Shared office in Gurgaon - The Office Pass

Affordable Coworking, Shared Office Space in Gurgaon

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Millennium city of India “Gurgaon” is home to many large and medium global corporates. The past two decades have seen MNCs moving from popular commercial areas in Delhi like Connaught Place, Nehru Place and Rajendra Place to Gurgaon. Shared Office in Gurgaon is fast gaining currency among some segment of the working population. Read on to know more.

WHAT ARE THE OFFICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MSME & FREELANCERS IN GURGAON?

Emerging business including Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Small and Medium Business (SMB) and freelancers typically follows mature businesses in their choice for office space and they too started moving to Gurgaon. Because of this huge influx, office space rentals in parts of Gurgaon have increased from INR 30-80/- to INR 60-110/- PSF over the past decade or so.

Although MNCs & large Indian businesses are comfortable paying high office rent, these rates are prohibitive for MSME & Freelancers. They look for affordable office spaces in the range of INR 45 – 70/- PSF.

Affordable Coworking Shared Office Space in Gurgaon

WHY MSME & FREELANCERS SHOULD NOT TAKE OFFICE ON RENT IN GURGAON?

When the business is small, one tries to balance between growth and expenses; every penny saved is critical during a period where revenues are not sufficient to cover other costs. Some businesses make the mistake of putting money in non-productive areas that do not directly help in revenue or customer growth (two of the biggest focus areas for small businesses). This is an avoidable mistake.

WHAT ARE THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH TAKING OFFICE ON RENT IN GURGAON?

When businesses take their own office on rent, they end up blocking money in security deposit (equivalent to 3-6 month rent), office furnishing (approximately INR 1200-1400/- PSF) and committing a lock-in period (equivalent to 2-3 years). These commitments are avoidable till businesses generate sufficient surplus to enable such long-term commitments. Then there are other expenses like electricity, tea & coffee, office boy, internet, telephone line, office equipment like printer & scanner etc which takes up time & management bandwidth.

COWORKING, SHARED OFFICE IN GURGAON

In Coworking, Shared office in Gurgaon you do not have to pay any security deposit, these places are tastefully done-up, so you do not have to spend additional money on furnishing & fixtures and there is no lock-in period (so you can use the office space for as long as it meets your requirement). You are not charged a per square feet (PSF) monthly rental for the office space; instead, you pay per person for the number of employees using the Coworking space. You can add a seat if your business expands and you can reduce based on the requirement.


PRICING OF A COWORKING, SHARED OFFICE IN GURGAON

You are charged a small price per seat per month called a membership fee. The price ranges from INR 6,000 – 10,000/- depending on the services offered by the Coworking provider. You can book the seat for a month or few days or even a few hours in a month (in case your work does not require going to the office every day) which can further reduce your operating expenses. All charges are payable in advance for the month.

DISCOUNTS OFFERED BY COWORKING, SHARED OFFICE SPACE PROVIDERS

Coworking spaces often offer discounts if you pay in advance for 3-6 months. These discounts typically range from 5-10% for 3-6 months respectively. There are additional discounts available for female coworkers (so if you have female employees in your MSME setup you can avail of the office space at a reduced cost).

WHO SHOULD USE COWORKING, SHARED OFFICE IN GURGAON?

While MSME, SMB and freelancers may aspire to work alongside large global corporations, they may not “yet” be financially ready to take on this additional cost. Coworking or Shared office spaces come in handy as they allow small companies to taste, best office space experience, without drilling a hole in your pocket.

If your small business looking for office space in Gurgaon, we strongly recommend that you consider The Office Pass, a coworking space in Sohna Road. Our recommendation is based on a few things which will be beneficial in the long run.

Also Read: Cyber City Gurgaon a Coworking Space Hub

AFFORDABLE PRICING

When compared with other locations in Gurgaon, Sohna Road offers a good return for your money. Coworking spaces like “The Office Pass in JMD Megapolis building” charge a relatively low membership fee while facilities like WiFi access, Coffee & Chai, printer & scanner are provided for FREE. The monthly membership cost is charged on a per-seat basis and ranges between INR 7,000/- to 9,000/- per month.

FACILITIES & SERVICES

Before you finalize a coworking space in Gurgaon make sure it has all the facilities that are typically available to a large and medium global corporate (no compromises here). Facilities like a nice and decent looking office (avoid places that try and fit people like in a call center), Hi-speed WiFi connection, printer & scanner facility, Coffee & Chai depending on your preference, access to conference and meeting rooms and good air-conditioning system (especially because the temperature in Gurgaon can touch 45 degrees in summers) should be checked.

MEETING & CONFERENCE ROOMS

If your business requires you to meet customers or vendors face to face, make sure that Coworking space has space to hold a meeting or do a conference call with a client.  However, if you do not expect customers to visit you, this criterion can be ignored.

FLEXIBILITY IN CONTRACT

Some Coworking space providers ask for a 1-2 months fee as a security deposit and some have a lock-in period of 2-4 months (before which you cannot vacate). On the other hand, some allow you complete flexibility and do not have a security deposit and lock-in period. Prefer the shared office spaces that provide flexibility in contract terms to its users.

COMMUNITY

If you can benefit from the experiences of other Coworkers and vice versa, then you achieve more while at work. You become part of a larger community and culture that thrive on each other’s experience. This can bring life into your business, and providing you the ability to give something back too.

If you are looking for Coworking space in Gurgaon, keep the above points in mind before selecting a space.

Happy Coworking.

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Book Coworking Office Space Online in under 3 minutes | The Office Pass

Book coworking office space online in under 3 minutes

by | posted in: Coworking | 0

Gurgaon based coworking office space provider The Office Pass (TOP) has launched an “Online booking & payment platform” on its website that allows existing & new coworkers to book office space, meeting & conference rooms through 100% online experience. Users will be able to choose a start date, select number of seats & duration for which the office space is required and make payment online to confirm their booking. This makes it convenient for freelancers, self-employed professionals & small companies to book a coworking office space in less than 3 minutes without going through a painful & lengthy conventional process.

The conventional process of identifying, shortlisting, negotiating, closing, furnishing & moving to an office space can take anywhere from 2 to 6 months depending upon the demand and supply in a particular area. Professionals & companies have to pay a security deposit (equivalent to 3-6 months of the monthly rent) and provide a lock-in period of 2 to 3 years. This makes the process unaffordable and painful to say the least. Coworking office space, in general, does away with these stringent requirements which are good news. The online booking & payment platform from The Office Pass takes this convenience to the next level (as it shrinks this time to under 3 minutes).

Book Coworking Office Space Online in Under 3 Minutes

As per Aditya Verma, CEO of the company, “It was important for us to get our online booking & payment platform in place before we expand our coworking footprint. With our online strategy beginning to fall in place, we will use technology to expand with minimal additional manpower, which will be a huge differentiator in the coworking category in India.” Till now The Office Pass website was used for information dissemination & lead generation, while the rest of the member journey was managed offline. With the new platform, the company plans to shift manual processes online. This will not only help increase % conversion through the website but also create consistency & transparency in the pricing for all coworkers (due to no manual intervention).

Also Read: Amazing Shared Office Spaces in Delhi NCR for Startups & SMEs

The system allows coworkers to enjoy discounts if they book the space for a longer duration and there is an additional discount for female coworkers. If coworker(s) joins before the 15th of the month, the online system calculates the price pro-rate for the remaining month. For coworker(s) who join after the 15th of the month, membership gets computed for the remaining days in that month and next month.


Now professionals & companies don’t have to waste time, effort & energy in office hunting and painful negotiations; simply open your computer or mobile & book a coworking space online in under 3 minutes.

Cheers & Happy Coworking.

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5 Online jobs that you can do from Coworking Spaces

5 Online jobs that you can do from Coworking Spaces

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The popularity of online jobs is increasing exponentially and as per recent studies, this trend is likely to continue for a long while. Many jobs that were earlier done from home or an office are now moving to coworking spaces. Coworking is a fast emerging trend in India where many freelancers & small companies work under the same roof to further their business.

There are plenty of opportunities available online that let you earn your true potential. The Office Pass a leading Coworking space provider in Gurgaon puts together a list of online jobs that you can easily do from a Coworking space.

5 online jobs that you can do from coworking spaces

  1. Content Writing
  2. Web Development
  3. Language Translation
  4. Blogging
  5. Data Entry

Content Writing

One of the most popular avenues for freelance work is that of content writing. With the mushrooming of websites, each fighting for eyeballs, there is an enormous demand for well-researched and well-written web content and companies are on the lookout for professionals who can create fresh content that attracts attention and traffic.

If you have a good grasp of the English language & grammar, an engaging writing style and are interested in researching diverse topics and writing about them, this is the job for you. You can look for content writing opportunities on popular sites like Upwork.com and Freelancer.com. Earning potential for a beginner is INR 10,000 – 12,000 p.m while for experienced writers it is INR 15,000 – 20,000 p.m.

Web Development

You are an ideal candidate to work out of a Coworking space if you have a good understanding of software coding and web design. Even if you are new to web development but have an interest in this category, you can find online tutorials that can help you get started. Web development work is normally outsourced by companies so it is an area where finding freelance work should be easy.

Since the quantum of work opportunity is huge, there are plenty of freelancers’ who will compete for the business. It’s important to build a good reputation, develop expertise in a few business verticals and keep your pricing competitive. Earning potential per project for beginner & mature developers is INR 20,000 – 25,000 & INR 100,000 – 150,000 respectively.


Language Translation

These days it is not uncommon to find people with knowledge of multiple languages. If you are bilingual or trilingual, this might be an opportunity for you. While being fluent in English and some Indian languages might serve you well, taking a language course can add significantly to your earning potential.

Plenty of companies and authors would be willing to take your services for their translation needs (if you can prove your proficiency). If you have what it takes, start by listing yourself on the freelancing sites mentioned above highlighting the languages you are proficient in. Earning potential can be INR 5 – 15 per word depending on the language.

Also Read: 8 Things Employers Can Do to Increase Employee Productivity

Blogging

People surf the internet for content. This is the biggest used case of the internet and provides enormous opportunities to make money. If you can write decent blogs on topics that have high search volume you can make decent money. To monetize your blog, you can sign up for Google Adsense, which will allow ads to place on your blog.

You start earning from this online job as soon as your account is approved. Adsense pays on the basis of clicks and views generated by the ads put alongside your blog post. Earning potential can be INR 2,000 – 50,000 per month depending on the popularity of your blog.

Data Entry

There are several data entry jobs available in India. It is one of the simplest jobs you can do from a Coworking space as it requires fewer skills. You just need to have a computer and the ability to focus on otherwise monotonous work.

Most freelancing websites list these jobs, and you can sign up on any of them to start working. The client provides printed or scanned sheets of data that need to be converted into a digital format (like an excel sheet). Earning potential is INR 300 – 1,500 per hour.

Although there are many emerging online jobs, however, as per our analysis the above five are best suited for the Coworking work profile. If you are a freelancer or a small company specializing in the above areas, it is time for you to select a coworking space to further your business.

Happy Coworking…

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Coworking is the new linkedin

Coworking is the new LinkedIN

by | posted in: Coworking | 0

Introduction & background

I am Aditya Verma founder of The Office Pass, a coworking facility in India. We started operations on 1st March 2017 with our first center in Gurgaon in Delhi NCR region with 6 paying members. Thru this note, I am sharing developments of the past 3 1/2 months that have cemented my belief that Coworking is the new Linkedin. Please read this post & feel free to write at aditya@www.theofficepass.com/toppings with your views on the topic.

Coworking is the new linkedin

Starting critical success factors & differentiators

Before our launch, we identified a few critical success factors (CSFs) that would define the character & personality of our business. They are

  • keep the business capital-light

  • focus on Freelancers and Small companies (less on tech startups)

  • be known for community & engagement

  • not be a real estate business, instead be a technology platform that would solve a real estate problem

Problem stuck as soon as we started

While the business was good and we were adding members at a respectable pace, something was not right. As per the analysis shared during one weekly review in April, we had 18 paying members (up from 6 last month). While that was great, 4 out of 6 members we had in the previous month, had stopped coming. We were very confident of the way we were running the business, so this was completely unexpected & a bit baffling. We had maintained regular touch with all members but failed to notice any early warning signals. There was something missing. We had a leaking bucket, with an invisible hole.

Steps to identifying the real problem

66% paying customers (4 out of 6) leaving without any intimation is a problem that warranted immediate attention. Such issues invariably get amplified if they remain unattended. To identify, we decided to call and/or meet all 4 members individually and note down their concerns.

Coworking is the new linkedin

Profile of the churned members

Out of four members, Shakti & Vishal were two friends pursuing a real estate brokerage business in Gurgaon. They took our membership as they liked the office infrastructure and environment. Another member was an employee of COGO Freights Pvt Limited a company based in Ahmedabad who was using our coworking space as a remote office. The fourth member was a lady in a tech support function of an IT firm. She was earlier working from home.

Problem identification

Findings based on our conversation with members were as under:

  • Real estate brokers: although they were satisfied with office infrastructure & environment, they had shifted to an alternate space in the same building. On further enquiry, they highlighted two reasons for their move. The primary reason being that the other space had higher occupancy, which to them, meant greater potential to generate leads from fellow members (for their property-related requirements). The secondary reason was the cost advantage of the alternate space i.e., they offered a seat at INR 5000/- (while our price was INR 7000/- pm).

  • COGO, the remote office company: The company decided to consolidate its position and shifted their employee to their head office in Ahmedabad. Delhi was no longer the focus market for them.

  • Tech support women: she stopped coming and went back to work from home as she did not get the community, she expected out of a cowork space. She said, “she would have been more comfortable if there were more women at our coworking space”. This seemed a fair comment as she was the lone woman in an otherwise all men’s office. We had completely overlooked this aspect in our planning.

Action plan to resolve the problem

Nikhil (my Co-founder) and I were happy that we’re able to speak with the members and note their concerns. We had the opportunity to course correct before the problem amplified. Our action plan was:

Action plan 1 was driven out of the feedback received from real estate brokers i.e., members come to coworking not for a desk & seat, but to establish professional connections that help them grow their business. We decided to speak to all existing members to identify 2-3 common expectations where they would want our support. Top expectations from members were inability to

  • hire good talent in the absence of an HR resource

  • expand their business visibility thru digital marketing and

  • find a credible and cost-effective Chartered Accountant (CA) to take care of their company accounts, finance and statutory compliance

Our task was clear; we needed members with skills to meet the above expectations. Nikhil & I reached out to our social circles i.e., friends & relatives and What’s APP groups with specific skills requests. Within 2 weeks, we were able to

  • convince a recruitment company of 3 people to set up shop at our co-working facility.

  • approach a Digital Marketing company, having an office in our building, to offer their services to our members at discounted rates.

  • finally rope in a CA & a Goods and Service Tax (GST) expert as members. They are now helping co-members with their accounts and finance-related activities.

Action plan 2 was the result of the feedback received from the tech support lady. We decided to undertake activities that will, over time, take our women’s membership to around 40%. Some activities initiated were

  • a specific Facebook campaign to target women members

  • started discounted membership for women

  • a BLOG to promote coworking among women

  • approached companies that could allow women employee to work out a coworking space, closer to their home, for a few days in a month

Luckily for us, both action plans played out well. It helped us reduce member attrition from 66% in March to fewer than 20% in May. Our women membership currently stands at 21% and on track to reach 40% by July. The past 3 ½ months have changed the way we looked at the coworking business. These initiatives that got triggered with a simple line item in our weekly review led us to an insight that was difficult to get otherwise.


Concluding observations

It is amply clear that members take up coworking for benefits that go far beyond “simple cost economics”. It is not desk and seat, coworking means more, much more. Coworkers need help to further their business by establishing mutually rewarding professional contacts. They are happy to lend their support and expect fellow members to help, in return. One can be successful in coworking business only if the technology platform is able to do this matchmaking & deliver on this critical promise. It seems Coworking is the new LinkedIN, both in letter and spirit. It is a physical space where professionals come together to connect and solve professional issues. I truly believe, day is not far when, Coworking will compete with LinkedIN. That will be one clash to watch-out for.

Your comments & feedback are valuable, so don’t keep them to yourself.

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