By bbr

Necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say. Could it also be the mother of adaptation and adoption? Many Atlanta professional services firms are about to find out. Thanks to a massive fire that caused the complete collapse of a section of Interstate 85 in Midtown Atlanta yesterday, both northbound and southbound lanes of this major thoroughfare are going to be, according to a Facebook post from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), “closed indefinitely.” That’s heavy. Because of this, there are now quite a few businesses that need to figure out a way to work within the confines of their new normal: little-to-no easy access to their office space anymore.

Thankfully no one was injured, so given this, why not have a quick laugh before reality sets in.

While there are some attorneys and accountants who embrace the use of home offices or co-working spaces, we can safely say that many are still unsure. The total shutdown of three miles of I-85 may now force the issue for these folks. If your office is one of those that has been impacted by the I-85 fire and bridge collapse, we’d like to offer up some options for you to check out. We’ve used a few of these ourselves and others have been suggested by clients and friends of the firm. All have their own pros and cons, so review each one based on your specific needs. We hope these help with what are going to be some very headache-y days and weeks (and maybe months) to come.

Online Meetings & Conferences
The options below are either free, super cheap, or have free trials so you can test them before deciding to use the paid version.

• Skype
• Zoom
• Google Meet (formerly Google Hangouts)
• FreeConferenceCall.com
• UberConference
• Conference Calling
• Join.Me
• GoToMeeting
• InterCall
• WebEx

Co-Working Spaces
The meeting space options below are mostly pay-per-use or through paid memberships. Check with each individually to see what works for your needs.

• Strongbox West
• Industrious – Ponce City Market
• Roam
• Alkaloid Networks
• Decatur CoWorks
• SharedSpace Atlanta
• Desks Near Me (find other businesses willing to rent out their meeting rooms)
• Local country clubs (if you are a member, you can often get access to some meeting rooms for free or for a small fee for non-members)

Other Telecommuting Ideas
Here are a few other possibilities to consider:

• Double check if you’ve got access to VPN. If not, this article explains how it works and gives options.
• For those businesses that aren’t as heavily affected by the close of I-85 and have the capacity, consider reaching out to your clients, vendors and business partners to offer access to your conference space. That type of generosity can only serve to strengthen your business relationships. (And yes, you are welcome to borrow our conference table, just drop us a line.)
• Last but not least, don’t forget about MARTA! They’ve added additional trains and busses to the schedule, though keep in mind several bus lines will have to adjust because the bridge area was part of their routes.

Have any ideas or suggestions for your Atlanta professional peers? Let us know if the comments below. We’d like to shout a big THANK YOU to our friends and clients who provided several of the suggestions above:

• Tony Rushin (Network 1 Consulting)
• Donna Kardon (Kardon Compliance)
• Cathy Iconis (Iconis Group)
• Matt Tovrog (Bell Oaks Executive Search)
• Nikelle Klareich (Smith & Howard)
• Betsy Pass (True Wealth)
• Meredith Ragains (Georgia Lawyers for the Arts)

And a few more funnies for the road (that is no longer there…)