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Have You Considered These 4 Office Space Options for Your Startup?

Here is a look at four office space options every startup should consider.


When you launch a startup you will finding yourself on the verge of hiring staff members; this presents both a tremendous accomplishment and a new series of challenges. While you may have experienced enough market and capitalization success to justify bringing on new talent, the fact remains that transitioning away from being a “one-man shop” carries with it certain responsibilities you won’t face while working on your own.

Aside from the legal, taxation and human resources challenges associated with hiring employees, one of the first bridges you’ll have cross is simply deciding where to put your new employees. Even though you may not be ready to commit to a commercial real estate lease for three years or more, taking on a staff means that you will be responsible for desks, chairs and a roof over your new team members’ heads.

Fortunately, commercial real estate isn’t your only option. In fact, there are plenty of office space alternatives to consider. Here is a look at four office space options for your startup.

 

  1. Coworking Spaces

    Co-working spaces are open offices designed which offer freelancers, remote workers and startup entrepreneurs the opportunity to collaborate in a shared environment away from home. Think of coworking spaces as a more business-oriented solution than working alone in a coffee shop. These types of offices, which are springing up in nearly all major cities, are incredibly affordable and operate on a month-to-month membership fee model.

    Depending on the offices in your area, your membership may include a dedicated desk, access to community conference rooms, office events and other perks. However, co-working offices do have limitations. Given the community nature of these facilities, working together as a team may feel disruptive to the overall environment. Or, if the coworking facilities are busy, you may not have access to conference rooms and other areas as often as you’d like. Despite these challenges, many new startups find co-working offices to be a good starting point when it comes to housing their growing companies.

  2. Small Business Incubators

    If you’ve outgrown your local coworking space (or simply want to set up your own office from the start), contact your local government or nearby business development groups for information on any active small business incubator spaces in your area.

    The goal of most small business incubators is to provide flexible office space — in combination with services like mentorship — for growing startups. These programs typically offer discounted rents under the premise that doing so will stimulate additional business growth, resulting in a greater overall economic impact. These types of incentives and other entrepreneur-friendly terms may make incubator spaces a good fit for your growing company.

    Note: you might have to apply to get in and small business incubators are not available in all areas. Meanwhile, you may also find that space rentals are limited to startups in particular industries. In addition, because the leasing arrangements with these programs are generally more restrictive than co-working office membership, you’ll want to be sure your startup’s revenue stream is steady enough to meet lease commitments.

  3. Executive Office Suites

    One final option to consider if you’re committed to the idea of leasing a standalone office for your startup is the executive office suite. Owned and operated by companies like Regus and Intelligent Office, executive office suites provide the separate office space of a business incubator, but with a whole host of additional perks –- including administrative support, mail handling, high-tech utilities and more. In general, executive office suites are more expensive than small business incubators on a cost-per-square-foot basis. However, the availability of smaller office sizes and contract flexibility compared to incubators make this a potentially savvy office space choice for growing startups.

  4. Remote Work Arrangements

    Before you sign on the dotted line of any rental agreement, it’s a good idea to take some time to determine whether or not you actually need office space in the first place. There are plenty of tools on the market today that enable you to manage employees online –- whether your staff members are located in the same city you are, or thousands of miles away. For example, using tools like Skype for office communications, Basecamp for project management and Salesforce for CRM info makes it entirely possible to manage a team of workers effectively from a remote location.

    Not only will setting up a remote work arrangement help to keep your costs down, it can also be a plus when recruiting talent. As a remote employer, you’ll be able to court employees from around the world — and those you make offers to may be more inclined to accept, given the desirable level of flexibility remote work entails. Obviously, there are plenty of different variables to consider when it comes to choosing the office space that’s right for your startup. But by thinking outside of the commercial real estate box, you should be able to find a solution that both saves you money and meets your organization’s unique needs.

AJ Kumar is the co-founder of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency based in San Francisco. Single Grain specializes in helping startups and larger companies with search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media and various other marketing strategies.

 

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