Building A $1.2M/Year Commercial Office Space Center In Dubai
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
Hi. My name is Jai Karan Walia. I hail from Punjab, India. I fancy myself a serialpreneur after having founded three companies in Dubai. I found Spacebox Business Center in Dubai in a bid to offer the considerably-large freelancing populace of the city a place to work peacefully.
As a commercial office space center, we offer furnished, luxurious private office spaces, dedicated desks, hot desks, and other coworking structures.
The location of the business center works in our favor, as Dubai World Trade Center is a hub for global expositions and conferences.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
When I moved to Dubai in 2011 for studies, I had a chance to study and assimilate the general hustling-bustling populace of the metropolis…along with what was in dire need: a place to conduct business. Ever since the city boasted of the “business airport in the world” title, it has been in its heyday.
As it so happened, I happened upon a brainwave; of offering the businesspersons trooping into Dubai a place to conduct business, be it on a short-term basis or otherwise.
That’s when the idea of SpaceBox Business Center was born. After having accrued ample experience in a few MNCs, I decided to try my luck in the commercial real estate sector. I would say that the invaluable professional experiences that I have had after having founded my own company — Clever Corp, a company formation venture — were my stepping stones.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
The process and the implementation were tied to my personal experience with the people of Dubai and the ability to connect with them. When you’re in the real estate business, you do not necessarily have to take long gasps of heuristics to figure out the success rate. Dubai has always been a favorable place for those in the real estate business.
As part of an inchmeal step, I bought the space opposite to my company and transformed it into a corporate dream where freelancers, business officials and owners, and remote workers could call it their corporate home.
At Convention Tower, where we’re located, we furnished around 55 luxurious private offices, complete with all amenities and overlooking the iconic views of the Sheikh Zayed Road. Additionally, we also allocated some space for dedicated desks and hot desks.
The number one piece of advice that I’d give to all entrepreneurs is to take risks while you still can.
Describe the process of launching the business.
We procured the business license for Spacebox Business Center sometime in mid-2022. The maturation period of Clever Corp had given us enough time to make a name for ourselves in the Dubai market, helping us garner clients for Spacebox too.
As our team expanded, and as we understood the importance of online presence, we built a website to establish and bolster our brand presence.
Some of the biggest lessons that we learned on our way to building Spacebox are understanding the market demand, understanding that location is crucial, and embracing technology.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
A major chunk of our business presence spawned from the popularity of Clever Corp, as we built trust and reliability with the company. So naturally, our customers started percolating their trust in Spacebox as well.
We currently partner with various real estate agencies to rake in prospects and sales. In addition to that, our sales team receives leads and queries through Google Ads, which we started immediately after acquiring the business license.
We are also present on Instagram and LinkedIn, which we plan on starting Ads on soon. As for Google Ads, we were able to attract a lot of potential leads. After having developed the website, we also started the SEO of the website. We currently rank on the first page of Google for “dedicated desk Dubai”, and “hot desk Dubai”.
From not being ranked on Google to trudging on the fourth page of Google for “Coworking Space Dubai” (we already rank #2 on Bing), we are continuously improving the page strength of the website.
We also have a newsletter (which you can subscribe to from the footer of spacebox.ae), to stay updated with the latest happenings (spacebox.ae/blog) in the coworking sector in Dubai.
As for returning customers, we rely on the quality that our sales and marketing team offers.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Keeping in mind the location, I can say that we have achieved quite a high level of occupancy in the Convention Tower. In addition to the ~55 offices that we have in Convention Tower, we also have bought a commercially-available space in another location that’s quite close to Sheikh Zayed Road. Out of the 23 offices that we have in Park Place Tower, we have achieved around 80% occupancy there.
As was always our plan, we plan on expanding our business when we achieve our targets.
As for the Ads, we maintain a conversion rate of over 5% at all times for all the ad campaigns that we run.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Partnering with the sales agencies was one of the many decisions that bode well for the business. Along with that, decent exposure from Clever Corp has enabled us to become one of the best coworking spaces in Dubai.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Keeping in mind that we’re still a young startup, we’re still in the process of understanding which tools help our business.
However, there is a suite of tools that we use for digital marketing. Some of those include Google My Business, Google Analytics, WordPress, Ahrefs, SemRush, Ubersuggest, and the ilk.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I like watching the Joe Rogan podcast and frequently listen to Audiobooks. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham is one of my favorite books.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
The number one piece of advice that I’d give to all entrepreneurs is to take risks while you still can.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
We are currently on the lookout for experienced sales representatives that can bring out the best in the company. For more positions that are open, please refer to this site.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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