Cebuana entrepreneur makes waves with virtual, physical office solutions

CEBU, Philippines - Bullish outlook on Cebu’s services sector has propelled a Cebuana to reinforce the introduction of virtual and serviced office solutions which are still not commonly offered in the Philippines.

Chief executive officer Fritzie Kon of Global Hub Serviced Offices, who considers herself an empowered woman entrepreneur, sees the strong potential of Cebuano startups, but said some of these entrepreneurs are sometimes at a loss on how to complement their business ideas with good peripheral support.

“Cebu is brimming with optimism right now. A lot of people want to do business here, but they should be given a good place and support to do their business. That’s the challenge our company wants to address,” said Kon.

Located on the 12th floor of Keppel Bldg. at the Cebu Business Park, Global Hub offers I.T. and telecom support to its clients, apart from the normal management services and facilities, reception, conference and meeting rooms.

Specifically, the company offers to prospects access to fully-furnished offices, high-speed internet connection, 24/7 operations, web-based support services, daily mail handling, secretarial support services and daily office housekeeping.

Kon said they are targeting entrepreneurs, startup companies and businesses that need local presence here in Cebu. In addition, they are also targeting expats who come over to Cebu to start off their own ventures but are having a hard time choosing the location of their would-be office.

“Global Hub is manned by trained staff that guarantees worry-free office operations. All you need is walk into your private office or work in a shared space environment while Global Hub takes care of running the day-to-day affairs of the office. You don’t have to worry about the operational cost of maintaining an office and even building one,” Kon explained.

Opened in February this year, Global Hub aims to cater to both foreign and local companies. Kon said this kind of service offer is currently picking up at least in the local market as driven by the shortage in leasable spaces.

In her research, Kon found out that virtual and serviced offices are not that popular yet in the Philippines when in fact, this type of business actually exists in almost every country around the world.

Although they are not the first to introduce this kind of business in Cebu, Kon said the lax occupancy terms that their company provides sets them apart from any other company offering similar services. She also pointed out that the services are flexible and negotiable and do not have to be availed of in package.

Currently, 50 percent of Global Hub’s clientele are foreign-based companies, while the rest are locals mostly from the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Kon also said they are receiving inquiries from interested BPO tenants abroad who wish to ride on Cebu’s growth as a top outsourcing destination, but she cited that most of their offices at present can hold up to a maximum of 30 staff. An expansion is thus being brewed in the pipeline.

A woman entrepreneur, Kon joined the recent women and tech summit called Cebuanas on the Web where many other business-minded females from the business sector and the academe met to discuss how they can maximize and incorporate online marketing tools into their respective businesses.  (FREEMAN)