wildchocolate

This morning I woke up, put on a slouchy black t-shirt and knee length skirt from Urban Outfitters, and slipped on my silver flip flops. I gathered up my Macbook Air, Ray Bans, and beach towel, slathered on some SPF 45 (sun safety people!), and headed to the office. That’s right, I went to work like that. You won’t catch me ever walking to work in heels. No thanks. As I walked my 1/2 mile leisurely stroll through downtown Chicago at 9:20 am (because it doesn’t matter when I get in to work) I passed a bunch of sweaty people hustling around in 90 degree summer heat, some in full suit and tie, to get to work. Most were jacketless or carrying their jackets at least, but a majority had long sleeve collared shirts, briefcases, and shiny uncomfortable looking shoes. I smiled to myself realizing that not only was my job more fun, challenging, and rewarding than a lot of these people, but I also got to sleep in and layout on the rooftop sundeck at my office. That’s right, <commence jealous feelings> I am laying out in the sun on a beautiful summer day, and simultaneously experiencing what I consider productive, professional success with bare feet.

Where as in Silicon valley or pretty much most of San Francisco in general, my morning would not be so atypical, here in Chicago it’s still a traditional business town. Suits head to work at 7:30 am for the start of trading, because they need to look good for their bosses, and just in general because that’s what is expected. They often wear long sleeves in the summer, because that’s what’s expected. Having experienced a job like this myself in the past, I feel particularly qualifiied to say this: you don’t need a dress code, an early start, or a stiff office to be professional and successful! In fact, it’s quite counter-productive, and in my opinion old-fashioned! It’s not 1990 anymore. Let’s move on!

But just because I love what I do, have a successful software business, and enjoy going to work in the morning, doesn’t mean it’s easy to do this. In fact it can be trying at times to create something so many people don’t really understand. In a city that for the most part doesn’t get our philosophies and what we are trying to accomplish as a new kind of business, my partner Whit and I have often encountered challenges. The most recent of these occurred while looking for our first office.

We started out with a general online search using LoopNet and a few other popular commerical rental property sites. For months we scoured the internet looking for the smallest modern office space sans long term commitment (since we are prepared to grow at an unknown rate). We knew exactly what we wanted and were convinced that this office existed among the many beautiful glass towers in the Chicago loop. We supplemented our interenet search with walking aimlessly around the business district writing down the address of any half decent looking modern office building we could find. After all this effort, we determined that a few things on our checklist were simply not possible to find. The first was a year-to-year start-up friendly lease option. It just didn’t exist. The second, was a space that appropriately fit our small team. Everything that met our high standards for modern finishes, natural light, and hardwood flooring, was far too large.

But size wasn’t the only issue. Almost every single realtor we met with to view an office space passed obvious judgement despite our completely professional demanor. Of course, I’m not oblivious enough to know that this isn’t  somewhat expected considering that we showed up to very nice office buildings without being “dressed to the 9’s”, and didn’t talk in a demanding, overly pompous manner. And then there’s also the age factor. We were about half the age of several of the realtors we met.

It got even worse when we tried to explain our business to these people. “You write software? So you’re going to need a server farm and special wiring in the space. No servers? You just use wifi? What do you mean you don’t need a phone line? So do you ship cd’s or how do people get your software?” As we explained that we create Mac software and distribute it virtually online, which is also where our servers are hosted, and no we don’t work for Apple, people’s eyes seemed to glaze over in confusion. It was a challenge to say the least.

One realtor for a building we were somewhat interested in completely dodged our emails and  voicemails to the point where it became obvious that she did not think we were good enough for that building. Phew! Glad to find out sooner rather than later that our successful software company where people love their jobs and we experience profits that most businesses would kill for, isn’t good enough for you. Thanks for clearing that up. And here we thought that realtors were desperate to fill the hundereds of vacant office spaces all over the city. Our mistake!

We finally settled on a building in the heart of the city where the space was too big and a bit dated, but the realtor was our age and seemed to get it. And best of all, they were willing to make things happen quickly. This was just your average class A office high rise with 24/7 security, a nice modern lobby, and basic finishes. And besides, we had spent enough time on this search, were in the middle of holding interviews, and needed space now! Secretly, we both knew in the pits of our stomachs that this standard office with a 3 year lease and boring carpet was not who our company was, and definitely did not fit our future. But this was the only option, or so we thought.

Thankfully, only a day or two before signing a lease, Whit finally spoke up. I can’t remember exactly what it is that he said but the conversation went something like this. “I’m not so sure about this office. It’s not good enough, they’re ripping us off for a mediocre space, and it’s not who we are.” I was relieved because I was experiencing similar anxieties. Luckily, Whit thought of a brilliant idea. He had heard about a very nice modern mixed-use loft-style apartment building that also rented to businesses. We called and within hours had a tour setup. Upon walking into the perfectly sized modern luxury space, we both knew it was the right place. And best of all, they do year-to-year leasing. We signed a lease on the spot, called the other realtor to inform her (she was not pleased) and let out a huge sigh of relief.

A month into our new office, and with one fantastic new team member, Sara, to share it with so far, we couldn’t be happier. I mean, I did mention I am sitting in a lounge chair on the rooftop sunning myself as I work, right? We almost gave up on being ourselves. I’m sure we would have turned out ok in the other office as well, but it would not be at all a reflection of the fun, casual nature of our business. We will be more than happy to enjoy this beautiful space for another year, and then who knows where we will go from there. But one thing is for sure, we will never make the mistake again of being anything but true to our company, and our personal values. Besides, that’s exactly how we got to where we are today!