Mr Brandon Lee, 24, who does not have his own office, works out of shared office space Hubquarters in the *Scape building along Orchard Link. There, he plugs into the Internet, holds meetings in the shared meeting rooms and chats with other young start-up founders, designers or consultants.
The best part about his office space? It is free. "I can use it instead of buying coffee and hanging out at Starbucks," says the founder of lifestyle classified website Celebrity Trainer, who started using Hubquarters in January.
Freelancers and small business owners like Mr Lee, who cannot afford their own offices, are turning to the rising number of shared office spaces, where they work alongside others.
Hubquarters is free for young start-ups, whose founders are 18 to 35 years old.
Other shared offices require users to pay between $128 and $800 a month, depending on the number of hours they work in the space, the type of seat and whether they will keep their belongings there. Daily drop-in rates are around $20.
Mr Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, 49, chief executive officer of realty company Propnex, says this is a cost-effective option for entrepreneurs as a small 500 sq ft office in the non-central location of Singapore would cost $2,000 or more.
At least five new spaces - HiredTurf, Hubquarters, Occupy, The Co and Ecosystem - were launched in the last six months, adding to the list of more than 20 existing spaces.
At Hubquarters, set up by *Scape, more than 85 youth start-ups have signed up since it was launched in January this year. There are about 80 workstations in the 6,000 sq ft office.
Mr Lee says they do not need to jostle for spots as there is enough space. "There are also ample power points but we bring our own extension plugs just in case."
In return for the workspace, *Scape, a non-profit organisation which supports youth development, hopes users will contribute to the development of the youth community.
Mr Lee says his office is a great place for networking. "We get to meet other start-ups. We are now working with an events company and a Web designer whom we met here."
While most locations provide air- conditioning, use of meeting rooms and free Wi-Fi, some also throw in free coffee or printing facilities.
Occupy along North Bridge Road, for example, charges $26 for 12 hours at a counter seat and the rate includes a free flow of coffee. Brand strategist Kerrie Li, 24, a co-founder of Occupy, says: "Do the maths - two cups of latte at Starbucks cost $12. Our counter space, inclusive of free-flow great coffee, is a steal."
The rise of co-working spaces comes at a time when entrepreneurship is growing in Singapore. According to the Department of Statistics, around 39,000 companies and businesses were formed in 2003. The number rose to almost 57,000 last year.
These young entrepreneurs might have started out working at home or in coffee joints but, as software engineer Kien Pang, 32, puts it, the experience can be "utterly painful".
"You have to constantly worry about finding a seat with a power outlet, Wi-Fi connectivity and your personal belongings when you take a bathroom break," says MrPang, whose experiences of working from cafes led him to start HiredTurf, a co-working space in the Lavender area with 22 desks.
Here, those who rent a desk at $499 a month will get to use the infinity pool in the small office, home office or Soho development.
Besides a conducive environment for working, such spaces also act as a place to build a niche community.
Hackerspace, one of the earliest co- working spaces which started in 2009, is mainly for the tech crowd, while Hubquarters supports the youth.
Yet another shared office, Ecosystem, launched in March, provides a work space for businesses in the environmental sector or those who subscribe to green principals. There are 14 desks available.
Mr Sunny Chuah, 28, who works at Ecosystem and owns Bamboobee, a company which makes hand-crafted bamboo bicycles, says: "The space is good because it promotes the green message we also want to promote."
The popularity of these shared spaces is also driven by high commercial rental rates in Singapore.
Mr Markus Kaub, 45, founder of PlusConcept Space, which opened on Purvis Street in November last year, says: "Given the development of commercial real estate prices and the cost associated with it, there is quite a demand for shared office spaces."
He says in the first few months, four to seven of his 20 desks were occupied. Now, there are only five desks left. These are reserved for visitors or those who need a desk for just a few hours each day.
And demand for desk space continues to grow. Mr Jonathan O'Byrne, 27, chief executive of Collective Works, which is located in Cecil Street, says "demand has outstripped supply" and his 50-desk co-working office is running out of space.
He is hoping to double the number of desks offered by the end of this year.
The Loft Offices on South Bridge Road, which has 15 desks, is also hoping to scale up with its next location, which would have 30 table spaces. Its managing partner Kevin Liu, 29, says: "We are looking to replicate the same business model as our current office because there is demand in the market for efficient, community-oriented workspaces."
Adds Propnex's Mr Mohamed Ismail: "As businesses become established, they will establish their own offices and there will be newbies to take their place. The more spaces we have, the more it will encourage entrepreneurship among the younger generation."
