How to Choose the Best Office for your Small Business
Are you looking for business premises for your start up? Are you working from home with a growing business that needs its own space? This 21 Forbes Place guide will help you choose the best office space to suit your small business.
Flexible Rental Terms
As a business owner and entrepreneur, you have to take enough risks without adding a long term office lease the list. That’s why, for new and/or small businesses, you should look for an office space which offers flexible rental terms. In most serviced office centres, you will not be required to sign any long term contracts so your commitment can be with your business, first and foremost. At 21 Forbes Place, we offer our member’s a rolling monthly contract with one month to be paid in advance and one month’s notice of leave to be given – simple!
Affordable Office Space
Cost is the driving force behind most decisions a small business will make, and rightly so. For some business owners, the cost of office space is one that they will not even consider. However, for those who realise that their business will grow with a professional premises, there are spaces out there that won’t take up your entire cost budget. Renting an office or desk space in a business centre, you will pay one monthly fee which is inclusive of rent, rates, reception services, cleaning and other facilities like meeting rooms. (At 21 Forbes Place, this is only £250 per month! Check out our packages here)
Shared Office Space
When you think about finding an office for your business, you probably don’t immediately think of sharing it with other people. However, a shared office or co-working environment is a great place to host young and small businesses’ productivity. In a serviced office, a small business can have access to administrative support, marketing, website assistance and many more functions depending on who else is based there. Additionally, being surrounded by like-minded people can be just the motivation you need to get your business to new places.
Privacy in a Shared Office
Initially, some business owners are concerned about their privacy when it comes to an open plan office space but you can have reassurance that everybody within this type of environment have a mutual respect and understanding when it comes to private business matters. In addition, if there are times where conversations or phone calls must be entirely confidential, most business centre’s will offer separate areas to accommodate these. At 21 Forbes Place, we have two meeting rooms offering privacy to members which are free or at a discounted rate depending on the price package.
Social Benefits in your Rented Office
Socialising at work – this might not be on top of your priority list when you consider what office space to rent but it should be! Underestimating the benefits of working alongside other businesses could let your competitors get ahead of you. Networking is important in any industry: it gets you known among peers, encourages referrals and can help identify new opportunities. For many, networking is a daunting venture, but it can occur naturally in a co-working setting. You may also attend networking events with co-workers to make it less of a daunting idea. Even when socialising at work means having a beer on a Friday night, or sharing conversations over lunch, this can have a positive impact on your business by keeping up the morale of yourself and your employees.