If you are thinking about starting out in business, chances are the cost of renting an office is very off-putting. Many businesses start off by meeting individual potential clients, trying to make a good impression on a personal level. This involves a lot of travelling, and mobile working. With this in mind, buying office premises seems like a costly waste if you don’t expect to be using it.
All businesses need a fixed office address though. While we may be on the road trying to win contracts and customers, we need an address for correspondence and written contact. It is also a legal requirement for most business types, and necessary to get a listing in the phone book. If your business isn’t ready to buy an office, you could rent facilities from a national firm like Regus UK. These companies offer access to office facilities. They may charge you on a pay as you go basis or by monthly subscription. They can also provide your business with a single address while you are using offices up and down the country on your travels.
If you are a start-up, having the flexibility to work from anywhere is crucial. Thanks to social media and smartphones, this is possible, but having an office space to meet with potential clients is highly advantageous. You can also meet other businesses in communal offices. Facilities vary, but having a real desk with a real telephone can make life a lot easier than working from the car all day.
Sometimes having access to a good conference room can make a difference to a potential client who wants to thrash out the terms of the contract. As a start-up, it is almost impossible to have the funds up front for a suitable office premises, but renting a space on an ad-hoc basis can provide everything you need as you need it. It can also work out substantially cheaper because lots of businesses are sharing the space and the cost.
Other benefits of a shared office include meeting with other start-up entrepreneurs. Swapping experiences and ideas can help both your businesses. It can be quite exhilarating and inspiring to work in the same building as people just like you. Some may be in a supporting business that could work as a partner to you and help you both grow in partnership.
Some office space providers have offices available all over the globe. This can help you enter into international markets by providing you with services overseas and expert advice. If you are looking to do this eventually, it may save you money in the long term to use temporary office solutions on an ongoing basis.
Providing your client with a good impression about your business is essential. Virtual offices and office space providers can supply great facilities in exclusive settings. Refreshments and reception welcomes are often included, and save you the challenge of hiring your own support staff or catering. A lot of start-ups need offices infrequently. Being able allocate accommodation budget into marketing or corporate entertaining can be highly profitable.
Before you commit to one provider or another, take a tour of their offices to see what they can offer. Our working environment often dictates how we do business. Taking a tour to see what facilities are provided may help you determine how you will work to develop your business. If you have any questions, it is a good idea to ask in person and have facilities like phone systems, and conference calling explained to you.
Some start-ups only have one or two clients to begin with and tend to work from home. Home working provides a lot of benefits in terms of cost and efficiency in working. It allows you to be close to your family and work whatever hours suit you. Some people start their own business from home imagining sitting out in the garden with a laptop and long drink. The prospect of enjoying work is what inspires most people to work for themselves. Working for someone else in a big open plan office can be mundane and depressing. Working for yourself as a sole trader or small business offers you a lifestyle that cannot be obtained working as an employee.
When you do work for yourself from home, you may have your own small home office, or like to sit curled up on the sofa with daytime TV for company. However, you like to work, there may come a time when you need to increase your client base, or find new suppliers. You may not be ideally located to suit their needs for a meeting, or you may not feel comfortable with them coming into your home. If you have kids around, your home can quickly become an unsuitable environment for impressing a new client.
Being able to quickly source a meeting space or small private office in a location that suits you both can be essential to your business. Finding a good part-time office or ad-hoc meeting room can be easy with an office space provider. You can even find one to answer your calls when you are busy, wherever you may be working. Rates are very favourable compared to buying an office or staffing a building yourself.
There may come a time when you need to think about relocating your business. This may be due to you needing to move home. If you work from home, your business location will move too. It may be you are finding your business is growing in one particular region, so you are spending more and more time in that area. Having a part-time office with a nationwide network office space supplier means it is incredibly easy to take on a new space. There are no agents to find to sell your old office, or solicitors to negotiate a new sale. Pay as you go or subscription office provisions make developing your business much easier as they are so flexible. Whenever you need to move or expand, the options are there immediately.
