Renting an office space can stretch a start-up company’s resources extensively. For the fifth consecutive year, Singapore has taken the pole position as the most expensive city in the world and that includes statistics on office space for rent.

Most landlords who have business office rentals in Singapore demand 3-5 year lease terms, making it even harder for startups that have been around for barely a few years. With such difficult to overcome challenges, entrepreneurs have to be creative with office space in order to stay afloat. Here are some ideas you can consider: 

Join a co-working space

Today, co-working spaces in Singapore are more popular than they’ve ever been and as the number of gig-companies increases, the popularity is set to soar.

Co-working spaces are popular because of the flexible terms, professional looks and other perks such as access to conference rooms as well as incredible infrastructure.

You can set up your office at a co-working space and enjoy these terms as well as a professional ambience and excellent collaboration opportunities at budget-friendly prices. 

Look out for business incubators

If the nature of business doesn’t really work out well for a co-working space, consider enrolling for a business incubator program in your preferred area.

You’ll get access to office space at subsidized prices as well as office furniture and equipment. Moreover, you can tap into an incredible entrepreneurial atmosphere.

Rent a desk

Due to a tough economic environment and technological advances, many companies have had to downsize their teams and end up stuck with unutilized office spaces. You can use this opportunity to pitch the idea of renting a desk from larger companies in the same line of business at a lower rate.

For most corporations and medium-sized companies, this is a welcome move that’ll help them make some cash from otherwise idle assets. And, you can still access top-notch office spaces at a fraction of ordinary rates.

Bartering

Bartering is yet to gain as much popularity as other methods, but it is steadily gaining ground. Depending on your type of business, you can pitch to one of your clients who happens to have extra space the idea of housing your operations in exchange for your services.

This will work out well for your client since they have almost unlimited access to you whilst you can enjoy using their premises as well as the facilities. 

Share an office

The concept of businesses pooling together resources to maximize their potential is not strange and it’s a great way for start-ups to access office space for rent at an affordable rate.

You can share the cost of office space with other start-ups of similar nature of operations and maximize your potential. For instance, freelance attorneys, accountants, and tech workers can afford elaborate offices when they share office space.

Rent a self-storage unit

Instead of an office for rent at the CBD, consider renting a self-storage facility on the peripherals of the business district and converting it into your office. The rates are significantly lower and you can use the facility as a storage site on a later date after your business expands and you become able to afford more office space.

To conclude, entrepreneurs ought to be creative about how they handle various business dynamics. There’s no universally correct solution for office space for startups. However, these ideas will get you started on a workable solution.