If you’re looking to expand into Asia there’s no better place to be right now than Singapore. There is a huge amount of growth and business opportunity that has taken place there, and if you jump in now you’ll find yourself in the midst of a booming market for development and networking. This piece was brought to you by Servcorp Singapore.
We think that one of the smartest ways to expand into a new country or city is to invest in a serviced office. Why? Renting a whole office on your own is hugely expensive. Like, crazy expensive. If you opt for a lease on your own you are looking to be stung for bond (usually a few months worth) as well as furniture, all of your amenities, cleaning, upkeep, maintenance and any damage that occurs. If your business is doing that well to be considering a full-time lease then congratulations. You should probably go and polish up your acceptance speech for being included in the BRW Rich List again.
For the rest of us – the better option is something like a serviced office. With a serviced office you can operate on a month-by-month basis and move in straight away. It’s a ‘turn-key’ solution. A serviced office is sometime overlooked by businesses because of a monthly fee that seems high, but when you look at the whole picture it’s often a very affordable option – and one with plenty of benefits that makes them well worth investing in.
They’re Flexible
You’re moving into Singapore and starting up a new branch of your company. While you’re very optimistic there’s the slightest chance that you might have judged sentiment wrong, and you may need to bow out after a year. If that is the case, do you want to be tied to an office for three to five years (the standard for a commercial lease)?
No. You don’t.
A serviced office gives you the freedom to use the facilities and have your office space on a contract basis which makes it a whole lot more flexible in the event that you do need to move out.
Lots of Facilities
When you’re using a serviced office you’re only ever going to spending money on what you use. You can hire meeting rooms and even spring for extra staff on an ad hoc basis when you need them. For that big meeting? Yep, you can hire the boardroom. And it’s on a per-hour basis, so you only pay for what you need.
Access to Many Markets
A key part of your business success is going to be testing various markets. A great way to do this is with a serviced office as you can enjoy the trial of your business in various markets without any kind of long term investment. Instead of hoping for the best, why not move into a few locations and actually experience them first hand?
There’s No Downtime
A great part about the serviced office is that you can move straight in with no downtime. You could book one today and have it ready to move into that afternoon if you wish. Everything is ready to go from the moment you’re through the door – with everything from a receptionist to a personal greeting on the phone ready to go.
There are numerous benefits to using a serviced office, and when you consider the ones we’ve listed above as just the tip of the iceberg it makes sense to set sail (in a strictly non-Titanic sense) for the clear open waters of business success. Opt for a serviced office and enjoy freedom and increased exposure at less risk and a lower overall cost.