Indianapolis, Monument & Offices

The good news just keeps coming in.  Indiana enters February of 2012 as the 23rd state to pass right-to-work legislation.  Aside from what it means for Hoosier workers who now have the right to choose whether or not to financially support a labor union, it also means that more companies looking to expand or relocate their business to a state of higher profits will finally get to see how Indiana stacks up against other right-to-work states.

The reason I’m so excited about this new legislation is because Indiana has one of the best business environments anywhere, and when we get the chance to compete for new business, companies choose Indiana about 60 percent of the time.  Before right-to-work, we missed opportunities to present our assets to companies which expressed a strong preference for Indiana, but would only operate in right-to-work states. But that all changed this month, when the governor made it official with his signature that Indiana is not only serious about competing for America’s business, but Indiana is a serious contender for winning that business.

Actually, we were a serious contender even before right-to-work, but now we get to step into the ring and go toe-to-toe with states that never had to worry about being matched against us before our status changed.  Are those other states nervous about competing with us?  I don’t know, but if they aren’t, they should be.  While they’ve been out sparring with the same opponents, year-in and year-out, we’ve been training non-stop for this opportunity, and I’m pretty sure our record speaks for itself.

Daniel J. Hasler
Indiana Secretary of Commerce

Attached is a short video interview of Danny Meyer, New York City restauranteur, who makes great sense of a really simple concept that we at CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services are committed to emulating.  The trick is not in doing your job to the best of your ability – that should be a given every single day.  Rather, it is in how you make your customers and clients feel during their experience or transaction with you.  It is a lesson taken from the hospitality industry:  make every customer feel like they matter to you, that they are important to you, and that you are there to make the experience seamless and stress free. You are their advocate, adviser and friend. 

So simple….yet think about how often you really get that sense when you are the customer or client…..probably more often than not, you don’t.

What Super Bowl Host Cities can learn from Indianapolis that Convenience is King

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Well….here it is….the morning after Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis and it feels almost like the letdown after Christmas.  The decorations are coming down, the streets are reopening, the stars & athletes & fans are heading home, and for those of us who live here, it is getting back to business as usual.

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

But having been witness to this weekend’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis, which is being hailed by many as “the best Super Bowl ever”, business as usual here in Indy just may have a fresh, more energetic, global meaning now.

Look at hosting the Super Bowl as a giant business deal:   A couple of huge bureaucrats, the NFL and the City, looming over the process making all the rules; a cast of devoted, highly visible & successful business people who exuberantly served by chairing the Host Committee at large and its numerous sub-committees; and an army of nearly 9000 trained volunteers who made the well-oiled machine work,  all tasked with creating “the experience” of the world’s most watched sporting event .

From before the game was even awarded to the City of Indianapolis to it’s thundering crescendo Sunday night as the New York Giants hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, this “business” has given all of us an opportunity to see what it takes to set & accomplish enormous goals, over-promise AND over-deliver, recognize & deliver truly great customer service, and hopefully understand how to parlay this success into future business.

• Go big, or go home.  Set goals for your business that just might seem a bit out of reach.  If you never challenge yourself, you’ll never know your capacity for success.  Often, smaller thinking & actions take just as much time and energy as big, out-of-the-box thinking & action, so make your effort count.  Little Indy took on the giants of traditional Super Bowl cities, and never looked back.
• Keep your eye on the ball.  Not everything always goes as originally planned. Tweak your plan as needed along the way, but never lose sight of the goal line and the win.  Indy planned for a host of contingencies, made adjustments as necessary, but never lost sight of delivering the ultimate experience.
• Remember that your customers are the real referees.   Make the customer happy, and your stock and word-of-mouth advertising increase exponentially!  Indy’s Host Committee motto was, “Fans First”.  Sure they had to please the NFL, the city, the VIPs, etc., but it is the Fans who keep all of them in business.  Without our customers or “fans”, none of us exist.
• Do a celebration dance.  Capitalize on your success by having your customers tell others about their experience.  Toot your own horn just a little. It remains to be seen how Indianapolis will benefit from the rousing success of hosting Super Bowl XLVI, but all the press & social media banter will certainly raise Indy’s status as a thriving business community, a city full of heart & ingenuity, and create an aura of, “how DID they do that?!”

THANKS to everyone who had a hand in this extraordinary accomplishment for Indianapolis!!!

PROUD in Indy ~

Eve Shirley

CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services

Tri Indy, Downtown Indianapolis

Come out and join us when the season kicks off in May!

CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services specializes in the exclusive representation of tenants and buyers of commercial real estate.  For nearly 20 years, CARMEN has provided corporate real estate services to more than 400 businesses, delivering customized real estate solutions through its own experienced professionals and select industry partners.

A Super City

Inside Indiana Business is reporting that Indianapolis is pulling out all the stops during this Super Bowl week to impress upon the many business leaders who are visiting that Indy is THE place to set up shop and conduct business.  Those of us who currently live and work here know it is true.  CARMEN Commercial Real Estate has been operating in Indy for nearly 20 years….and it just keeps getting better.

A Super City

If you’re from the Indianapolis area you will probably recall a lot of this just as I did.  And like it or not along the way – it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, whether you liked or didn’t like who was in power at every juncture, what your beliefs were regarding whether or not public funds should be used, etc., etc. -  you have to look at this vibrant, exciting city that is now host to the grandest (by media standards anyway) sporting event in the world and say, “We did it”.  THEY did it. The forward thinking, the taking of chances, the plotting & planning, and yes, a little luck & magic too….and here we are today enjoying our Indianapolis, delivered just as promised.

If you’re not from around these parts, I think you will be amazed at how many people (many of whom you will recognize) had their hands in this astonishing transformation of a city that was dead by all accounts, and how it was resurrected on the notion that “sports” would draw people in and reinvigorate the city.  Boy, did it ever!

I hope you’ve had a chance to visit downtown to take in some of the Super Bowl excitement.  It really is something to see and experience!  But once the clock counts down to zero on Sunday night, and the NFL, the media, the VIPs, and all the fans pack it up and leave….we will still have OUR city, in all it’s glory to call home….to live here, to work here, to continue to build upon for future generations.  THANKS WFYI for telling our amazing story!

Chris Carmen

Founded in 2008, the Joseph Maley Foundation provides support to children of all abilities through the various events and programs it sponsors annually. To learn more about Joseph Maley, the Foundation, or to get involved, please click on the link above.

CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services specializes in the exclusive representation of tenants and buyers of commercial real estate.  For nearly 20 years, CARMEN has provided corporate real estate services to more than 400 businesses, delivering customized real estate solutions through its own experienced professionals and select industry partners.

Please visit our website at www.carmenrealestate.com for additional information, case studies, and client list.

Media Contact

Eve Shirley, Marketing & Client Services

Eve.Shirley@carmenrealestate.com

CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services specializes in the exclusive representation of tenants and buyers of commercial real estate.  For nearly 20 years, CARMEN has provided corporate real estate services to more than 400 businesses, delivering customized real estate solutions through its own experienced professionals and select industry partners.

Please visit our website at www.carmenrealestate.com for additional information, case studies, and client list.

Media Contact

Eve Shirley, Marketing & Client Services

Eve.Shirley@carmenrealestate.com

PolicyStat is an award-winning healthcare IT company based in Indianapolis, IN. PolicyStat provides industry-leading policy management software for hospitals, labs, outpatient clinics and integrated health networks. Founded in 2006, PolicyStat was created to fulfill one hospital’s need for a simple, efficient way to store its policies and procedures. After more than doubling its customer base in 2010, PolicyStat has become much more than policy and procedure management software, expanding its offerings into a full healthcare document management solution.

“It is always exciting to see another one of Indianapolis’ young tech companies growing and expanding, and it is a privilege for CARMEN to provide them with real estate assistance,” said Chris Carmen, President of CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services.

CARMEN Commercial Real Estate Services specializes in the exclusive representation of tenants and buyers of commercial real estate.  For nearly 20 years, CARMEN has provided corporate real estate services to more than 400 businesses, delivering customized real estate solutions through its own experienced professionals and select industry partners.

Please visit our website at www.carmenrealestate.com for additional information, case studies, and client list.