Skip to main content

Collective:

Denoting a number of persons or things considered as one group or whole…
: of, relating to, or being a group of individuals
: involving all members of a group as distinct from its individuals
: marked by similarity among or with the members of a group
: shared or assumed by all members of the group

Source: Merriam Webster

Since 2012, The Label Collective has operated as a completely virtual business. Our reason for moving forward with this business model, at the time, was largely in response to the marketplace. Contract-to-hire positions were more available than full-time roles, temporary offers were made instead of permanent ones, and the rise of software and technology solutions made it easier not to be tied down to a physical location.

Fast forward to our 8th year of business. We now have four full-time employees (including us), and we are confident that our headcount may increase again this year. Our clients are becoming larger and more dedicated to working with us. We have officially reached the tipping point where, somewhere in the not-so-distant future, gathering at a coffee shop once a week will no longer be feasible.

Therefore, in 2020, we decided to revise our business model and move back into an office.

Here’s the thing: to us, it’s more than just an “office.”

We’re not envisioning our space as a typical office environment; it’s so much more than that. It’s a collective, collaborative landing spot. And we’re investing in it for everyone, not just us.

Having an office means we have a dedicated space to have our team together, host clients for brainstorms, or catch up over breakfast tacos and music. Our remote teammates know they can travel to us to collaborate on projects and attend weekly working sessions and status meetings in-person. 

We’re at the stage in our business where we need the ability to work together beyond our everyday Slack and UberConference conversations. We ultimately recognize the advantages to a completely virtual work environment, but also acknowledge the benefit of having our team together. We believe it brings greater creative energy and culture.

Moving out of the condo and into the family home

How did we find “the one office” that fits our needs? Long story short: we had to think long and hard about what this would mean to the future of our company.

Here’s what we knew:

  • We didn’t want to lose our collective culture.
  • We wanted an office space that was as central as possible for our entire team.
  • We believe the future of work doesn’t follow the traditional 9-5 schedule. 
  • We prefer our employees to be efficient within the hours they are able to work, not at a specific time of day. 
  • We wanted to keep flex hours for everyone for any circumstance, including when family needs to be a priority.
  • We wanted to make decisions geared towards our team’s health and well-being, including sit/stand desks.
  • We wanted our clients to feel like they could approach us and meet with us in a place that’s not surrounded by their peers. 

As a result, we toured many coworking and office spaces. The right opportunity came when we found a house that was in a truly central location. 

We are also fortunate enough to permanently share our space with Leslie Chunta of The Lab Collective. Leslie has been an invaluable Sales and Marketing partner to us over the past two years, and we plan on working together to provide complementary services to all our clients.

“Collective” is still the keyword. Everyone, together.

We’ve committed to turning our new office space into an integral part of our company’s culture. Our mission is to find the sweet spot between our original virtual working environment and a successful creative collective location. Ultimately, we want everyone who visits us to feel as welcome as if they were in their own space. We hope to see you soon!