As a start up entrepreneur, you know that every penny counts. You know that you need to find ways to scrimp and save up because you aren’t sure where your next dollar is going to come from.
There are lots of ways to do this. You can buy office supplies in bulk from a discount store. You can make sure that your office is as green as possible so that your energy bills are low. You can hire contractors instead of employees to reduce your overhead. You can run your business from a smaller space.
It’s tempting when you’re starting up to splurge on big and expansive offices because you want to look as professional and well off as possible to future clients and buyers. Unfortunately buying a lot of space that you don’t yet need is the same thing as tossing money down the drain -especially if it takes a while for your business to really take off. Thankfully there are ways to use less space and still look uber professional.
Virtual Office
Use a virtual office. A virtual office will allow you to work from home but have a non-residential address for your business and a professional space in which you can meet with clients. The scope of services varies from company to company. Typically you pay a small monthly fee to be able to use the office’s address as your own mailing address and then, a small fee on top of that if you need to meet with clients within one of their offices or conference rooms. These services can be a godsend when you live in an expensive area like Boston, New York, San Francisco, or Seattle.
Co-Working Space
There are a lot of collective and cooperative office spaces out there. You pay a monthly fee to rent a cubicle space or table space. Sometimes these collectives will also have private office spaces you can rent for a monthly fee as well. They will also usually have break rooms, conference rooms, and even mail and copy services that you can take advantage of—all for a fraction of the price you would pay to rent, lease or buy independent offices somewhere. For instance, in Arlington, Texas, the Alliance Business Center offers co-working, short-term office rental, or virtual office space for about $65-100 per month. Sure the space is small, but for a small fee you can rent a storage unit in which to keep all of the supplies and files you don’t need on a daily basis.
Settle For Smaller
If you are determined to have a space outside of your home that is just for your business, why not simply go with a smaller space? Rent an office within an office park or a building that leases space to a lot of different companies? Do you really need a standalone building? If so, why not opt for a house in a neighborhood that has been rezoned to be both residential and commercial? It’s cheaper than a strictly commercial space and will give your business some character.
There are lots of ways for you to help your business save money. These are just three methods you can use to help save a bundle on office space.