individuals and firms in more than 20 countries in collaboration with the owners of the business centres, in a market which lacks transpar- ency and in which finding flexible solutions that are optimally tailored to the needs of customers takes precedence.
All of this is underpinned by the founders’ ambition to provide a pro- fessional and efficient approach and a comprehensive global advisory service , thereby connecting up the world of flexible offices.
Wais Wardak
You all have impressive backgrounds in the property industry, what brought you to this sector? We noticed a gap in the market for good, professional advisors for clients looking for small, flexible office solutions. We saw the huge growth potential in the serviced office sector and believed we could offer an alternative to the standard broker service for this sector.
The serviced office industry has been around for a while but it’s really only become very popular recently, why do you think that is?
Quite simply it comes down to the huge advantage serviced offices provide their tenants – fully equipped offices with all the technological infrastructure they need without the huge initial investment costs. It takes away a barrier for start-ups so they too can operate in an increasingly dynamic global environment.
What are the advantages of a business centre? In an increasingly dynamic global economy, with ever rising costs, new technologies, globalisation and competitive pressure, where boom and bust follow in ever quicker succession, it is becoming more and more important for companies to be able to react flexibly to the changing business environment.
Among other benefits, a business centre offers furnished office space fully equipped with all the right technology and an IT infrastructure, with flexible contract periods. Most business centres also come with dedicated meeting rooms, a staffed reception, post and telephone ser- vices, designated telephone numbers, catering, cleaning, support with administrative tasks, and much more. This means that tenants save themselves major investment costs and can start up immediately in a ready-made business setting. This service provides customers with a high degree of flexibility and a time saving solution from their very first day. The whole set-up is professional and ready to go.
How has the reduction in technology costs assisted the serviced office industry?
It has opened up the opportunity for the industry to offer solutions to small businesses and start-ups to access technology they would oth- erwise not be able to afford. Making serviced offices a real alternative to a standard office rental.
Tell us more about AllOfficecenters...
“It doesn’t matter whether you want to rent space for a day, a month or a year, we will find the right office for every customer,” says Sammy.
AllOfficecenters now employs 20 staff and is one of the world’s largest agents for business centres (serviced offices). The company assists
66 • ENTREPRENEUR • Thomas Schulz
And it seems they have hit upon the magic formula – because the company builds on the satisfaction of its employees. “Our employees are our driving force. That is why we seek to make them feel properly appreciated. We have flexible working hours and we measure our staff on performance, because in our experience the time spent at work is not a good indicator of performance,” explains Thomas Schulz, Head of Business Development.
We believe that the high level of service they seek to offer is heavily dependent on the company’s support for its staff. “Interacting consider- ately with one another and involving staff in decision-making are im- portant to us. All members of staff see themselves as part of the whole company and thus play an active role in the company’s success,” says Sammy Koch, Head of Agency.
With a growing customer base and increasing demand for serviced offices, the firm is constantly on the look-out for staff with the right pro- fessional and interpersonal skills. “We focus on finding highly skilled people who are dedicated to their families as well as their work, and we offer these people tailored solutions in the form of working from home, flexible hours, etc., giving us a competitive advantage in win- ning these candidates,” says Wais Wardak, Head of Corporate Clients.
We also know that we will be confronted with many obstacles, but we believe in these challenges for the future and that we are in a good position to tackle them.”
You are a German based company, how does the start-up market differ between the UK and Germany? The biggest difference we have noticed is how support from the UK and German governments widely vary. There has been a big push by Cameron in support for start-ups and small businesses and access to financing possibilities is much wider than in Germany. Nevertheless, Berlin is poised to take on London’s number one spot as most popular city for start-ups in Europe, especially for the technology sector.
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