You have decided to strike it out on your own and set up a business consultancy. Chances are you want to look at getting your own office premises. Besides ensuring that your rental payment does not create serious cash-flow problems in the medium term, you have to look out for these other factors:
The anchor tenant:
Every office building will have a few anchor tenants. It is important to find out from the building management when their lease will end. The reason is that these anchor tenants collectively create the image of the office building to the public and will generate the initial customer traffic for your company. Their presence will also be factored in the quotation of the rental payment.
Office Supplies:
You must enquire if there are tenants who can supply you with the resources for the daily operations of your consultancy. This may include printer cartridge, paper and general office stationery. Then your staff will not waste valuable company time in making phone calls or traveling when your resources need to be replenished. This is also a golden opportunity to "cross advertise". You can leave your name-card and flyers with these suppliers and vice versa.
Networking:
You may discover that a similar consultancy is a tenant in the same office building. Seize this opportunity to create economies of scale by having your office at the same floor with them. Not only will you benefit from increased traffic, you may have to collaborate with them on big projects.
Office Renovation:
Some building management will not allow new tenants to make major changes to the décor of the office. This policy is in line with trying to keep to the uniformity and identity of the whole building. You have to decide if the building's identity is coherent with what your company wants to project. However, office renovation should not take precedence to being close to your target market.
Your clients:
If your clients have to frequent your consultancy, it is essential that there is sufficient car-park space or the office building is near an MRT station. With the current working trends and globalisation of operations, your staff may have to put in irregular working hours. Having an office with a 24-hour security patrol and air-conditioning facilities will make the working experience more acceptable!
Bank:
Ensure that there is a bank in the office building or in the near vicinity for you to do your daily banking activities. Having easy access to cash flow and TT facilities will also improve book-keeping procedures and encourage your customers to settle their debts more expeditiously.
Pro-active management committee:
It will also be helpful as a new tenant to be in the building management committee. This will open the door to more contacts and improve networking. You can also ask permission to promote your company in the building's newsletter or put out a banner outside the building's premises.
About The Author
Colin Ong TS is the Managing Director of MR=MC Consulting (http://www.mrmc.com.sg) and Founder of the 12n Professional Online Networking Community; colin@mrmc.com.sg
Great question! Overwhelm is very common even among the most... Read More
I had a health scare in December.As it turns out,... Read More
Does A Franchise Meet Your Needs?Do you look forward to... Read More
For those of us who grew up with parents who... Read More
In business, you plan to protect your inventory, your unique... Read More
Did you ever wonder what happens to all that government... Read More
Summary: Even with a wide variety of sources available, coming... Read More
Some would say about certain issues that the means do... Read More
Companies seeking capital often ask how long the Executive Summary... Read More
Any time you make changes in your life you are... Read More
In discussing entrepreneurship and writing articles on the subject, I... Read More
Would you like to find the key that unlocks the... Read More
Q: When it comes to succeeding in business, which do... Read More
What I've discovered from most of my small business clients... Read More
So you want to start a business. You have an... Read More
The latest series in "The Apprentice" features 2 distinct group... Read More
Identifying prospects has come a long way since the days... Read More
The successful entrepreneur is generally more inclined, once a business... Read More
There are a whole range of reasons why customers buy... Read More
What would it be worth to you to receive a... Read More
Franchise business is being part of a successfully proven business... Read More
Many people have the professed desire to be their own... Read More
Making the financial transition from paid employment to earning a... Read More
Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day in New York and... Read More
Entrepreneurs are a special breed of high achievers. They create... Read More
Women business owners are our only clients, so naturally we... Read More
About 6 years ago I started to notice that certain... Read More
Does anyone remember that book "Built to Last" done y... Read More
All franchised companies must have Territory Limitations to maintain the... Read More
When I got into business I wanted to build a... Read More
Many franchise companies fail to send the proper message to... Read More
More and more corporate workers are leaving their jobs to... Read More
SUCCESSFUL Solo-Entrepreneurs approach life and business from a perspective that... Read More
I just arrived back from the best seminar I have... Read More
Dwight Payne and Gary Heap reside in Santa Barbara, CA,... Read More
When I got into business I wanted to build a... Read More
Q: I'm thinking about starting a business since that seems... Read More
Through just five or six intermediaries, you could be linked... Read More
Before you decide whether or not running your own business... Read More
We've all seen the hype: "We'll put your plan in... Read More
Owning a detail shop can be an exciting and rewarding... Read More
Have you ever heard that only a small part (5%)... Read More
The success and failure for the entrepreneur is largely dictated... Read More
A primary inhibitor of business start-up is that few people... Read More
Does A Franchise Meet Your Needs?When you think of becoming... Read More
Jones was a typical entrepreneur who worked long hours and... Read More
You're a smart, hardworking entrepreneur, and you're moving fast. You... Read More
I've gotten several questions recently about the legalities of starting... Read More
If you want to grow your micro-business (defined as a... Read More
How do franchise companies come to be? How do they... Read More
Studying the history of franchise companies is interesting is watching... Read More
In discussing entrepreneurship and writing articles on the subject, I... Read More
The words you see onscreen trigger subconscious responses. Dark images... Read More
Leadership is based on two words, "pressure and support"and that... Read More
What I've discovered from most of my small business clients... Read More
You want to get a good, solid overview of what... Read More
Use this comprehensive checklist to plan each step of your... Read More
In my last article, "Follow That Guru", I told you... Read More
Site location analysis of regional service areas and planning for... Read More
? Beginners often rush into business without any planning.? Unless... Read More
A streak dating back more than three decades came to... Read More
Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day in New York and... Read More
As I awaken with the gift of yet another day... Read More
Q. I was laid off six months ago. Jobs in... Read More
It always amazes me when I see someone on television... Read More
1) Go back to basics. Take a couple of steps... Read More
Entrepreneur |