Monthly Archives

June 2021

June 22, 2021
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Sugar Land

Sugar Land ranks as most business-savvy city in the country

By | Other

National study by Verizon names the Houston suburb as “the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit,” according to city press release. (Claire Shoop/Community Impact Newspaper)

By Savannah Kuchar | | Updated 

In a recent study by Verizon, Sugar Land was named the No. 1 most business-ready city in the nation. The ranking was based in part on the city’s mean household income of $157,923 and three percent unemployment rate.

Other factors used to determine “The 15 Most Ambitious U.S. Cities” included the number of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, number of business applications, percent of population that starts a new business and home ownership.

Director of Economic Development Elizabeth Huff said in a press release the city was excited for this national recognition.

“It’s proof that our proactive efforts ensure a strong economy, support quality services for our residents and allow our city to maintain the second-lowest tax rate in the state among cities of similar size,” Huff said.

A city press release attributed their success in part to recent initiatives that invest in the city economy, such as Sweet Cash, a gift card purchasing program to support local businesses.

Frisco was the only other Texas city named by the study, and over half of those on the list were in California. Sugar Land also came out above the cities of Scottsdale, Arizona; Coral Springs, Florida; Pembroke Pines, Florida; Columbia, Missouri; and Miami Gardens, Florida.
June 1, 2021
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T

Featured Member – Roy Huddle

By | Business

Roy Huddle is our resident lawyer (and ping-pong enthusiast!) here at Business E Suites in Sugarland. Roy got his law degree from the University of Houston, and he might be the ONLY Family Law Attorney you will ever meet who is Pro-Marriage!

Before starting his practice, Roy dabbled as a real estate broker and worked on mortgage lending law. Anyone who knows Roy can tell you that those things were not his true passion. Roy lives to serve others, and although he can do that through any profession, family law is where he feels like he can truly use his strengths to impact people’s lives positively.

The way Roy works with his clients is fundamentally different than most family law attorneys. Roy is openly Christian, Pro-Marriage, and wants to help his clients heal their families and avoid divorces. This is what caused Roy to break off and start his own practice, to pursue what he feels is the right way to do things. When I asked Roy the most rewarding and most challenging times in his journey as an entrepreneur, both answers stemmed from this one big decision.

It was challenging because perhaps he made a move too quickly. Roy hadn’t learned all of the basic fundamental skills and in’s and out’s of family law. Even though he wanted to do things his own way, he could have benefitted from a little bit more time learning and absorbing the knowledge of other more experienced professionals.

In the end, though, it has been an enriching experience as Roy has helped multiple families stay together and grow and improve. It is something he might not have ever gotten to experience if he had stayed with his old job and followed the status quo. Having a job that aligns with your values and lets you positively impact the world is one of the most fulfilling things we can do.

Roy joined us at Business E Suites because he loved the sense of community in the office. It fits the type of environment of love and support that he wants to create within his own business. Also, as a lawyer, Roy needs to work long hours and sometimes late at night. Many other places did not offer the 24/7 access that he needed to get his work done correctly.

One piece of advice that Roy has for other business owners starting out: have a vision and pursue your ideals, but make sure to spend some time learning the industry before taking the leap on your own. He encourages everyone to try and find a mentor that can guide them on their journey.

We love having Roy here at Business E Suites, and we hope to continue building our vibrant community with more members like him.

June 1, 2021
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Should you consider co-working spaces? And who should pay?

By | Industry

By

DÉJÀ LEONARD
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED MAY 30, 2021

Déjà Leonard is a copywriter and freelance journalist based in Calgary.

HANDOUT

This is the weekly Careers newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Careers and all Globe newsletters here.

Déjà Leonard is a copywriter and freelance journalist based in Calgary.

As we begin to return to some semblance of normalcy – and the office – many companies and employees are wading through the murky waters of what “return to work” really looks like. Will employees be allowed to work from home full-time? Will they be expected to come back into the office? But there’s other questions gaining traction: Can employees work in a co-working space – and will companies pay for it?

STORY

Some companies such as JPMorgan Chase already have a solid set of rules, where specific teams can schedule work-from-home days from Tuesday through Thursday. Technology company Sabre Corp., which is headquartered in Texas, has significantly reduced its campus space and plans to bring about 25 per cent of employees back on site at least three days a week.

However, others, including Calendly, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of scheduling software, are giving their people the option of whether to come into the office, and are providing staff with memberships to co-working spaces – a trend that seems to be the perfect fit for employees who don’t want to work from home, but also don’t want to endure the dreaded, often time-consuming commute to the office.

It makes a lot of sense. While working from home holds immense appeal for many, it can also be distracting and more difficult to create healthy boundaries between work life and home life.

As chief executive officers try to weigh what they think is best for the business against what employees are demanding, it’s creating a new type of tension. And in some cases, employers will need to bend, or they’ll lose out on top-level talent.

According to a recent survey from insurance company Prudential, 42 per cent of current U.S. remote workers say that they would leave their job if their company did not continue to offer remote work options, signalling a potential war for talent.

At the same time, popular co-working spaces such as WeWork are preparing for a surge in interest as COVID-19 subsides.

Rebecca Pan, co-owner of the San Francisco co-working space Trellis, had this to say about the rise in demand: “Before the pandemic, it was that you were in the office full-time. I don’t think this will be the same in the future. People really appreciate flexibility. From a co-working point of view, fewer people go to a corporate campus, but [instead go] home or [to] Trellis.”

Should employers pay for it? Why not. On top of attracting a wider range of quality talent, co-working spaces save companies money by reducing the need for office space and common employee amenities. Plus, employees with access to co-working spaces are performing better than those without it, a U.S. workplace survey suggests.

At the same time, it seems that even if firms won’t pay, the majority of employees are more than willing to cover the cost of co-working spaces themselves if it means they can have more flexibility. A report by WeWork and independent research firm Workplace Intelligence indicates that 64 per cent of American employees are willing to pay out of their own pocket for access to office space to support hybrid work.

So, as we move closer toward “return to work,” we’ll likely see the conversation broaden to include the possibility of co-working as more employers balance the needs of the business and all of their employees with diverse needs.