Satellite Telework Centers wins Red Herring “100 North America” award
June 25, 2010
Satellite Telework Centers announced today that it has been named a winner of the Red Herring 100 North America awards for 2010. The award, whose past winners include Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter and Salesforce.com, is given to companies demonstrating the ability to disrupt an industry or create an entirely new industry via an innovative business model.
Satellite Telework Centers in BoingBoing
June 21, 2010
BoingBoing guest blogger Chris Arkenberg interviewed Satellite Telework Centers co-founder Jim Graham and part of the discussion included the new ways people want to work.
You can read the entire interview here.
SC Sentinel – Felton work center expands to downtown Santa Cruz
April 29, 2010
From today’s Santa Cruz Sentinel:
SANTA CRUZ – Out of the coffee shop and into the cubicle.
That’s the trend in downtown Santa Cruz, anyway, as Felton’s Satellite Telework Center opens its second work space for telecommuters, independent consultants and the self-employed in the New Sentinel building on Church Street, next to Internet provider Cruzio and nonprofit Ecology Action.
Satellite, whose current location offers rentable cubicles, cafe tables, conference rooms and office necessities like printers and phones will be the second such business to open off of Pacific Avenue. NextSpace Coworking + Innovation offers similar benefits on the corner of Pacific and Cooper Street.
But the heads of both shops say their businesses are so unique – and demand so great – that they should be able to thrive just a few blocks away from each other.
“You hear a lot about work-life balance, and this is a part of it, separating between work and home,” said CEO Barbara Sprenger.
The difference between each business is palpable. Satellite’s Felton location is understated, with a noise cancellation system keeping cubicles quiet and tasteful paintings by local artists on the wall. The business’ target demographic, said Sprenger and Marketing Director Jim Graham, is telecommuters, consultants and startups who need to rent office space by the hour, day, week or month. They feature a key card system similar to a hotel’s that tracks time spent inside Satellite, what printers or other office machinery was used and bills clients accordingly. About 50 people work there.NextSpace features red trim and Santa Cruz artist Steve Hosmer’s wall-covering, whimsical paintings. Customers purchase flat-rate “memberships,” which CEO Jeremy Neuner describes as buying into a community. NextSpace’s target demographic is independent, creative professionals seeking like-minded folks to work with. Nearly 200 people work there.
While some telecommuters base out of NextSpace, they don’t comprise one-third of its members like at Satellite, Neuner said.
“The nature of work is changing. People are going to continue to seek alternative work arrangements,” Neuner said. “We provide work arrangements that will work for some people. Satellite provides work arrangements that will work for some people.”
Even expansion plans are different. Along with downtown, Satellite is eyeing other locations in Westside Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, along with Pleasanton, Campbell and Morgan Hill. Sprenger and Graham said they research census data to learn commute patterns and income levels of communities where Satellite might be a good fit.
NextSpace, on the other hand, is seeking out “urban cores” where creative entrepreneurs now hole up in coffee shops with their laptop computers. Neuner declined to specify where NextSpace will open next, only to say that it will be in a major market outside Santa Cruz County.
With more commuters working from home and laid-off residents becoming self-employed, Sprenger and Neuner said demand for both types of space is only growing.
“We offer the same type of service, but it’s a slightly different clientele,” Graham said. “Both of us are taking advantage of this change in how people work.”
Monterey Bay International Trade Association seminar on telework and social media – this Friday
May 28, 2009
Barbara Sprenger and I will be among the speakers at tomorrow’s meeting of the Monterey Bay International Trade Association lunch seminar here at the Satellite.
Barbara will be talking about teleworking options and I’ll be giving a presentation on using social media applications to expand small business opportunities.
The Sentinel just ran a blurb on the seminar:
Telework Center hosts luncheon
The Satellite Telework Center will host a luncheon noon to 2 p.m. Friday at 6265 Highway 9 for the Monterey Bay International Trade Association.
Presenters will include Barbara Sprenger and Jim Graham of Satellite Telework Centers, Dan Licata of WebEx Communications, Nick Dawson of Go Electronic and Christopher Lucas of IntoWorld.
They will talk about efficient and cost-effective technologies for building businesses and using Web 2.0 collaboration tools and social networking technology to compete in the global marketplace.
Reservations are required. Online registration is $40 for non-members, $30 for members. The cost at the door is $10 more.
For registration go to www.mbita.org or call 335-4780.
The Satellite featured in RFID Journal
May 20, 2009
| We spoke with the editor of RFID Journal regarding our use of an RFID card system to give members 24/7 access to the Satellite and steamline the billing process for accessing phone cubes, private offices and conference rooms. The story just went online: |
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| RFID Lets Telework Center Get Down to Business RFID Journal, May 19, 2009 Most entrepreneurs launch businesses by spreading out their research materials and laptops on dining room tables, or in home offices, then meeting with clients or business partners at, for instance, a corner coffee shop. Recognizing this to be true, Barbara Sprenger decided to start up a business of her own: the Satellite Telework Center. The facility—located in Felton, Calif., at the southern edge of Silicon Valley—opened this month, offering members a place for small businesses or other organizations to conduct meetings or just work in a quiet space, away from the distractions of home. |
STC CEO Barbara Sprenger on KUSP’s ‘Talk of the Bay’ Sunday night
May 1, 2009
Update: If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to the segment (MP3) here.
Barbara Sprenger will join Los Gatos City Manager Greg Larson and Nextspace CEO Jeremy Neuner on KUSP’s “Talk of the Bay” this Sunday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Host Rachel Anne Goodman will be discussing how Santa Cruz County residents are exploring alternatives to commuting over Highway 17 to jobs in Silicon Valley.
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The Satellite Twitter
- 6 days ago--What's new with Satellite Telework Centers - September - link #coworking #telework
- Aug 6th--It's a free #coworking / #telework day here at the Satellite in downtown Felton. Come on in and set a spell.
- Aug 3rd--Just fired off our August email newsletter: link I <3 Constant Contact analytics.
- Jul 29th--We're hosting a free seminar on protecting small businesses from data theft tonight at 7 p.m. - link
- Jul 28th--Someone's doing a model photo shoot here at the Satellite
- Jul 26th--Our mid-month email newsletter, now brought to you by Constant Contact: link
- 6 days ago--What's new with Satellite Telework Centers - September - link #coworking #telework