How We Adapted Our Remote Work Business Amidst A Challenging Economic Climate [Update]
This is a follow up story for The Office Providers. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 1 year ago, check it out here.
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Several forces are still working against many sectors, and as we are a B2B business working with clients across a wide range of industries, these are causing adverse business conditions.
The number of insolvencies is at the highest level in years, and more and more start-ups are failing. Layoffs continue in several sectors, creating business inertia and layoff anxiety for employees.
These conditions are caused by high interest rates, high operating costs, and other macroeconomic uncertainties created by wars and government elections.
Many businesses are struggling to pay off bail-out loans, also known as ‘bounce-back’ loans, taken out during the pandemic because the economy has yet to bounce back.
However, concurrently, there is an ongoing seismic shift in how businesses work, with many enterprises adopting flexible and hybrid working policies whereby employees work from home some of the time and in the office some of the time.
While some businesses are looking to return to a full-time, in-office model, many are adopting a hybrid working model. And those in both camps are increasingly utilizing the flexible office and workspace solutions that we specialize in within their models.
After the Great Recession, we saw the beginning of a shift, with more companies looking to increase their agility and relieve themselves of the burden of long leases. The pandemic catalyzed the move away from traditional office space models.
Under the current economic conditions, we continue to control what we can and work on improving existing website content, writing helpful articles around the web, improving our social media presence, and being patient with clients who need to, understandably, take more time than they previously would have to move to a perfect workspace solution. We also continue to produce free resources for clients and recently celebrated our 1,000th enrolment on our free course on Udemy, which provides an overview of the flexible office and workspace industry.
We are also observing a ‘flight to quality’ by many businesses that wish to occupy office space. There is a sense that a business’s office space must be high-quality to entice employees back to the office, make the commute count, and make it far more productive and useful than a home office for specific tasks.
As businesses downsize their real estate footprint and effectively make some savings on rent, they realize that they can focus on quality rather than quantity and are opting for five-star offices with premium amenities such as barista bars, quiet zones, meditation rooms, gyms, fitness classes, roof terraces and end-of-trip facilities such as showers and changing rooms for team members who wish to run or cycle to work.
For this reason, we have also been developing a niche sister brand, Prestige Offices, focused on providing access to best-in-class flexible workspaces in London.
This agency covers the central London office market and matches businesses with the offices and workspace solutions offered by premium providers, operators and landlords.
Many of these are B-Corp office providers that create offices and workspaces with health and wellness at the forefront within sustainable and energy-efficient office buildings.
The overall business model is that of a London office space brokerage specializing in high-end office space and workspace solutions available on flexible terms with all-inclusive pricing.
We continue to build both brands and look forward to being well-positioned when economic conditions improve.
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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.
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.
