We spend half of our lives working- Let's improve how we work

You wouldn't think the future of work would come out of a small beach town, would you??

Lucky for me, that’s the world we live in now.?

When I first developed the concept for VEL from my home in Fernandina Beach, the ambition was to introduce a new kind of working environment that meets the needs of the age we’re in.?

Since the pandemic, the nature of the workplace has been shifting and we are ushering in workplace 4.0.? According to McKinsey & Company’s American Opportunity Spring 2022 Survey, 58 percent of job holders in the United States - the equivalent of 92 million people - say they can now work remotely, at least part of the time.?

So when working at home becomes monotonous and uninspiring, where do these 92 million workers go? Well, they largely go to coffee shops.?

However, after many years of trying to work out of coffee shops, I realized that ultra-public workspaces cannot alone support the needs of our ever more remote and digital workforce. Today’s worker has to achieve a flow state faster. In catering to a general public’s needs, coffee shops are unable to specialize to any one person’s particular productivity needs. For the everyday remote worker, this becomes problematic.

Whether you realize it or not, your workspace influences your productivity. So if it’s true we spend half our lives working, why not improve how we work??

That’s why I co-founded VEL, a meticulously engineered, cafe-oriented workspace with award-winning coffee, food to fuel, revolutionary workspaces and the technologies of tomorrow. VEL is a workspace that meets a person’s particular needs through a combination of onsite amenities and cutting edge workspace design. At VEL, you can work in a transactional setting and be more efficient while co-working. It gives you the opportunity to experience the energy of other people working in the same space as you.

Before you ask - No, VEL isn't just another coffee shop… It’s where startups are born. Where projects are turned in 3 days BEFORE the deadline. Where breakthroughs happen. Where collaborators schedule dreams in reality. Where work gets DONE.

From the very beginning, VEL has been dedicated to creating a space that unleashes motivation and passion. Our work cafe exists so that you can accomplish twice as much in half the time and then spend the change on life beyond the screen.

I know, VEL sounds lofty. So how does it work? How does it make you more productive??

The short answer is that it can alter to your particular specifications to create a space and place that, by design, will help you get into your flow state faster. How often do you find yourself sitting in a coffee shop cursing to yourself about that one loud customer, or music that’s too loud, or the cafe kept too cold? VEL corrects that to help you focus on the work you need to do.?

At VEL, we’ve thought of everything - from optimal lighting and temperature, to reservable and private seating. We’re here to help remote workers to be more productive.?

Hybrid and remote work is the future - stop trying to fight it. For the past few months, there have been articles trying to argue for a return to fully in-office work. It needs to stop. You can’t fight the future. Flexible, hybrid or remote work has proven to work better for employees both with regards to productivity and happiness. The train has already left the station.?

Working remotely allows for increased flexibility and autonomy for employees. Technologies such as video conferencing software, collaboration platforms, and cloud services have the capability to keep people connected anywhere, anytime.?

Don't get caught by the wayside. Embrace that we’re in a new era of work.?

Still skeptical? I guess you'll just have to try it to see what I'm talking about. VEL’s inaugural? store is officially open in Savannah, GA at 1508 Bull Street, with plans to expand to additional markets in Nashville, Charlotte, and Charleston in the next year alone.?

It’s time to work wiser. It’s time to work at VEL!