u/More-Actuator-1729

I am looking for an office assistant that can independently manage office admin activities on a day to day basis for a few ventures (I manage them solo right now) that I run.

I need someone that can communicate in English (& is comfortable with Hindi; knowledge of Marathi is a bonus), can handle more than basic accounting tasks, is willing to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty when needed (I do that) , can handle customers (over the phone or in person), and is comfortable with operating independently (I will have a lot of travel coming up).

Your educational qualifications , gender , race , caste, religion, age is of no relevance to me - what matters is the aptitude & motivation to get it done, helping me across the multiple ventures that I handle.

The office is located in Wadala so prefer someone from Dadar / Matunga / Sion / Wadala / Chembur / Parel.

The role is in-office , 10AM to 5:30 PM, Monday to Saturday.

A typical day would involve :

1. Open office , get the cleaner to clean it out, ensure everything is set up right.
2. Respond to emails.
3. Complete any tasks I assign. (Presentation / research/etc.)
4. Liaise with customers / clients. (email / phone / in-person).
5. Handle any office visitors - Govt officers , bank verification visits, couriers / parcels, etc.
6. Handle payment for labourers.
7. Ensure previous day invoices are scanned and update Zoho books.
8. File GST returns and remind me to pay TDS amounts.
9. Work with transport agencies / logistics providers on shipment tracking, invoicing and deliveries. Work with labourers to get goods packed / unpacked.
10. Close office.

If you think you are suitable for this, please DM with a resume or a write up on why you think you are a fit , tell me your salary expectations and what skills you are expecting to acquire from this role.

Yes, I know REITs exist and they are much more efficient but this is something I have been contemplating for years.

So I ran the numbers ..

The commercial real estate (office or shop) will entail me taking on a 10 year loan, renting it out and adding back the income to paring down the capital component.

My numbers work for me (cash flows , EMIs , taxation, appreciation, maintenance , etc) and I expect to hold the property indefinitely.

I am more biased towards an office space (despite work from home being the future) because it can be converted into a workshop or a storage unit or to host events / meet ups or similar purposes.

Ideally , I should be breaking even on the financials by year 5 ~ year 7 but I am factoring in Y15 as the worst case scenario, post which the income is completely mine (barring taxes).

Any of you thinking on similar lines ?

Looking for healthy & incisive discussions on adding commercial real estate to our DRIP portfolios.

I am seeking a co-founder for a logistics business I am setting up from scratch.

This is the unglamorous part of the logistics industry - haulage, multi - modal, rail freight , loading / unloading and first / last mile delivery and associated services.

I am looking for another operator, that will, like me, be willing to get her / his hands dirty , is willing to take ownership and is willing to grow into freight forwarding.

As a founder / co-founder , I am someone that’s not interested in trends , not interested in social media marketing nor interested in trying to glam / hype the haulage segment , not interested in Ponzi schemes that dot this industry . is extremely frugal and hands - on, operate asset light and conversant with the 3/4PL industry and is above 40.

I am based in Mumbai and only looking for someone from Mumbai.

Not interested in wasting my time with folks that think haulage is a quick buck.

Inspired by some of the previous posts, here and on other forums, I am setting up a virtual (only) office for start up founders.

The plan is to offer virtual only office services, inclusive of GST registration and within Rs 1K month.

Prior to building the website, I am seeking real opinions from all start up founders that used virtual office offerings in the past.

My challenges, from start ups I have founded / co-founded:

1. Pricing! Negotiating pricing was the most draining challenge I have encountered - pricing as esoteric as Rs. 45,000 / annum, which made no sense since we only needed a virtual office.
2. Pomposity - The sales pitch is already on the website, why waste time on doing e-meets and rehashing the same stuff over and over? Yes, we know your virtual office is the most in demand dude and everyone's opting for it over WeWork and other brand names! And who signs up because one of the founders of the virtual office happened to give a speech on saving money by using a virtual office service?
3. Additional pricing - In the last 2 virtual offices I have signed up for, the provider promised name boards, in the pricing - Sweet we thought! A random visit to the service provider and there's no name board no more! Apparently the name boards were only for a day (print outs) and would be put out there when someone visited or they were informed or we would need to pay more (per month) for a permanent name board (on printed paper!)
4. Renewal - I signed up for an extremely sweet deal back in 2019 - Rs 800/- monthly, for 12 months, with someone that was just looking to make extra income from their under utilized office space. Just before the 12th month, I get a WhatsApp message asking me if I want to renew? Sure - Rs 800/- monthly right, awesome deal. No, it's now Rs. 2,499/- month! And if we don't renew, they'll send emails to RoC & GST that we are no longer registered at that address. WTF!
5. Communication (or lack of it) - This is an extremely interesting case-study (and which prompted me to open my own shop). We signed up with Mascots co working (Andheri, Mumbai), for a 36 month deal. There was a proper agreement that we registered, which contained multiple terms & conditions that seemed standard. One of our add-ons was that we could receive upto 10 parcels /month and we could collect it free of cost. Almost a month after sign up, our bank branch manager notifies us that the address doesn't exist . Huh? Your guy came to the office, clicked pics of us posing proudly in front of the name board, etc. How can the address not exist now? Turns out that Mascots had shut shop. No communication (checked junk mail / spam, nothing). Went to the address, where a diffident security guard for the building mentioned they had moved out. New address nahi pata. Calls to the head of sales / marketing went unanswered. A call from a different number was answered. Redirected to one of the co-founders. Was informed by them that there's a clause in the agreement that Mascots can terminate agreement with client for a number of reasons. Demanded a refund, sent 4-5 emails. Bank still wanted new address for sending debit card & chequebook. Work was in full-swing and no address and all 3 of us had to focus on getting a new address and updating it everywhere - ROC, Bank, Incometax, PAN, GST and on invoices. We never recovered the money and we had to pay extra to move to another virtual office. The other co-founders shrug it off as our first crisis but I am still hurt about the loss of money and the lack of communication. Promised myself that someday I'll buy my own place and offer it for virtual office services and keep things clean.

Now that I am setting this up, I would appreciate any real experiences that can benefit others down the line and try and provide as much as is feasible possible.

What I am thinking off (and where your real opinion matters) is:

1. Renewals - grandfathered and fixed for 36 months. A reasonable 3% to 5% increase after 36 months - so ideally someone signs up for 12 months, then opts to renew it for a period of 12 months and another 12 months, we have the same price. When the 4th renewal comes up, can I charge a reasonable 3% to 5% increase?

2. Name boards (print outs only) - FOC. It costs a rupee or two, and it's sacrilegious to charge anything more. By law, the name board at the registered office should contain the firm's name and GSTN and be visible on the door. I have managed all my ventures with just print outs so far and despite 2 GST visits, haven't faced an issue. Will clients be alright with that?

3. Upto 3 letters / month - One mandatory bank letter to the registered office is inevitable. And usually followed by the debit card / ATM PIN / Cheque book. Clients can have it picked up via one of the online courier services. Anything more could be charged or should I offer 5 letters / month? Parcels upto 500 gms, maximum?

4. Incorporation / GST Registration services - Should I offer that as an add-on service or will that be biting more than I can chew? I wasn't very keen on handling this myself since I have other tasks, but I have a great C.A that can get it done, in his sleep. Would it make sense to offer an integrated service of company incorporation + virtual office? There's also other service providers that are willing to partner as an option but is it feasible since I have no control over the costs?

5. Add - ons - What add-ons would make life simpler for founders / start ups? I am referring to the realistic ones like offering accounting services through Zoho (I use an accounting service provider that does my zoho books) or tying up (informally) with a bank so they can open a current account along once the firm is incorporated? Or offer domain hosting services and basic website (wordpress) creation along with some templatized stationery - what would really add value?

Any opinions that could help would be much appreciated.