Small business owners know that in order to survive, they need to have a budget and stick to it. There are capital costs, fixed costs and variable costs that need to be considered. The less capital costs that a start-up needs to budget for often means more working capital can be channeled into fixed costs until the start-up generates significant cash flow.
Office expenses can overwhelm you and your budget if you aren’t careful. The beginning of your start-up isn’t the time to be extravagant in furnishing and equipping your office. You best do it “on the cheap” or at no expense at all. No, you don’t want a cheap-looking office, but you do not want to have your office consume all of your budget. This is why many start-ups and emerging small businesses will look at renting office space at a furnished office facility in an office business centre.
An office business centre can offer plenty of options to suit your budget and your business needs. With an office at a business centre, you can budget for your rent and other fixed costs without getting any surprises or hidden costs. They can offer you virtual office plans, shared office space, semi-private offices, private interior offices and even executive window suites.
For now, lets look at some of the types of physical office plans that are available at office business centres, starting from the lowest-priced option. You can read more about virtual office plans here.
Typically a shared office in an office business center is what has traditionally been called a “touchdown office” or a “hot desk.” This is an office situation where a start-up or emerging small business needs a physical office to work from on a part-time basis. You have access to a non-assigned desk with telephone and internet access to use when you need to use it. You also have access to meeting rooms, state-of-the-art technology like photocopiers and network printers, reception services and other services that you can use on an a-la-carte basis.
Semi-private offices offer a more permanent desk and storage solution for a start-up or small business that needs an office solution that is both economical and provides an established office space. A semi-private office is only shared with one other renter – and often the two small business owners rarely keep the same office hours, so for practical purposes, it is almost a “private” office.
An interior private office is typically set up for one person or two people and file storage, but some small interior private offices can be set up to accommodate three workstations. This is ideal for an entrepreneur who needs to keep files, computers and other business necessities, without having to share the space with another business owner.
When your budget for office space increases, you can move into an executive window suite. Your rent, telephone and internet costs are provided at a fixed cost rather than a variable cost, so that you can better plan your budget. Again, knowing your fixed budget costs at an office business centre means not having to worry about extra costs like electricity or heating.
Basically, you want your office expenses to be as fixed as possible, so you can pay attention to the other variable costs in your budget that relate to your core business activities. Don’t forget – with office space at an office business centre, you do not have to budget for a receptionist to answer your calls or receive your packages.
