. These are just a few ways that we can help you create and maintain a more professional image for your business - all with flexible and affordable terms to meet your needs and budget. So if you are ready to change and breathe new energy into your business, give us a call today!  



More Flexibility & Less Cost
For the past several weeks, we have been working with our vendors and building new partnerships to provide more flexible and cost effective solutions for our clients - and we've succeeded! As a result of this effort, many of our office packages now offer increased cost savings and more control over the services you use.  While some business centers nickel-and-dime you or have you pay for services that you may not even need, you can rest assured that Howard Corporate Centre is committed to working proactively and continually to maximize your flexibility, minimize your costs, and increase your bottom line. Call or email us today to learn more.


FREE INTERNET ACCESS
Need another reason to use our services?  No problem!  Sign up for a 3-month agreement and enjoy free access to our secure, wireless internet. Offer Expires:  October 31, 2012.

Howard Corporate Centre
14502 Greenview Drive
Suite 300A 
Laurel, MD  20708
(301) 837-0040


Monday, September 10, 2012

Quest Workspaces Opens a New Office Space Center in New York City

 After two years of much planning and searching for the ideal location, Quest Workspaces announces that we are expanding our national coverage and opening a 5th office space center in New York City in the famed Time Life Building on the 43rd floor, across the street from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.

Founder and CEO of Quest, Laura Kozelouzek, a native New Yorker, who has had aspirations of opening a Quest office in NYC from the start, “New York City is home for me. I have been managing NYC business centers since 1991 and I am constantly receiving calls from friends and colleagues asking for help in finding office space in the City so it only made sense to open a center here. My career in this industry actually started in office tower next to 1271 Avenue of The Americas 22 years ago so it almost seems destined for Quest to be here. This is also a great opportunity to expand Quest into one of the most sought after markets in the world for our clients.”

The center is located on the 43rd floor with sprawling views of the NY cityscape. The office space will be renovated with the most up to date furnishings, technology and will be staffed with one of our signature friendly, fun and professional Quest teams. Quest is honored to be in the company of Fortune 500 tenants such as Time, In Style, People and Sports Illustrated to name a few. With an array of amenities that include fine dining, Quest café, meeting rooms, outdoor terraces and the underground Rockefeller concourse, that connects clients to hundreds of shops, services and subway lines, this building has it all and more.
To be able to give our Florida Questers the ability to expand their businesses to the epicenter of international business is so exciting. With this expansion Questers can set up business identities in NYC for next to nothing as well as meet with clients from all over the world with ease in one of our conference rooms or day offices. Quest will be offering special rates to all clients and will be rolling out a special conference room plan in the coming months for both Florida and NYC Questers.
Be on the lookout for our official press release in the coming weeks which will announce the opening date of the center.

We are honored to be celebrating our 2nd anniversary with this announcement! Thank you to everyone who has made it possible.


SFBJ Business of the Year Awards Dinner – Start Up of the Year

Last week we attended the SFBJ Business of the Year Awards at the DCOTA Center in Ft. Lauderdale. We were being recognized as one of South Florida’s Startups of the Year in honor of legendary entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga. While we didn’t win first place, we have won in so many other ways and to be chosen among so many other outstanding businesses is beyond words. I couldn’t be more proud of the team we have created and the community of clients, or as we call them “Questers”, that has grown within every center.
I am so humbled by the recognitions that we have received this year, including the Best Place to Work, and also extremely inspired to continue to improve and add value to our team, Questers and the community as a whole.
I want to thank EVERYONE, from the Quest team that is incredibly dedicated and believe in what we do, to the Questers that make our community special and create a workplace buzz that is second to none.
We are so appreciative and also want to thank the South Florida Business Journal and Wayne Huizenga for recognizing us as one of the best startups. Also congratulations to all the finalists and winners in the other various categories! Hope to see you again next year as So FL’s Business of the Year!





Quest CEO Featured in “These Girls Rule” article in the April 2012 Edition of Aventura Magazine

Quest Founder and CEO, Laura Kozelouzek, is featured in the article “These Girls Rule” in the April 2012 edition of Aventura Magazine. The article profiles 5 women who “are at the top of professions that are traditionally dominated by men”.
When asked about the profile, Laura commented, “This was such an honor to be profiled alongside these 4 other very successful women. I hope articles such as these help inspire other women to take the risk and start their own businesses and never take no for an answer. Thank you to Aventura Magazine for this great compliment in recognizing the achievements of women in today’s ever changing professional workspace landscape”.
To read the full article please follow the link below:
http://aventuramagazine.com/2012/04/these-girls-rule/5/

Boca Raton Center Renovations have begun!


Quest Workspaces began it’s Boca Raton center renovation last Friday evening. This renovation will give the office space center a “facelift” while still maintaining the classic charm everyone has come to love.
The renovations will include a brand new lobby, kitchen, several new offices, a new office for June, Boca’s Center Manager, shared touch down space, new carpet in all the offices, as well as upgrades to all the conference rooms.
Please excuse our dust during this renovation, we will be keeping Questers up to date as all the sections are being constructed.
All our conference rooms will continue to be available for rental and it will be business as usual!
We will be posting new entries as sections are completed!
We are very excited to be able to provide our clients with even better space and more up to date technology. We know how important it is for your business.
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Espirito Santo Plaza named by the American Institute of Architecture’s Commercial Building of the Year

Today the announcement was made that the Espirito Santo Plaza on Brickell was named Commercial Building of the Year in Florida by the American Institute of Architecture. “Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, the building features a recessed parabolic arch in its reflective-glass facade that is said to symbolize Miami’s status as the Gateway to the Americas.”
The reason Quest decided to open it’s first center in the Espirito Santo Plaza was because we felt that it is the best commercial building in Florida and this award only confirms that. From the beautiful contemporary architecture to the friendly and professional staff, the Espirito Santo Plaza exudes luxury. Quest has made it possible for so many small businesses to be able to establish themselves in this prestigious address for an amazingly affordable price.
Quest carefully selects only the best addresses to open our centers. Location is every thing to our clients and we want to make sure never to let them down.
Congratulations to Joey Senker and all those who make the Espirito Santo Plaza an amazing and beautiful place to work, this award is well deserved!
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/18/2755533/voters-miami-beachs-fontainebleau.html#storylink=cpy
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Quest Workspaces is announced as a Finalist for Wayne Huizenga Start Up Award

It was announced this week that Quest Workspaces has been named as a Finalist for the Wayne Huizenga Start Up of the Year Award, sponsored by the South Florida Business Journal. At the event on April 26th, one of three finalists in the category will be announced as the winner. This award was created to “recognize startup companies on the fast track to success”. We cannot begin to put into words how excited we are to be receiving such an honor and especially from such a wellknown, successful and influential businessman as Wayne Huizenga. Not only is the Quest Team one of the reasons we have been given this nomination but we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our clients! Without their belief and confidence in what we do we could not imagine being so successful. Thank to them as well as the board that selected the finalists and the South FL Business Journal. Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck!

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Quest Workspaces Voted 2012 “Best Place to Work”

Last Thursday Quest Workspaces was recognized by the South Florida Business Journal as one of the “best places to work.” We were one of 15 finalists selected in the small business category. I attended a luncheon with Kamani and the center managers where they announced the rankings, starting with number 15 and working their way up to the #1 best place to work. We all had butterflies and let out screams of excitement and relief every time they announced another winner and we kept moving up in the ranking. We are a competitive bunch!
As the MC reaches #4 and begins describing our company, we realize it’s Quest Workspaces!!! With only 7 of us screaming and cheering so loud in a ballroom filled with 400 people, the MC stops and laughs because we are jumping up and down and carrying on as though we just won the lotto!
We may have been recognized as on of the top 4 places to work in Southern FL but after witnessing the Quest team’s pride and passion I knew we had won!
Thank you team Quest and to our Questers for making Quest Workspaces a great place to work and congratulations to all of the finalists!

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Quest Partners with Questers for Mojito Happy Hour on Oct 21st at 5pm @ Crazy About You


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Quest Cruise 2011

This past weekend Quest Workspaces celebrated the acquisition of our 4th business center in only a year with a Quest Company Cruise (say that 3 times fast) to the Bahamas. It was a weekend of fun, team building and wonderful Quest memories aboard the Norwegian Sky. Quester’s work hard but play harder and it is through this that the company strengths its core values of work and fun as not being mutually exclusive and the importance of community. The cruise was not just for the Quest staff but also our families; to thank them for their support and understanding about the long hours we’ve put in this past year to make each center great. It is not often that the staff gets together all in one place, so we definitely took advantage. There is nothing like driving downhill backwards down a one way street, running through the streets of Nassau through a parade with steaming hot conch, trying to make it back to the ship on time. We had such a wonderful time that we have already begun to plan our next excursion and we’ve decided to open the next one to include all the clients of every center and their families!




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Quest Team Member Profile

Each month we will be featuring a different staff member from each Quest center to give you an upclose look at our staff and see why our clients love them so much. Our first featured profile belongs to the lovely Amanda Medeiros!

Name: Amanda Medeiros
Center: Boca Raton – 1200 N. Federal Highway
Position: Client Service Coordinator
1. What do you do at Quest Workspaces? Client Service Coordinator Extraordinaire.
2. What is your favorite part of your job? The variety. Everyday there is a new challenge and there are plenty of personalities to deal with to keep you on your toes.
3. Why do you rock at what you do? I am a people person. I think that the clients feel comfortable talking to me and that helps create a rapport that so often leads to a lasting relationship. Once you develop that relationship and have an understanding of what your client needs to run their business everything else just falls into place.
4. Describe yourself in a nutshell. I am a born and raised Floridian! I grew up in West Boca and attended college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando studying Marketing and Sociology. I am a newlywed, married in February, and currently living in Deerfield Beach with my amazing husband, Al.
5. Tell us one thing the Questers would want to know about you. I worked in the salon and spa industry for over 7 years and in Advertising before working at Quest.
6. Tell us one quirky thing about yourself. I hate clutter! I am constantly throwing things out and giving things away to prevent build up.
7. If you could give the Questers one piece of business advice what would it be? The one thing I would advise is to network with your fellow Questers. You never know when you may need to call on them for assistance or a recommendation and vice versa. Networking is a very powerful tool!
8. Can you recommend any great places for the Questers around your center, restaurants, shops, bars, etc.? Mizner Park is a Boca staple and offers so many great restaurants and shops. My personal favorite place to hang is on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach. I love the laid back atmosphere and the variety of food and entertainment.
9. Why do you think Quest is different from other executive suites? I am biased of course but the one thing I hear over and over again from prospective clients is how great our “vibe” is. We strive to provide a positive and warm place for our clients to come to work every day. We care about their business and want to see them succeed.
10. What does customer service mean to you? Good customer service starts and ends with a smile. It is a simple concept but works like a charm.