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by: Colin Ong TS
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 (
http://www.mrmc.com.sg/12n )
colin@mrmc.com.sg
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2775 West Dickman Road, Battle Creek, Michigan 49037