What I knew before: Intuit makes Quicken and TurboTax.
What I know now: Intuit has an Institute for the Future.
Wow. While I’m tempted to examine what it must have been like to coin the term Institute for the Future (and get away with it), I will skip that and tell you about a nifty report they put out called the Future of Small Business Report.
In it, all roads point to: more small businesses, more startups, more single-person businesses, less formal structure, and less working in traditional offices. In other words, a bona fide recipe for a flexible, comfortable, community-focused office space. From page 13:
Starting a personal business can be a lonely and difficult task. Many people miss the social environment the workplace provides, as well as the business infrastructure. Coworking facilities are emerging to provide office space, meeting rooms, Internet access, printers, copiers, and so on as well as access to a community of like-minded people. These café-like collaboration and community spaces often start as local, grassroots efforts. They provide more than just office space and equipment; they also provide access to a network of small and personal business entrepreneurs.
Workspace 3 is gonna be huge.
