About Us

Michael Trask

Michael is the founder and Director of Living Workspace Business Centre, which was established in 2005. We understand Living Workspace to be the longest running Serviced Office business in Norwest.

A Hills resident and local community member for over 25 years, Michael draws technical and business experience from his thirty year career as an professional Engineer and Project Manager, the last 18 years in a self employed, business owner capacity. The majority of Michael's engineering work has been for large corporate clients, where he has gained powerful insights into the delivery of excellence, total professionalism, accountability and an ongoing drive for innovation.

A significant take out from life in the corporate world has been the imperative of a quality workplace which, with an appropriate level of "corporate vibe", leads to enjoyment of time at work. Feeling part of a team is, for most people, incredibly important.

Living Workspace was founded to provide a corporate style, professional work environment, for people who choose or find themselves working individually either as sole or micro business entrepreneurs or as key account managers for larger corporations. Living Workspace is a place for all of them to belong, to enjoy and to identify with as their own, secure workplace. In a continuously changing world, Living Workspace will always embody an ongoing evolution of vision, experience and passion, to grow with our clients, as they too evolve.

Joanna Ferguson

A long standing resident of the Hills District, Joanna's career has encompassed software training, adult education, office administration and customer service. With an experience profile including time overseas, Joanna is responsible for administration and business support services at Living Workspace. With her warm and approachable personality, she has a passion for customer service and drives the Living Workspace culture of meeting and exceeding our clients' expectations at every opportunity. As we all do at Living Workspace, Joanna loves working with people whether it's solving the smallest problem or helping our clients capitalise on some great new opportunity.

Joanna's background ideally equips her to support the business moving forward, through admin and book keeping services that complement physical office accommodation and will help Living Workspace become the pre-eminent Business Centre for local entrepreneurs and locally based corporate executives.

However we can help, Joanna will have the answer.

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Blog

Re-Inventing Our Worklife

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

After six months living with Covid-19, it is clear our lives have changed in lasting and significant ways; we are unlikely to revert back to what we once took for granted. Perhaps nowhere is this more significant than in the nature and character of our work life. Covid-19 has tripped a circuit breaker and for very many people the jobs they recently knew have evaporated and will not return - at least not any time soon, and likely not in the same format. None of this is news.

Such change and dislocation, whilst traumatic and involuntary, nevertheless spawns new opportunity. Actively seeking out new ways to generate value and income requires courage, confidence and resilience. Plus a helping hand never goes astray. When all the cards are on the table, anything is possible. For Living Workspace, we too, are challenging ourselves to support our business clients in new ways as they pursue those opportunities. As a Business Centre, nothing is off the table. Ask what we can do for you.

Michael Trask is the founder and Director of Living Workspace Business Centre, Norwest

Lasting Worklife Benefit from Covid-19?

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Recent Covid-19 flare ups in Melbourne and Sydney demonstrate both the fragility of controls and the reality that changed ways of living and working are going to be with us for some time yet. Best estimates for a vaccine seem to be in the order of 1–2 years or more at best.

“Working from home” has been with us for long enough that enabling, supporting and enhancing systems of work are now being more widely employed. Thoughts seem to be turning to discussion and serious consideration of this becoming the new “norm”. Of course there are very many jobs that can’t be done remotely (eg services) but there are very many that can. The message gaining voice is that people in majority like working from home, especially the return to them and their family of all those commuting hours. There is also the possibility of increased productivity and creativity flowing from a comfortable and low stress environment (which home hopefully is most of the time).

Major organisations are being challenged to think about how this change can be managed and, more importantly, how potential benefits and great value can be extracted from being a thought and action leader in this major re-structure of how “work” is done. An interesting article by McKinsey can be viewed here. Clearly employees are in the box seat to reap great benefit from such change. To the extent that Covid-19 has forced the pace of this change and the rapid refinement and widespread distribution of new low cost business communication technologies, maybe history will judge some good has come from Covid-19, to set off against its major destructive health and economic impacts.

Whether you are an employer, employee, contractor or entrepreneur, understanding the change that is upon us, you may want to be a leader in seizing new opportunities. You will need to be creative, fleet footed, innovative and not bound to past norms. Living Workspace Business Centre has always pursued innovative and flexible solutions for its clients, with a business model based more upon “what our client wants” rather than any fixed notion of what we should be doing or offering. Living Workspace is investing in communication technologies that can connect people from any location whilst presenting an image of a business of substance, located in a suitably professional location at Norwest Business Park. Whether our facilities are used in a physical or a virtual sense, we are confident we can provide what your business needs to prosper in these challenging times.

You don't need to be immediately planning to use our facilities or to become a Virtual Office or Serviced Office client to contact us. We are happy to engage in a conversation with you about how you can most successfully navigate your business through these challenging times. May be there is the potential for future business. May be not. In any case, there is no obligation - just drop us a line or give us a call.

Michael Trask is the founder and Director of Living Workspace Business Centre, Norwest

Living with Covid

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Working from home through Covid - how will time judge the experience? Anecdotally "great", "OK", "stressful", or "not practical" all feature in responses so far. Notably, working from home has not been a conscious choice for those affected - generally it has been thrust upon them. No one seems to doubt that major change has happened and that "work" will not revert to the way it used to be.

Many appear to have enjoyed the flexibility, and relaxed environment offered by "working from home". Few have probably missed the long commute by car, train or bus. The flip side has been a sense of isolation and loss of social contact for some. And maybe complication of family logistics for others. Again anecdotally, some have felt anxiety without the structure and discipline of a formal workplace, with various support functions close at hand. From all advice, Covid 19 still has a long way to go.

A domestic environment, pressed to professional purpose, has been well tolerated and at times generated humour with some lighter moments. "Working from home" may offer cost benefits to employers, alhtough the productivity return may be yet for assessment. So what is the future and where does a Serviced Office sit in this "living with Covid" world?

Offering flexibility of accommodation and lease term, prefessionalism and structure, social engagement and Risk Assesed Covid management procedures, a Serviced Office appears to offer value, relevance and effectiveness - especially so if it's close to home and a nice place to be. Hopefully you will consider Living Workspace has much to offer.

Michael Trask is the founder and Director of Living Workspace Serviced Offices, Norwest

Testimonials

We run a small medical distribution business and have now used Living Workspace for over 3 years. Living Workspace is a conveniently located facility, with good, modern boardroom features Unquestionably Living Workspace's greatest asset is their staff. All the staff members are polite, efficient and use good old fashioned customer service to help you. We are very happy with Living Workspace and hope to continue our business relationship with them for many years to come.

Matt Etherington

LSR HEALTHCARE