Executive Office Business Centers - The One Stop Complete Office
by Matt Berkley
When the elevator door draws open on the fourth floor of the 400 Chesterfield Center Office Building, it’s almost impossible to believe you’re stepping into a franchise. It’s the gorgeous lobby that sets the initial tone. A flat screen TV tuned into CNN is perched beside the reception desk, facing the deluxe leather seats in the waiting area. To the left, a glass enclosed space houses an elaborate boardroom table, with everything flanked by an impressive panoramic view of West County.
Unsuspecting visitors would assume they’ve stepped into a corporate headquarters, but they’d be wrong. It’s that concept that Greg Kintz, Richard Pisani and Stephen Caby are banking on: major corporate image and services at only a fraction of the price.
The trio of businessmen formed AMG (American Marketing Group),LLC, in late 2005, as a response to a void they recognized in the area of shared office space. The team is now gearing up to launch the first in a line of executive office suites and business center franchises in the St. Louis area, which are based primarily on Kintz’s Chesterfield Village Office Center.
The headquarters, Kintz’s space, occupies 18,800 square feet on two separate floors. The business center offers 65 executive office suites for rent on a short-term lease, as well as three conference rooms, which are available on an hourly rental basis. In addition, there are a number of virtual tenants, those not housed on site but still have access to the services for a nominal fee.
In addition to a more than impressive professional image, tenants are paying for a host of services including: administrative support, live and personalized answering, conference rooms, business mail center, website design and activation, courier service, technical support, videoconferencing capabilities. The list goes on.
“This is not about renting office space anymore,” says Pisani, the secretary/treasurer and CFO, “it’s about offering technological services to clients. That’s really what’s happening. And that’s why when corporate America started to downsize, it came to a facility like this.”
Kintz points out the incredible value that tenants get for their money. This is a steal, he says, “The average guy here spends $1,300 a month. Now, try to go out and hire someone to answer your phone for that much. That same person also gets an office, a desk, high speed Internet, access to several people to do whatever they need to have done, secretarial services and more. If you need breakfast here tomorrow, we’ll get it. If you’re flying out of town, we’ll book your seat. If you need reports done, etc. You’re not going to get that anywhere else.”
Most of executive office suite’s tenants are Fortune 1000 technology-based companies, with a minimal number of small- and medium-sized businesses, along with a few independent entrepreneurs.
The notion of franchising the office center concept started to take shape last year when Pisani and Caby came on board. Pisani says, “Steve and I have been together 28 years. We sell businesses and help people franchise. The real value of us hooking up with Greg is that he provides training and ongoing support, which is the key to franchising. Our job is to go out and find you the right location, get it built for you, get it up and running and help you advertise, market, promote and network.”
Kintz notes that similar franchise concepts have been extremely successful in cities such as Atlanta and Columbus. “It’s a matter of who wants to market the concept. Nobody has taken the initiative in St. Louis yet.”
What’s AMG’s biggest selling point for potential franchisees? Comprehensive training and continued support. Kintz explains how his experience comes into play, “As a new guy coming into this business, you know absolutely nothing, and you’re probably going to make $200,000 worth of mistakes before you finally start to get it.”
Angela Lieb, a member of AMG’s advisory board as well as the director of training and development, is no stranger to the industry. Lieb has 18 years experience in the executive office/business center industry and has taken on a number of rolls, notably her part in launching Offistart Business Centers. Lieb says that she’s more than excited about the opportunity to partner with AMG. “I really love this industry and the only other big players have merged and are no longer offering franchise opportunities.”
What AMG realizes is that the executive office suite business model isn’t going anywhere. “People think that no one’s going to use this type of space anymore,” Lieb explains. “But I still feel that there’s a need for the executive suite operations; people are more accepting of this model because it makes sense to not have huge overhead and have to commit to a five-year lease, buy furniture and buy a phone system and hire staff.”
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