For a business to grow, it needs a network of contacts. This statement might seem trivial at first glance, but good relationships not only allow companies to develop faster but can also replace promotion, acquisition costs, and often even quality certificates and references. They save time, money, and energy that would otherwise be required to ensure business growth without such relationships. For many companies, a contact base is one of their greatest assets, and building it takes years of work; however, there are factors that can significantly accelerate this process.
Clubs and Associations
Business organizations were established to connect, build relationships, and exert pressure on decision-makers. There is strength in numbers, which is why institutions representing entrepreneurs very often act on behalf of their members, lobbying for changes in law, deregulation, or the location of important investments. However, what business organizations do on a daily basis is create a space for cooperation for their members. Employers of Pomerania are becoming an important partner in shaping the long-term socio-economic development strategy – says Tomasz Limon, President of the Board and Managing Director of the Employers of Pomerania association. One of the most important functions of an organization is to create a space for building business relationships based on trust and mutual recommendations. The organization integrates entrepreneurs from various industries and economic sectors, enabling them to meet directly, exchange experiences, and identify potential areas of cooperation. Thanks to regular meetings, conferences, and networking events, a strong network of contacts is formed. In practice, this means that entrepreneurs associated with Employers of Pomerania much more often establish commercial cooperation, use the services of other member companies, and jointly implement various types of projects. The organization thus acts as a catalyst for economic cooperation, connecting the entities associated with it.
As Tomasz Limon emphasizes, organizations associating entrepreneurs also undertake activities that go far beyond the usual possibilities of company cooperation: For years, our organization has initiated social and educational projects, strengthening relations between business and non-governmental organizations, and thus we also promote standards of responsible and modern business conduct. It should be emphasized that Employers of Pomerania play a key role in building social capital and strengthening intersectoral cooperation. Within our organization, we create a platform for exchanging knowledge, experiences, and best practices, integrating entrepreneurs representing various industries and scales of operation.
Location
Business centers also play a similar role, allowing for an almost seamless entry into the environment of large businesses. The largest business centers offer a range of meetings, conferences, and their own business clubs, thanks to which relationship building happens much faster and almost naturally here. Olivia Centre, the largest business center in Poland, organizes several such projects almost every week, which annually translates into dozens and hundreds of opportunities to interact with potential new business partners – explains Bogusław Wieczorek, Proxy of the Olivia Centre Board.
Coworking Spaces
Another solution that, by its very business model, is linked to business development, is coworking spaces. If they are located within business complexes, they allow budding entrepreneurs to quickly enter the large business environment. Their advantage, compared to, for example, business incubators, is primarily that they are run in large office centers, which enables coworkers to establish contacts with large businesses.
For many years of our operation, we have seen that we provide an excellent springboard for our coworkers’ development – says Marta Moksa, Director of O4 Coworking at Olivia Centre – I’m talking not only about startup businesses but also about those who discover that Tricity is their new or next headquarters. They need to get to know the market, hire talent, and scale gradually and safely. That’s when our flexibility (you grow, you shrink, you pivot, or you modify) becomes powerful support. And if you add networking, workshops, events, LeadWell conferences, employer branding support, and care for new employees, development is definitely simpler. Every move from O4 to a larger, dedicated office in Olivia fills us with great pride. Because it shows that our over 10 years of experience in supporting entrepreneurs really works.
There are quite a few examples of companies that, after years of development in O4, spread their wings enough to move beyond the coworking framework. For Sea Global, a company operating in offshore and energy infrastructure engineering, choosing the right work environment and business surroundings remains an important element of development. As Angelika Gojdycz, Operations & Marketing Specialist at Sea Global, emphasizes: The space in O4 was our first office after SEA Global started operations in Poland. It was a very valuable stage for us, especially at the beginning of our market presence. The flexible formula allowed us to quickly scale the team and focus on projects, without having to get involved in administrative matters. A big advantage was also the openness of the community and the possibility of establishing business relationships, supported by networking initiatives and events for residents.
A well-thought-out choice of office location also translates into the possibility of operating within a unique business ecosystem. Sea Global has its offices in Olivia Centre, where other companies from the energy sector are located nearby, including Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne, Energa from the Orlen Group, as well as a branch of PEJ, responsible for the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant, and a number of other potential cooperators and companies providing business support services.
As Angelika Gojdycz emphasizes, the conclusions from choosing this development path proved to be a very good direction: From the beginning of Sea Global’s presence in Poland, the location in Olivia Centre was the first and logical choice. An important element was also the efficient functioning of the office space and access to fully equipped infrastructure . The whole was complemented by the commitment of the O4 team and their openness to the needs of the community, which translated into a comfortable and well-organized work environment.
The company followed a similar path zw-engineering. Paweł Witek , an automation engineer, emphasizes that the three-year development period in coworking allowed them to fully concentrate on their business, without the need to engage in simple administrative tasks: We focus on creating our own innovative solutions supporting work in virtual environments, using artificial intelligence. Simultaneously, we are developing proprietary tools that will strengthen our competencies in management, quality improvement, increasing development potential, and solidifying our market position. O4 is an ideal place for growing companies that need a small, flexible office space and want to focus on their core business, without having to deal with daily office operations. The company’s growth, resulting not only from an increase in the number of employees but also from growing technological needs, led us to decide to move to Olivia Centre. Creating our own research and development (R&D) facilities and server infrastructure became crucial to enable further scalability of operations, increase innovation, and achieve independence from external solutions.
Companies that have employee well-being embedded in their DNA also pay attention to the social dimension of operating in a coworking space: We are a company with Scandinavian roots, so employee well-being and high office standards are deeply ingrained in the company’s practice – says Mateusz Mąkosa, Ocean Freight Specialist at Greencarier: Immediately after the establishment of the Polish branch of Greencarrier, our director’s eyes turned to Olivia Centre. As an initially small branch that was just beginning to build its presence in the Polish market, we were looking for a small-sized space that would simultaneously make employees enjoy coming to the office. Hence the idea for a coworking space, which could provide us with both an appropriately sized office and a wide range of ready-made amenities, the building of which from scratch was not necessarily feasible at a time when the focus was on expanding our company’s recognition and creating processes practically from the ground up. As a result, we spent about a year on the second floor of Olivia Star, with the wonderful people from O4. Looking back at the time spent there, the friendly space and warm atmosphere, constantly nurtured by the Community Managers, allowed us to build our presence in the Polish market from scratch in an environment that supported productivity, enabled the exchange of experiences, and fostered a network of contacts that we would not have met elsewhere.
And it is precisely this support, commitment, and flexibility that coworking residents rate highest: In our memories of O4, initiatives aimed at integrating O4 Residents take precedence, such as joint Christmas Eve dinners, quizzes, or office games, which allowed for integration not only among Greencarrier employees but also with other people we regularly met in numerous common areas – says Mateusz Mąkosa. The amenities available there, such as a massage chair or a foosball table, provided moments of respite during stressful times, and O4 employees came to the rescue in moments of crisis, such as a printer breakdown – they offered the use of their equipment. Greencarier also decided to move from coworking to standard offices in Olivia Centre after years of development: At a time when our company had grown so much that we no longer fit in O4, it was a natural step for us to look for space in Olivia. Key to this decision was employee satisfaction with this location – people from Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot all have comfortable access to the office by various means of transport, from SKM and tram to bicycle and private car. After our stay in O4, maintaining the office standard was also crucial, and very few offices in Tricity offer a similarly high standard as Olivia Centre while also providing such an optimal location for residents of the entire metropolis – notes Mateusz Mąkosa.
Once again, the old maxim that the big can do more is confirmed. Smaller enterprises, by choosing large business centers, can count on the scale of the facility to allow them to benefit from a wide range of opportunities awaiting every tenant. Key aspects include not only the possibilities of engaging with large partners but also the ability to scale the business in one place, as well as additional benefits for employees, which include: convenient location, excellent transport links, numerous service and catering points, and integration initiatives aimed at employees.
