After having been a partner in a large IP law firm in Paris, I decided to create Wiplaw in Brussels. I was working on my own, and it weighed on me. So I took an office at Silversquare... that was 10 years ago!
I have never regretted this choice: I felt good there immediately.
I found clients and made friends there! That's why I've been here so long.
It took me 5 years to feel reassured that my business would not collapse.
With some clients or prospects, projects can take a few years to come to fruition, so don't get discouraged. Personally, I had to learn to manage this impatience. By exchanging with other entrepreneurs, I shared my experience and received advice. If I had been in a traditional office, I think I would have felt very alone. I also found clients and suppliers in the coworking space. And I was able to adjust the size of my office to the growth of my team, without having to move, with all the costs and investments that go with it.
There are 7 of us in the team now, and I wondered if renting traditional offices would be more economical.
But I realised that being at Silversquare allows me to be more attractive to hire and keep my employees. The working atmosphere is young, and dynamic and Silversquare offers original events that allow you to meet other coworkers.
I have also found that being in a coworking space - and therefore easily open to the outside world - avoids the tensions that can develop when you work in silos. It creates a space that is beneficial to the team.
Eric Le Bellour created Wiplaw, a legal consultancy specialising in intellectual property (trademark, design, patent and copyright law). Wiplaw assists its clients in new projects to enhance their intellectual property's value and ensure that they are not infringing on existing intellectual property rights. Wiplaw also monitors infringing trademarks or products by third parties and takes pre-litigation action against these infringing third parties.
Eric Le Bellour
Mail: e.lebellour@wiplaw.com
Tel: 0032 496 21 12 95
www.wiplaw.com
Written by Muriel Van Severen