Who here is self-employed but rents an office?

A good friend and partner

WarriorForum - Internet Marketing Forums - View Profile: Maria Gudelis

has an offline office in Vegas and she's told me it's not only helped her get more productive but also land a good # of new offline consulting clients. Totally worth the investment from what she's told me.

- Sean

Dana,

I've worked from home since going full time with the company I co-founded in 2004. Last December I had to hire another developer which required us to sit together for a while to get them up to speed. So we rented an office in one the local office suites (in fact its called Office Suites Plus-they have several locations around the SE, highly recommended) and its been a positive experience.

My partners still work from home, and I can do so when I want (one of the great things about working for yourself -only your customers dictate what you do). If you have the budget I would recommend it and in this economy you can definitely get a good deal.

The only downside is the commute and dress code (when I worked from home it was a bit slack! ;-) But the office is only about a mile from my house so its not bad. And I make my own hours still.

What has been unexpected and a big plus is we appear a bit more professional - we have a real human(tm) answering our phones rather than the voice mail system we had, and we have a nice common office area to greet folks and have access to several different sized conference rooms we can use. Plus we've just brought on a commission only sales person in Atlanta and they can use the conference rooms at the rental company's Atlanta offices.

And I get to have adult conversations with real people - though my developer still looks at me funny when I talk to myself - a habit I got into while working 4 years from home.

I would recommend getting a separate office like we did rather than getting a desk or office in another going company. We had looked at that too, but felt it would be too much of a distraction to be setting with other folks who were not part of the team. My $0.02 anyway.

Good luck and congratulations on the growth! And if you want to chit chat about how we approached our negotiation and how this system works if youre not familiar with it, just drop me a line.


best,
--Jack

I own a 2000 SQ ft office space 15 mins from home. After working from home for years we bit the bullet so we could hire help.

BEST MOVE I HAVE EVER MADE!!

Clients who want to meet you take you more seriously when you have a cool space to visit.

I also like the feeling of going to work for a full day. When I come home I find it easier to relax and stay off the laptop.

my advice is DO IT!!

I can actually get an office pretty cheaply here in Orlando these days - probably $600 a month or under for about 100 square feet, with (used) furniture and a virtual office setup - the receptionist would answer with my business name, I'd have a fax number and mail could be sent there. I believe that internet access is about $50 a month more. 100 square feet is small, but if business justified it, I could move into a larger office.

I agree that I would have to be sure that the increase in revenue would justify the expense.

I do think that aside from increased productivity, a real office is essential for meeting local clients, if I were to start promoting my press release writing and social media consulting services more. Even though plenty of very successful people DO work from home, I just think that it conveys a more professional image to have an office.

Check the math for your area. Most commercial lease rates that I see are stated as annual, so 75 sq ft times 20 rate is $1,500 per yr, then divide by 12 to arrive at 125 per mo.

Hey Dana,

Good to see ya! I think it really comes down to your personality (some people are distracted at home and need to get out and some are not) but here is our experience. We've had our real estate/mortgage business for 8 years now. We've operated mostly out of our home and have been very successful. We've had an outside office mostly for brick and mortar requirement for some companies that we worked for in the beginning. However, since I've been our broker, we have closed down our outside office because even our new clients are open to meet with us in our home.

Now of course, my husband's home office is 200 sq ft and he has training stations to train other loan officers and assistants. My home office is upstairs in our loft area. We usually train people in our home for about 1 month and then kick them out for them to work from home. Good luck with your decision!

PS We've also done the high end executive suite suites as well where you can use their main secretary and conference rooms and a small office. I think the company's name is HQ Global which is cool because it's already furnished and already has a high executive feel..

Here's the pricing info I got from one place:

We operate a typical business center; small offices, shared conference
rooms, receptionist, photocopier, telecom services and high speed
internet access (at certain locations), and many other services.
Our offices range in size typically from 100 sq. ft to 400 sq. ft.
Our rents start at $300 and go up from there depending on office size
and set up.

Furniture is optional two ways, inherited or rented. We have inherited
furniture from past tenants so we offer this furniture at no
additional charge. The other option is to rent the furniture using Aaron
Rents, but an additional charge will be applicable depending on the type of
furniture chosen.

Internet is available at all three locations in various forms. It is
provided as an additional service with a monthly rate between $40 -
$50 per
month.

The second thing you asked about was our Virtual Office service. We
offer this service for $175 per month. This includes:

Use of our mailing address
A local phone number
Live telephone answering M-F
Voice Mail
8 hours of conference room use per month

But Healymedia is right - even though in the current economy I can get a small, centrally located office cheaply - even if altogether it's $600-$800 a month, I don't want to spend that just for the sake of spending it.

One of my primary reasons for having an office would be if I thought that offline clients would take me more seriously.

I worked from home for over five years and just started renting an office. I love it. I keep it completely off the radar... no signs or anything. It's my Bat cave, and only special people are allowed to enter.

Dana,

One very economical approach used by many that start the self employed journey is to contact someone (a current client is best). Often times you can trade services in exchange for rent or you can obtain the use of an office at minimal cost and use the conference room, etc with no charge. This works best if your office hours coincide with theirs as some won't want to give you unrestricted access unless they are also present.

Good Luck,
Pat

There are many many reasons for having an office, one of them is building corporate credit.

While there are places that consider your home as a valid business address, depending on where you live, some lenders can't lend to home business as corporations because they can't allow themselves to fund a business that is in violation of zoning codes. Some areas won't give business licenses to companies that are not zoned for business.

I've done both actually, Currently I am working without an office, but Its on my radar to get a executive office that has suites and meeting rooms in other cities that I would like to build business in.

I hear in my head a statement from a mentor of mine.

Never Bring Your Pain Home

That means everything from customers, to creditors to solicitors, leave your home private and secure away from anyone you don't specifically invite in.

If your home is your office, you maybe inviting unwanted folks to your house.

Especially with wanting to hire a sales force, or giving workshops and presentations an office with a meeting room will cost much less than renting the meeting room at a hotel.

In my personal situation my house is a hour away from "Official Kansas City" having an office "in town" has many advantages, even when I will continue to do much work from my office at home.

I think there is a shift in thinking when you have an office, you are now a business owner, not self employed.

The two mind set are light years apart.

Mark

I am looking at offices right now. I've been working at home since 2002 and its time for an office so I can get away from all the distractions. I found a very affordable office 15 miles from home. I live way out of town so the closest I would even find an office would be ten miles away. Not too bad except in the winter when we have snow storm after snow storm.

I really think it depends on your particular personality.

After 4 years of working from home in a 10x10 spare bedroom, the lack of any social interaction over that extended period of time was beginning to have a negative effect on my productivity.

Considering how much of an introvert I am, I was very surprised to discover this.

I rented an office here in Vegas at a sweet price (much like what you are describing Dana, with reception service, a full kitchen, all the niceties.

I found I was dramatically more productive in that environment. I was situated right between a Psychologist and an Attorney. For better or worse, my attitude and outlook changed for the better - I felt "legitimate" and more like a normal business owner.

I'm getting ready to relocate back to Northern California next month, so I gave up my office here. But as soon as I get settled, I will start looking for an office once again.

Again, the decision is different for everyone, but for me, it was well worth the added cost.

~Mike

Dana,

I forgot to add that many times you can lease an office with a training room for less than you would spend for a meeting room at a hotel by itself.

But having said that, because you are in central Florida, there are several good rates for meeting rooms around the airport, through I-drive convention center area.

Mark Riddle

Someone here mentioned bartering - I volunteer for a local autism organization, writing their press releases - they just told me that when they move to a new building in June I could get an office there for free, in exchange for helping them with their PR. Which I am already doing.

Hard to argue with "free!"

Mind you my dream office would be on a busy street with a lot of walk in traffic but as I grow my business, I can always move when the time is right.

I couldn't wait to build a business I could run from home. Now
I can't wait till I can move it out of here and get my house back.

Tom

I am actually looking for some office space now, I think it will be good to separate the home from the work place

I wish I had my own office. Having a family of 6 it is hard to get some quiet time around here.

Craigslists seems to be a good source of listings for affordable office space. Also, if you do searches for "virtual office" in your area -the virtual office companies often offer the option for various levels of office rental, including by the day, or short term monthly rentals, or 3,6, 9, and 12 month leases.

The first question is, do you "need" an office? What I mean is:

Can your monthly revenue, support the new expenses? There are a lot of expenses you won't think about at first. I wouldn't even consider it unless you are going to have at least 2 full time employees + yourself. I also wouldn't consider it if you don't have a growth plan and that growth plan should include more employees.

I opened an office 2 years ago, there were 3 of us to start out. Full time receptionist/assistant/bookkeeper/everything I didn't want to do, a full time programmer and yours truly.

This opened many doors for me and a new partnership which at the highest level we had 9 full time in the office (we moved into a new larger space 6 months later) and at times up to 15-20 virtual employees. The 9 in the office were much harder to manage and keep productive than the virtual employees and harder to train because they didn't "get" what we were doing.

It's a big step and a big commitment.

My advice, don't do it until you are ready for a full office with staff.

The downside to an office is, you become the office manager and your actual revenue production decreases and makes it hard to grow. We hired a manager very shortly after opening the office. The reason being, no one will work at generating revenue and growth better than you and if you are managing people, there is no time for generating revenue.

It's a big step and honestly, with 1 additional person, I'd really think about if it's worth it.

Pat

Firstly, it's not a good idea to list your home address in marketing communications like email.

It just makes it easier for weirdos and mad men.

At the very least, you'd want to get a virtual office.

Fabian

Business is getting busier? Truly blessed 'headache' you got on your hands

I own my office. In fact, I own the business centre that my office is in.

My offline business operates from there but I do internet work full time for my web business. To be honest, whether I work from home or the office, it makes no difference. With me it's hard to get distracted when you're doing something you love and having loads of fun doing it.

Still, if you're thinking of taking someone on and are wanting a more professional front, then an office will probably be ideal.

Andy

Hmm you will need to hire someone full time? Did I mention it was my lifelong dream to live in a warm climate where it never snows or ices or gets too cold? Let me know when to pack my packs and head to Floreeeeeeda. I'm just worried about those hurricanes.

It's definitely more productive to work within an office. That's the reason why I rented an office the moment I could get a good deal.

From there we've grown to a decent full-time staff strength. Helps that you can also hire interns from the universities at a good rate. Just make sure you teach them something useful too. (it's harder to hire interns when you don't have an office)

One issue that you should look out for though, staff retention and motivation becomes another factor that you would need to look closely at.

Alvin Huang

In the past, I've never thought about buying an office but when business started to get bigger and bigger I had to do it.

I'm self employed and I have my own office . It took me a while to get here, but I did.

Coworking is a really cool thing that's popular in a lot of towns that embrace non-traditional working environments.

The coolest one I've seen is in Austin, it's called Conjunctured.

I've run several projects over several years by using a networked team and "just in time" resourcing.

We have access to offices and conference rooms where needed, but prefer to realize cost savings by NOT having an office for which we would have to pay a commercial rent.

I've paid commercial rent and associated costs here in NYC running my business, but I prefer to work with remote teams. I use resources both domestically and abroad. Yes, it takes management skill and organization but the cost savings are significant.

I'm going for a tour of one of those virtual offices at the beginning of May. It's called Intelligent Offices and you only pay for what you use. So if I want mainly reception, mailbox, and the odd training room, that's all I pay for (just quoting the salesman, so there could be more involved). Right now I'm paying for a mailbox and paying rental for training facilities, so I thought I'd check it out.

Ken,

The back bone of several of the different offline methods is training classes for business owners.

Many times its much more affordable to get an office with a "Meeting Room" for about 25 or so people than it is to rent the meeting room by itself.

Mark Riddle

I've setup a separate office from home last year and yes it makes me more productive. The thing with having an office is you are forced to work at least to cover up the "extra" expenses of having an office and that's a good thing because you'll probably always gonna end up in profit. When you're at home, there's always the temptation of procrastination and there's just a lot of distractions. You'll probably gonna incur more "opportunity" expense staying home.