One of the main attractions of starting your own business is the freedom it offers. Nothing is more liberating than being able to plan your own work routine – when and where you plan the meteoric rise of your fledgling enterprise.
More people than ever are working from home, and the numbers of self employed and limited companies formed in the UK are rising. Clearly, traditional employment is less secure than it’s ever been, so why not take your destiny into your own hands?
Once you have decided to start up your own business, where you physically work is a truly important thing to work out early on.
So many different factors come into play depending on the type of business you operate, what your home environment is like, what distractions you are likely to have, if you look after your children, and so on.
You may want to work permanently away from your home, have access to occasional office space, or work from home whilst providing a professional image for your business. Here are a few of the workspace options available for small businesses:
1. Office Rental / Serviced Offices
Aside from buying or leasing your own premises, for start-ups who don’t want a certain amount of freedom from onerous contracts and lease terms, monthly office rental may well be the perfect solution.
You will either pay a monthly/yearly fee for use of the office space, with all other services (internet, utilities, rate) on top, or included in a single fee depending on the office provider you sign up with. Find out more in our dedicated guide – Leased or serviced office space – which is the best fit for your business?
2. Occasional Office
If you need to use an office or use meeting rooms on an occasional basis, you can sign up for a flexible package with one of the leading office space providers. You will typically pay a monthly fee depending on the number of days office space you require.
Regus BusinessWorld is one of the best know services, providing access to business lounges, or day offices across the UK for a monthly fee. easyOffice is a fairly recent entrant to the market – mainly based around London currently.
3. Virtual Office
Many small businesses want to be able to provide the professional image of a larger business, without the associated expense. Such is the demand that there are thousands of virtual office services operating in the UK.
For a monthly fee, you are provided with a professional business address, and any number of additional services such as mail forwarding, telephone answering, and in many cases day office and meeting room access.
If any of these options suit, the key thing for any start-up is not to get tied into a long-term agreement unless you are sure that the service suits and is future-proof. The flexibility that modern office space solutions provide minimise risk and up-front costs.
More help on offices
For more on offices and business premises, try some of our other guides;
Offices
- Pitfalls you need to avoid when getting new business premises
- How to create an inspiring and productive office space
- How to find the perfect business premises
- How to find a serviced office to suit your business
- Renting business premises – commercial leases pitfalls to watch out for
Working from Home
- Working from home guide for small business owners and their employees
- The workaholic’s guide to successfully working from home
- Working from home? Watch out for these insurance policy pitfalls
- The downside of working from home
- Work from anywhere: live anywhere in the world, do business in the UK
More on starting and running your own business
ByteStart is packed with help and tips on all aspects of starting and running a small business. Check out some of our most popular guides;
Starting Up
- 5 things you must do when you go self employed
- 10 advantages running your business as a limited company has over being a sole trader
- How to set up a limited company
- How to choose the best online accounting software for your business
- 15 Questions to ask when hiring an accountant for your new business
Funding your business
- How to maximise your chances of securing a small business loan
- A Guide to ‘Alternative Finance’ – the new funding options for startups and small businesses
- Finding finance for your new business – funding advice for start-ups
- How peer-to-peer lending offers businesses a new funding option
- What to do when the bank says “NO”!
Hiring and managing employees
- Becoming an employer – Your responsibilities when you hire staff
- Dismissing a member of staff – what you need to do to stay on the right side of the law
- Health & Safety compliance for small businesses – where do you start?
- Flexible working rights for all employees – what small businesses need to know
- Employers liability insurance – if you employ anybody you are legally required to have cover
Legal issues
- Which types of insurance must your business have?
- Becoming an employer – Your responsibilities when you hire staff
- Health & Safety compliance for small businesses – where do you start?
- A Guide to the National Living Wage for small business owners
- Why it’s vital you have clear ‘Terms & Conditions’ for your business
