When starting a new business it has always been recognised that human resource and property are the two biggest expenditure items and the most difficult to manage.
While technology has made some inroads into the human resource requirement, the property issue remains a problem. It has always been the case; with the difficulty for the new entrepreneur of predicting what space they need, how long a lease they will need it and how they will manage the various utilities, security etc. whilst still managing the business.
Some attempts were made to tackle this problem, predominately by local authorities and municipalities, through the provision of managed workspace on easy-in and easy-out terms. However, these solutions were often very time limited.The managed workspace solution was usually for someone operating in a limited area and often the location was on the outskirts of towns.
The 21st Century Entrepreneur has all of these problems and more. Today’s entrepreneur often needs to be in the centre of town, needs to be near to transport links and may well wish to operate in a variety of locations. It is no longer sufficient to operate remotely in hotel lobbies when your competitors are projecting a professional image instead of that of a travelling salesman!
Enter the new breed of managed offices. These places are high quality offices that are well furnished and offer a variety of other services that can be tailored to the individual needs.
These offices will provide high speed Internet services, meeting rooms for meeting clients with full presentation facilities and refreshments. They may well also offer additional facilities such as a gym and showers for the weary traveller to rejuvenate as well as secretarial and other services.
For one’s main base, such facilities take away the hassle of running a building rather than a business, whilst providing hot desking facilities at other locations where you pay as you use for a shared space and allowing you to grow your space as the business grows.
Far too many people when starting their business believe that their own premises gives them prestige. In reality it often ties them to a long lease that stifles growth somewhere out of town.
Today, the clever entrepreneur recognises that the new breed of serviced offices provides a much higher profile and more prestige without sacrificing business development time in order to become a location services manager!!
