Connections – A Chance Meeting & Virtual Office Space
Sheila McIlany is not one to miss an open door.
She recognizes opportunities and does whatever it takes to capture them. The character trait has served her well in her successful business and entrepreneurial career, and in her networking efforts. So when a colleague abandoned her on a Lakeland street with a total stranger, she decided to make the most of it. A walk to the post office with Kate Lake helped to shape her company’s Florida expansion.
Seeing a Need, Finding a Niche
Sheila knows quite a bit about tracking inventory working with the largest accounting firms and corporations in America. Her experiences proved to her that not only were assets often lost and unaccounted for, but that her clients could be liable for their lapses in tracking.
Sheila developed IPM Asset Solutions, based in Houston, Texas. The company utilizes radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and software. This technology connects the back office and front end with asset tracking and reporting. The service is desperately needed and in many cases provides a positive ROI within a year. However, educating organizations has been an uphill battle. “I can prove the cost benefit”, Sheila shares. “But it requires a shift in the corporation’s thinking, their way of doing things. People are naturally resistant to change.” That hasn’t stopped Sheila, though. She is a strong believer in staying in the public eye, business networking, and empowering other business women.
In fact, it was her decade long affiliation and sponsorship of women’s empowerment event Go for the Greens which inadvertently led her to My Office & More.
Cancelled Event Led to Lakeland Virtual Office Space
Sheila lives and works in Houston and Wyoming. She would visited Florida once per year for the annual Go for the Greens event – and, she admits with a smile – to have an excuse to go to Walt Disney World. During her trips, she began to notice the dynamic business environment which the region offered. Soon she landed a few key clients for her RFID system. Sheila determined it was time to set up a presence in the Sunshine State, but was wholly disappointed with the virtual office and coworking options she found in Tampa and Orlando.
It was walking through Lakeland where she found her answer. Her annual event cancelled for weather, she met a colleague for lunch at a favorite restaurant downtown. He spotted Kate Lake, owner of My Office & More, and introduced the two on the sidewalk, saying “you should get to know one another.” With that, he left the two women alone. Sheila quickly learned that Kate had been signed up to attend the very event she sponsored, and a friendship was born. But this association is far more than a friendship.
“My Office & More is a rare, hidden gem,” Sheila says. “Kate is brilliant, and funny, and remarkably creative with how she approaches business – and one of the best people I have ever met.” The Lakeland workspace Kate had developed was equally impressive. Sheila immediately established a virtual office. It not only affords her state-of-the-art business features and meeting space when she is in Florida, but serves as a bona fide office location for her business. The My Office & More team often coordinates local resources prior to Sheila’s arrival, from catering to printing. Clients can walk in and speak to an administrative staff familiar with IPM Asset Solutions. “This is not just renting space”, Sheila shares. “It is having a Florida-based team to help me run my company successfully. And the rates, quite frankly, are unbelievable.”
Solutions for Every Business
Whether your small business is in need of a place to hold your meetings and seminars – or like Sheila you are looking for a local office with dedicated staff – My Office & More is the place to be in Lakeland. Kate has created a business work environment which provides more than trendy space. It’s more than state-of-the-art capabilities. And it’s more than providing solutions for your organization, no matter how small. She has created a business solution with heart and a commitment to your excellence. And that makes all the difference.
Just ask Sheila.
For more information on IPM Asset Solutions, visit their website or call Sheila at (713) 562-2374.
For more information on virtual office space, meeting rooms in Lakeland, and the most creative office solutions in the region, call the My Office & More team at 863-333-5120.
