March 2015 – The global economic downturn experienced in recent years has given rise to a new generation of entrepreneurs and freelancers looking to establish their own start-ups in response to a growing scarcity of jobs and lay-offs.
From the outset, these small businesses usually operate from home in order to keep their costs low. They also initially require very little office space. Interestingly, there is a growing trend in the freelance and small business community to run a business from serviced office spaces offering resources for shared office space and with good reason too.
- Valuable Networking Opportunities
Sharing an office with other like-minded professionals at The Business Exchange, or co-working as it is also known, provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet and network on a daily basis. This opportunity, if properly explored and managed, can provide an extensive network of valuable clients for the start-up. It can also lead to establishing a solid foundation with potential suppliers, as each entrepreneur becomes more familiar with his or her co-worker’s abilities and expertise. You can read more about business networking in one of our previous articles entitled 8 Steps To Successful Business Networking.
- No Office Overhead Costs
Office overheads are drastically minimised as all furniture and décor in The Business Exchange’s serviced offices is already provided for and the upkeep is on us. This allows small businesses, which usually wouldn’t be able to afford such high-end furnishings, décor and meeting rooms during the early stages of their business, to present a professional and upmarket image to their clients without the need for additional expenses.
- No Labour Issues
Along with The Business Exchange’s shared, serviced office space, we also provide a Receptionist, Office Manager and cleaning staff. The stress of dealing with the human factor is thereby minimised, allowing our tenants to solely concentrate on growing their business.
- Easily-Adaptable Space Requirements
A major benefit for tenants leasing co-working office space from The Business Exchange is the ability to increase or decrease their space requirements at short notice. This quick adaption contributes towards minimising overhead costs as the tenant only pays for the space that they actually use.
- Easy and Cost-Effective Access to Technical Infrastructure
Technological developments are a major contributing factor towards why co-working office space is becoming more popular. The Business Exchange ensures that their tenants are adequately provided with a full IT infrastructure and Wi-Fi needed to conduct their daily business.
- Centralised Document Stations
The document stations provide tenants sharing offices at The Business Exchange with easily-accessible onsite services relating to photocopying, scanning, postal services, binding etc.
- Convenient Refreshment Facilities
Tea, coffee and other basic refreshments, as well as kitchen and office cleaning services are provided free of charge by The Business Exchange, which also has an on-site coffee shop, café and bar. Taking a well-deserved break or entertaining clients has just become a lot easier.
- Access to Professional and Fully Equipped Private Meeting Rooms
Another benefit of leasing shared, serviced office space from The Business Exchange is the onsite access to professional meeting rooms. These meeting rooms are fully equipped and also provide the added convenience of video or tele-conferencing equipment.
- Greater Productivity
Finally, nobody said that starting a business would be easy and motivation, or lack thereof, can be a constant challenge. Co-working provides entrepreneurs with the discipline needed to constantly apply themselves to their work instead of being distracted by running personal errands, sleeping or watching television at home. In addition co-workers provide the much-needed energy to do justice to any entrepreneur’s workflow output.