Friday, November 18, 2011

Why Consider Shared Office Space

By Orlando Ring


The current state of the world's economy makes establishing and sustaining a business akin to extreme sports without any safety procedures. Owing to sharp price increases and drastic employment cutbacks, it is particularly tough for any individual to survive such dire economic conditions. Numerous people who have been relieved of their duties, offices and, effectively, careers have decided that if they find it difficult to get jobs then they will create a job for themselves. As the number of people moving towards entrepreneurship is increasing day by day, it is not surprising that there are now innovative and creative ways of getting the required resources for starting a small to medium scale business without actually having to pay exorbitant sums of money.

Because one of the biggest investments when starting a business is office space, many startups begin in home offices or basements. However, this is not ideal in all situations, particularly when the business requires regular meetings with clients or large amounts of equipment. In these cases, more and more people are turning toward shared office spaces. Shared office space allows many different small businesses to essentially split the cost of a lease and share the office space and equipment between them. In some cases, these small businesses are providing similar services. In other cases, they are completely different businesses. By working in a shared office space, small businesses are able to save the maximum amount of money, even more than short-term leases or temporary office spaces.

When the businesses sharing the same space provide a similar service, they can also save money by sharing specialty office equipment. Though this requires a little more coordination, if managed successfully these businesses could end up saving even more money on the purchasing of expensive equipment. If you are a business that already owns specialty equipment, you can even make some money by offering to rent your equipment to the other company or companies in your shared office space for a small fee. This is a quick and easy way to recoup the money you will be spending on your share of the lease.

Though shared office space can have its benefits in regards to saving money and sharing responsibilities, it can also present a unique set of challenges as well. Because you will have little jurisdiction over the actions and behaviors of the people you are sharing office space with, you may find yourself in challenging situations if you and the other party or parties do not agree on the use of the shared space or if there is some sort of disruption that is making it difficult for you to work. In these cases, it is important to arbitrate any arguments through the proper leasing authorities in a professional manner.

Moreover, in order to avoid the above mentioned situation, you should try to get to know the other business and see how it functions on a day to day basis before actually agreeing to share office space with them. Make sure that you know how their employees behave and what their core services are. Find out their specific preferences or hang ups, if you will, so as to prepare for them. If the compatibility is not ideal between the businesses involved or if you personally think that this may not be the right match for you, your employees or your business, then you should simply continue looking for more suitable partners. Alternatively, if your research leads you to believe that the match is perfect and even conducive, then you are possibly in luck.

A shared office space can be a perfect way for you to not only find an office space that you can call your own but also do so without actually breaking the back of the proverbial financial camel. Furthermore, if you are creative and smart about how you use the office space, the furniture and the equipment in it, then you can even make the most of your resources for your business.




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