Service offices provide business hub

As young entrepreneurs increasingly shun traditional offices in favour of more flexible workspaces, companies are starting to come to the party with some simple yet clever solutions.

The trend is to “co-work” in open-plan spaces, where those running small businesses can rent desks, meeting rooms, Wi-Fi, landlines and printers instead of taking out expensive office leases on their own.

According to Brad Krauskopft, co-founder of shared office space Hub Melbourne, about 200 small businesses – including fashion designers, architects and consultants – had already signed up to use the space when it first opened earlier this month.

“People engage with Hub Melbourne through a membership, where they can use the space for a number of hours,” he says.

Futurist David Andrew says co-working will become standard for young entrepreneurs within the next five years, predicting hub-like working spaces to take off.

“Places like Silicon Valley… are based on bumping into people and incrementally building on your idea; it’s not something you do in isolation,” he says.

As serviced offices start to pick up in popularity, is there an opportunity to develop a concept that would suit remote workers, maybe away from the main capital cities?