Owning and running a business carries with it a certain amount of risk. As it expands, you will often have to increase expenditure to meet increased demand for the products or services you provide. Bigger premises and extra staff cost money, and are two of the most important factors to consider when investing in the future. But how can you be sure of your return on that investment in a changing business climate?
The answer lies in flexibility – especially when your business growth involves global expansion. For small- and medium-sized businesses in particular, moving into new markets can be a costly endeavour – and the margin scarily small – when you don’t have the resources of a multinational corporation to rely on. Fortunately, flexible-office space (flexspace) can give you the option to grow with little commitment and minimal risk.
Firstly, it allows you to test the waters with virtual office rental. Establishing a presence overseas takes time and money, but a virtual office can take care of things like call-taking and mail-handling while you get on with the business of building your brand. When it’s time to take the first step with a physical presence, the option to rent a meeting room is a cost-efficient way to secure the space you need with no commitments.
At some point, the fastest-growing companies will need their own space to do business. Rather than get tied into a 10-year lease when you don’t know how things are going to pan out in a new territory, flexible-office space allows you to scale up or down as demand dictates and make the most of your resources. As new staff join the business, an extra couple of desks can be installed far quicker than it would take to find and lease a new building in a foreign market. And when you consider the average cost for a single desk in a corporate office comes in at a not inconsiderable $10k, the reality of the situation is thrown into sharp relief.
Of course, things don’t always work out as hoped and sometimes you might need to scale down or even exit a new market too. With no long-term contracts and full flexibility on offer, flexspace enables you to work without constraints and explore areas of your business that might have proved prohibitively expensive under a more traditional leasing model. As tech has made our world more connected and broadened our horizons, so flexspace has removed the barriers to global expansion.