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What are the Anthill Cool Company Awards?

The Cool Company Awards were launched in 2006 as a way for Anthill to acknowledge and celebrate Australian organisations that are doing things differently to bring about positive change. Cool Companies stay one step ahead of the rest. They breed leaders who are rule-makers and rule-breakers. They are trend-setters in attitude and action. Quite simply, they are … cool! More.

O3Office

Company: O3Office
Website:www.o3office.com.au
State: QLD
Category: Micro Business

It was one of the “aha!” moments that fire the blood of any goddess-fearing entrepreneur. Vickie Johnson, a businessperson often on the road, knew it was common to book a hotel, restaurant or flight, or rent a car. Why, she thought, can’t the same magic happen with office space?

In September 2010, she founded a company that gave the Sunshine Coast that very feature.

O3Office offers an online central hub from where people can reserve boardrooms, conference venues and offices. Spaces can be booked by the hour, day or monthly. In addition to giving travelers a place to set up shop and network, O3Office also reaches out to home-based offices that want to step up from coffee-shop gatherings.

Headquartered in Maroochydore, O3Office has spaces and venues available throughout the Sunshine Coast, but has designs on expanding services throughout Australia. The HQ has its own rentable meeting space, the Function Room, which is continuously booked.

The company’s administration operates almost exclusively in the cloud, with Xero financial accounting, virtual-assistant booking via its website, and extensive use of Facebook and other social media. And coming soon — an iPhone app.

In terms of environmental friendliness, O3Office does its small smart in cutting back the need for construction by repurposing existing spaces. The company is in the process of making its offices carbon-neutral and offering the option of carbon offsets for bookings.

O3Office, which was started with a bank loan and personal savings, employs less than a handful of people. Its annual revenue for the past fiscal year was less than $200,000; projections for the current fiscal year call for revenue to approach half a million.

The business markets through word of mouth, online and print media, radio and — especially — seminars and networking events involving clients and potential customers.

As O3Office expanded its catalog of spaces, Johnson and her colleagues have done more than collect rooms. They learn how others operate and incorporate those styles into O3, thereby expanding their network and building customers and leads.

O3Office’s goal in the months to follow is simple — dominate its niche by continuing to expand its catalog of office spaces and meeting places.

Johnson likes to say that O3Office offers meeting space, work space and, especially head space — places where people can settle in and be brilliant, or exchange ideas with others. And the company reflects the ocean-kissed vibe of the Sunshine Coast — relaxed, friendly and no ties.

O3Office business hub in Maroochydore

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