Wish to start a business, but short on funds?

More and more people are choosing to join coworking spaces, and with good reasons. Co-working offices offer freelancers, digital nomads, start-ups and small businesses the opportunity to call incredible workspaces their home. Co-working spaces offer a previously overlooked sector of workers a place to succeed. rnBefore co-working spaces, people starting their own business would’ve had to choose between working from home or renting a leased office. Beginning your business or enterprise from home is certainly the most cost-effective option, but it can soon become isolating to always work alone. It can also be difficult to stay motivated and distracting amidst the comforts of home. On top of this, home offices can lack a certain professionalism that the growth of your company may eventually require. rnThe other option, then, is to rent a leased office. But to acquire one of these private offices, you have to sign a lengthy, expensive contract for an empty space. This could be problematic, as a small business may not have the ability to predict their outfit’s growth. A leased office could present an unrealistic overhead for a company or freelancer without a guaranteed portability. rnCo-working spaces fulfill a necessary gap by offering members shorter-term contracts in beautiful and collaborative spaces, thereby helping their image, morale and flexibility. Given that co-working spaces are often impressive, there is a misconception that their monthly contracts must be extraordinarily expensive. But such is not the case if we take a look at some of the ways that co-working offices can save small businesses money. 1. Pay not for the facilities, but the space rnAs opposed to renting a leased office, you only pay for the space you really need in a co-working office. Facilities like toilets, kitchens, meeting rooms and break rooms are communal, managed facilities. The co-working office provider takes care of these so that you only have to pay for the desk space that you use. This can provide huge savings for businesses, who would otherwise like to pay rent on the entire internal area. 2. Already Outfitted rnWhen renting a co-working office, you won’t have to worry about chairs, desks, drawers or filing cabinets. In addition, the space will be decorated and can be configured on request. When you rent a leased office, you will need to purchase furniture, as these spaces are typically empty shells. Outfitting an office out can prove very expensive as building work isn’t cheap, so there is a lot of time and effort, in addition to costs, saved in the process. 3. Fixed Business Rates and Utility Bills rnWhen renting a leased office, you will normally have to pay business rates and a number of utility bills for the running of the office. Business rates are a property tax which can vary depending on the valuation of the property. Utility bills can increase, as well. If you rent a leased office, your business and utility rates may rise, meaning another additional cost that you may not be prepared for. Co-working offices, however, come with fixed business rates and utility bills. When renting a desk space, be it monthly or daily, you will not be subject to any increases, as the office provider absorbs them. 4. Outsourced Staffing Costs rnCo-working offices typically have employees, like receptionists and administrative staff. This means that you can benefit from in-house staff that can perform any adhoc task you need on site, without the need to employ and pay wages for a dedicated person for the role. Sometimes, you may need to pay an extra pay-as-you-go fee for support service staff, but this is minimal compared to an actual wage. Things like phone answering services, available at co-working spaces, can also add an air of professionalism to your setup that you would never be able to afford otherwise. 5. Flexible Space Any company that wants to expand takes a risk renting a leased office space. New companies neither can be certain whether they will grow into the space, nor that they won’t outgrow it. Either way, by taking a larger space to grow into, they will be paying for it (and for a long time, as you are usually bound to a three to 10 year contract). Renting a coworking office rids you of this worry. Rent the exact size or amount of desks which you need initially, and the provider will typically allow you to jump to larger spaces in the building when your company grows. 6. Cheaper Call Costs Once expensive additional costs in office spaces, telephone calls are no longer a financial worry. Lots of co-working offices now provide very low cost calls, and some even include the cost of calls in the monthly license agreement. 7. No Agent Fee Often, in order to acquire a quality office and ensure you get a fair deal when negotiating the lease, you will need to pay an agent to represent you. It can be an hourly cost or a percentage of the rent. Either way, it’s an added cost. Co-working offices are much simpler and easier to locate. Companies such as co-worker and FreeOfficeFinder host thousands of offices and do not charge any finder’s fees. So, with a free service like this, renting an office can be as easy as finding a hotel room. 8. No Maintenance Costs Maintenance costs will no longer be a source of frustration once you have moved into your coworking office. When the air conditioning packs in, the electricity goes or the toilet gets blocked, it won’t be your problem. In a co-working office, these inevitable troubles are covered by the work-space provider, meaning you save on maintenance. 9. Networking Although this isn’t technically a money-saving point, the opportunities to build a network while working in a co-working space can provide an extra source of income and help your company grow. Co-working offices are packed with a number of small to medium-sized growing businesses, and the networking possibilities are endless.