Office space options for small businesses

With the new year, brings new resolutions, and plans for many people to start up a new business in 2006. Philip Dodson of Office Planet is warning new businesses not to get trapped into leasing costly office space that your business simply cannot afford.

Starting a new business is an equally exciting and stressful time. In these early stages there are many business decisions you will have to make, but one decision that is critical in getting right is finding the best premise for your business. It is all too easy to get caught up with the excitement of starting up your new business to sign a lease for your first office without stopping to think about the long-term consequences.

Different office spaces suit different businesses. Working from home can be a good option, particularly if all you need is small office space, but running a mechanics from your front room is something that is just not feasible. Alternatively you might choose to rent business premises, or even buy office space for your business outright.

Cost is probably going to be the biggest priority influencing your decision at this early stage, but it’s important to take the time to get your decision right. The first thing to consider is what type of office space you require.

Working from home

If you have the choice, working from home may be a much better option than renting or buying business premises. It will allow you to keep your initial start up costs to a minimum, run a cheaper operation and provide a better working environment, but there are some other issues you may need to consider.

Typically people working from home tend to work longer hours as they find it difficult to say good night at the end of the working day. Using your private number for business calls means that you could be receiving calls in the evenings and the weekend and maintaining a professional business image whilst conducting a meeting with a customer in your front room is certainly a challenging task!

In addition most people need to cross a motivational divide in the morning and more importantly they need to interact with other work colleagues.

Virtual Office Solution

A virtual office solution will provide you with a total office experience without having to physically lease office space.

A virtual office package will typically provide your business with the use of a business address, personalised telephone answering, post handling and forwarding and in some circumstances the use of private offices and boardrooms on an ad hoc basis.

Using the services of a virtual office solution on a ‘pay as you use’ basis, such as using a personalised answering service or a virtual receptionist might be a cheaper and less risky option to consider before investing in more permanent premise arrangements.

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