Gosia Kramer and Sebastian Van Overtfeldt (The Office): Growing Fast, Growing Lokaal
“We proved that The Office is flexible and can adapt to face whatever kind of crisis that may occur,” says Gosia Kramer, CEO, and Sebastian Van Overtfeldt, Managing Director, of The Office.
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How is The Office doing?
It’s doing perfectly well. I’m very proud to have seen it grow to become the key player it is today. The idea was called “crazy” five years ago, but I’ve learned that really meant “brave.” The Office is now a stable business that’s seeing more and more success every day. In fact, our 6,000 m2 co-working spaces divided across three locations are almost entirely occupied. During the past two years, we gained a lot of trust from our newly joined members. We offer them a workplace where they can visit and in which they trust and feel good. This is very refreshing and makes us think we’re on the right path.
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“While entrepreneurship is a journey that never gets easier, it is always getting more interesting!”
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How do you explain the success of The Office?
Our success essentially comes from the fact that we brought a concept to the market that didn’t exist in Luxembourg before. We also launched a food concept, with our brand “Lokaal.” Since we spend most of our days at work, we decided to create restaurant corners at The Office, which became the heart of co-working. After successive lockdowns, people needed more conviviality at work. They also realized the impact of their food on the planet and the importance of healthy meals. We supply food locally and seasonally – as much as we can – and we also offer affordable meals.
What are the challenges of entrepreneurship in Luxembourg?
Luxembourg is a very welcoming country for innovation. While entrepreneurship is a journey that never gets easier, it is always getting more interesting! The challenge in the hospitality business is finding people with the right mindset. When you work for a growing company, your staff must be very flexible and motivated. You have to be consistent and have a genuine motivation that will translate your vision, to your co-workers and your customers. Our advice to other entrepreneurs is to concentrate on their core business and outsource everything that doesn’t relate to it. The more time you focus on your business, the more it will grow. Focus, enthusiasm, ambition and patience are key to success! It’s also important to take care of yourself and practice starting every day with the right mindset.
What’s next?
We’re pushing the development of our online co-working offer because metaverse is one of the trends that’s getting bigger in office management these days. We’re also working on the implementation of new technologies in the real estate market in our 2022 strategy. Our world is evolving very fast and we proved that we are flexible and can adapt to face whatever kind of crisis that might come.