WRITTEN BY MIKE PIEKARSKI | PHOTOS BY MEGAN HAGGERTY

Like a wildfire, when COVID-19 struck U.S. shores a few years ago, it swept through the population and laid waste to untold numbers of businesses, forcing the shuttering and disuse of myriad companies nationwide.

Migrate America, a Saratoga Springs-based business hub and services provider, was not spared the effects of the pandemic. Though it had established its presence on Putnam Street years earlier, the company had not gained a local foothold before COVID struck. And when the pandemic hit, many people either were barred from working in office settings or chose not to—a decision that wreaked havoc on the business hub model.  

“Because of COVID, the business environment collapsed, and everybody had economic issues,” says Migrate America owner and CEO, Robert Starbuck, whose company leases office space to parties not inclined to set up their own facilities. Though Migrate America, also known as Migrate, is the official company name, the real estate property management and shared office space portion of it is known by its brand name: The Business Hub.

According to Starbuck, The Business Hub had a 90 percent occupancy rate before the pandemic, which dropped to about 30 percent during the height of the COVID scare. But over the past few years, the company’s occupancy rate has climbed back up to 85 percent.

“We’re reemerging out of the ashes,” says Starbuck, 61. “People want to come back to an office. They’re tired of working from home.”

And as such, that means his company is relevant again. On the Putnam Street site, 35 fully furnished offices are available on short-term, flexible leases. “Members” include both companies and individuals: law firms, consultants, IT companies, and real estate enterprises, to name just a few. 

A typical client, Starbuck says, “can work at home, or he could have an office. A lot of times, people need that real estate—they want that office.”

If a client opts for the latter, “The Hub” can provide a front-office setup, meeting rooms, common areas that include printer availability and a kitchen, and other perks.

The company’s physical features, however, are only part of
its attraction.

“Our core,” Starbuck says, “is basic business administration, and every organization needs some form of business administration, whether it’s a big company or not. We focus on that.” 

Outsourcing that administration—including human resources, accounting, paralegal, bookkeeping, and other services—is the other part of the equation, all of which falls under the Migrate brand.

“Outsourcing is now becoming a very powerful tool, especially with professionals,” says Starbuck. “We’re catching both the corporate office rebound and the outsourcing demand. Basically, [a client] can take their entire [scope] of business—all their accounting and operations—and outsource it. Instead of them hiring an accountant and then a paralegal, they can just come to one company and get all their business support needs.”

Members “don’t want to have to do [all the necessary business tasks] themselves,” Starbuck says. At the Business Hub, “They have a shared printer, a front office, a shared common area, but they also have their own office. If they need bookkeeping, they need corporate filing, sales support, administrative support, they have it.” 

As an example, Starbuck says, “a professional lawyer [can come to us and say], ‘All I want to do is be a lawyer. Take care of everything [for me]. Show me where my office is; show me my meeting room when I need a meeting room. And I need somebody to be my front office. Will you do my bookkeeping, will you do my HR payroll, will you control my administration [needs]?’”

At the Putnam Street site, the answer to all those questions is “yes.”

Without worrying about overhead or other recurring business expenses, members can enjoy what Starbuck calls “the amenities and the flexibility of a shared corporate-experience complex and a corporate operating platform.” 

In his previous jobs—all overseas—Starbuck worked in Hong Kong, London, Zurich, and the Middle East for large companies seeking to establish business footholds in far-flung locations. One of those jobs was for the Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“Swiss Re”), the largest reinsurance company in the world.  

In America, he says, “our focus is on large companies that act like an SME [small- to midsize enterprise]—what I call SME-like. We have clients that are small branches of very large companies. We focus on [individuals or small groups of people] who work for very large companies but want to be on their own—not the startup coffee shop, or the incubator, or tech-hub startups.”

The company name’s origin goes back to 2008. Starbuck, who graduated from Harvard in 1984 with an economics degree, had just left a large industry that had continually hired him to expand or redo businesses overseas. In his field, the hiring companies “needed advice on how to [set up operations in a foreign location], they needed a place, and they needed an operating platform.”  

“I realized, ‘I’m really a hired gun to come in and fix something,’ so I decided to set up my own company.” Regarding the name, Starbuck explained, “I wanted it to be a verb—an action—and because it was about expanding business and going to locations and helping them, I analyzed it, and [I thought of] ‘migratory’—[as in] migratory birds. They go—they never leave home—but they go, and they come back. It’s all about migrating a business. It’s about going to other places but not losing your home headquarters—not transferring, but expanding, to other places. And also migrating to new operating platforms.”  

When his previous job in the Middle East concluded last year, he returned to America “for good.” Soon after, Starbuck took over the reins of Migrate in Saratoga, where he had opened up a branch years earlier. Though he had worked overseas almost exclusively since entering the workforce, Starbuck, who lives in Grand Isle, Vermont, enjoyed his occasional visits to Saratoga when he would fly into New York City on business. He bought the lease to the Putnam Street location in 2016. 

“It was a perfect location,” Starbuck says. “It’s a nice, well-focused, professional business community. I wanted [the U.S. branch of the company in] Middle America. I didn’t want it in the big cities. The goal is to stabilize the American model as a standalone, then put in all of the services locally.”

Currently, the local branch has five full-time employees, though Starbuck envisions having a staff of 20 by the middle of 2024.

“Ninety percent of the business I was doing was international,” he says. “We’re now shifting [the focus], saying, ‘Let’s take this flagship that’s here in Saratoga and do something with it.’”

Starbuck, never one to think small, has big plans.

“We’re solidifying the Saratoga operation, and then we’re installing the franchising model, and then we’re going to be franchising from Saratoga out to other parts of the country.”

In other words, Starbuck believes his company will catch fire once again.

More information can be obtained by contacting the company through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 518-631-2347.

WRITTEN BY HOWARD LITWAK

In today's fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, efficiency and effectiveness are keys to staying ahead. To that end, Chat GPT can be the ultimate small business ally! It can transform strategic planning, automate processes, and provide data-driven insights for informed decision-making.

From market research to competitor analysis, Chat GPT can help you craft strategies that align with market demands and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Moreover, it can help you and your team be more creative by generating fresh ideas for products, content, and customer experiences. Using Chat GPT, you can reach new levels of potential, optimize customer engagement, and navigate growth with more confidence. Whether you're a new entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, Chat GPT is a game-changer for those who can get beyond beginner mode.

Strategic planning begins with a deep understanding of your market, industry trends, and customer needs. Chat GPT can be your research partner, sifting through vast amounts of data to provide you with real-time insights. It can analyze market trends, competitor strategies, and customer feedback to help you identify opportunities and potential threats. With this knowledge, you can make data-driven decisions and tailor your business strategies to align with market demands.

ChatGPT can be your strategic thinking partner when it comes to setting clear and achievable business goals. By understanding your vision and objectives, ChatGPT can provide valuable input in crafting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals. It can also help you prioritize goals based on their potential impact and feasibility, ensuring that you focus your resources on initiatives that contribute most significantly to your long-term success. 

Strategic planning should not stifle innovation; instead, it should encourage creative thinking. ChatGPT can act as your brainstorming partner, generating fresh ideas and innovative solutions to challenges your business faces. Whether it's exploring new product concepts, marketing strategies, or process improvements, ChatGPT's creative insights can inspire breakthroughs for your business.

Creative and engaging content is essential for capturing your audience's attention and building brand loyalty. ChatGPT can be your content ideation partner, generating ideas for blog posts, social media updates, videos, and more. By understanding your brand voice and target audience, ChatGPT can propose content concepts that align with your marketing objectives and leave a lasting impact on your customers.

Establishing a strong brand identity and positioning is crucial for standing out in a competitive market. ChatGPT can assist in brainstorming ideas for branding elements, such as logos, taglines, and brand stories. Moreover, it can help you explore different positioning strategies to carve a unique space for your business in the hearts and minds of your target customers.

Sales scripting can play a vital role in guiding your sales team's conversations with customers. ChatGPT can analyze your target market and value proposition. Then identify the most effective language and approaches that resonate with customers. By optimizing your sales scripts based on these insights, you can equip your sales team with persuasive messaging that leads to higher conversion rates. 

The subject line is the first impression your email makes on recipients. Crafting compelling subject lines is crucial for increasing open rates. ChatGPT can help you brainstorm attention-grabbing subject lines by analyzing successful email subject lines from your past campaigns and other industry leaders. This data-driven approach ensures that your subject lines are optimized to entice recipients to open your emails. 

Running email campaigns can be a time-consuming task, particularly for B2B small business owners juggling various responsibilities. ChatGPT can streamline your email marketing efforts with automated email sequences tailored to your prospects. From personalized welcome emails to follow-ups after meetings or consultations, ChatGPT helps you write relevant messages to nurture leads and engage prospects throughout their journey. Additionally, ChatGPT's insights can help you craft targeted messages for abandoned inquiries or contract renewals, ensuring your B2B relationships are nurtured and maintained. With ChatGPT as your virtual assistant, you can focus on building strong connections with potential clients, boosting conversions, and ultimately driving growth. 

ChatGPT is the game-changer that can help any small business unlock growth and success. From strategic planning to sales and marketing, ChatGPT's capabilities can revolutionize the way you can navigate the dynamic landscape. As long as you know at least the basics of how to use it. 

Take advantage of what ChatGPT can help you with. And remember that you don't have to go it alone. Partnering with SIX Marketing's new ChatGPT consulting service will help you maximize the benefits of this cutting-edge technology for your business. Our team of power users will guide you in implementing ChatGPT effectively, ensuring you meet your business’ greatest needs. 

Act now, whether it’s with us or not. And seize the competitive edge ChatGPT can provide!

WRITTEN BY MICHAEL NELSON

Marketing in today’s environment has a lot of objectives, including Brand Awareness, Lead Generation, Communications, and P.R., just to name a few. But they can all in some way boil down to this: helping you stand out in a crowd and get noticed by potential clients or customers. This can be somewhat of a daunting task considering the vastness of the digital universe now and the amount of noise on the many marketing channels available to you and your marketing team. It is possibly even more difficult for the solopreneur or small business owner. These are people that are scaling their business while still trying to figure out how to effectively market that business at the same time. 

Hopefully, I can simplify things just a little here by shining a light on your RAS — your Reticular Activator System. 

I cannot remember where I first learned about the RAS, if it was a book I read, a workshop I went to, or just a friend telling me about it. I know over the years I have continued to learn more about it and harness its power for our sales and marketing efforts.  Located in the brainstem, the RAS has a few different roles in the human body. However, since hormone control and sleep regulation aren’t going to help you get noticed by customers, let’s focus on the functions that are most useful to us as marketers. 

Every moment of every day, there are thousands of data inputs hitting all of your senses at the same time. It is impossible for us to be consciously aware of all of them as they happen, so our brains developed a way for us to unconsciously register all the data and then communicate to our conscious mind when one of them needs our attention. In walks your RAS. 

The RAS acts as a filter that is cued in on data inputs when they reach one or all three of the following criteria. 

So how does this relate to marketing? The RAS is what stops a user mid-scroll to actually pause and read a post that comes up in their feed on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. Messaging, content, images, and videos should all be built around activating someone’s RAS. A good ad or post will incorporate one of the RAS criteria while a GREAT one will incorporate all three.

Need proof? Start paying attention to what it is that grabs your attention the next time you’re on your favorite social media channel, cruising Broadway on a Saturday, or even just walking through a store.

Does it relate to any of the three criteria? You bet your RAS it does!