Renting Office address

Hasan.Ahmet

Is there anyone willing to share
Information, ideas, knowledge or experiences about renting/sharing office address/facilities I for one will appreciate

deanshepherd

What do you want to know?

Hasan.Ahmet

Thank you Dean,
Sharing of information, ideas, knowledge or experiences about renting/sharing office address/facilities.
Types, sources, courses, resources, locations, how well it works, how is it for meetings with clients, what is your experiences, costs, benefits?

deanshepherd

Ok..

Types: I have used my shed, hot-desking and now rented space.

Sources: Cattaneo Commercial, Bonsor Penningtons, Wallakers.. Find an agent near you. Solely web-based office advertisers tend to be commission driven sales-monkeys so I avoid them.

Courses: Training in how to rent an office? Are you sure?

Resources: Business Link

Locations: Map

How well it works: Shed was great until there were three of us - bit of a squeeze! Hot-desking was great for meeting people and gaining new clients but not much storage space for files. Rented office does the job for me now.

Meetings: Shed: Meeting at home does not always suit clients or me but never really had a problem with it. Hot-desking and rented office: Ideal and saves me meeting people half-way in a coffee shop.

Costs: Always negotiate. There is tons of empty office space lying around at the moment so landlords are desperate to get people in. Offer them a ridiculously low rent or big rent-free period. They'll be happy just to get your name on the lease.

Benefits: I get to don my lycra and jog or cycle to the office because we have shower facilities. Nice.

Rinske

Stupid question, but what is hot-desking?

deanshepherd

Basically, rather than rent a designated space, you pay a subscription to be able to come in and grab an empty desk. You usually pay based on the number of days per week you want access and most providers have all the usual office facilities for you to use too (e.g. meeting rooms, fax, photocopier etc.).

Very handy if you just want to come into town a couple of times a week or want somewhere professional for meeting clients.

Rinske

Ohw nice, I can see that being handy. Thanks for the explanation!

burg

Shed

Dean,

I noticed you used a 'shed' as an office as a while.

Can you expand a bit more on your overall findings of doing this. It's something I'm considering doing. I currently use a room in my house but its an awkward route to the room. I do though have room to the side of the house for a shed / log cabin.

What sort of size did you use?
What wall size did it have? (i'm currently looking a 2in thick)
Did you use wall insulation?
Did it keep warm in winter and cool in summer?
I see you say generally clients did not have a problem.
Did it help with separating work and home life more by not being in the house?

Sorry for all the questions but considering this against renting office space. Is it really a realistic alternative until an office is more affordable?

deanshepherd

This is the shed I had built:



It was installed by a company called Gembuild and cost about £6.5k if I remember rightly. Fully insulated and hooked up to electrics. The heat from the computers was usually sufficient to keep the room warm during autumn. I had a fan heater for the colder winter days but the insulation is really good so it stayed warm all day.

Inside looks just like a normal office and certainly helped separate work/home life. I would definately recommend it if you have room.

Hasan.Ahmet

There may be other meanings of the word "courses" which uncaracteristically espaced Dean's comprehension but very thankfull for the useful content..
Hot desking is an idea, what course might you follow to find a provider?
I like the shed but not for me I'm afraid, in my case you would've to jump over the fence to get to the entrance.
Signing out, Thanks again.

Emthi

Garage

I have converted my garage into office at a cost about £7000. Currently it’s a one man show but can accommodate another 1 or 2 employees in the near future. I found it’s very convenient for me because coffee and tea in 2 flasks from next door (my wife gives that).

You can build one burg if you have a garage attached to your house. I used to pay a rent of £980, but save that now.

burg

Thanks for the info Dean I will have a look through their website.

Mine is currently a converted garage. But you have to walk through a hall through our kitchen then our dining room then our utility room to the garage. The garage itself is fine but the route their isn't great.

Plus I have three young children at home so meetings between 3:30 and 6:30ish aren't great as they are around and it just doesn't seem professional. The shed solution is an option as it can be separate to the house and it would avoid that problem.

I have also considered using one of the bedrooms but it again doesn't seem right taking clients upstairs for a meeting.

There are some local offices that I am considering but could do with waiting another year or two.

Hasan.Ahmet

If you've a garage or an extention next to your house it's very practical for the purpose.
Burg's summary though is more representative of he reality, it may be overcome by renting an office address but some clients may want to meet with you at your office, come in hot desking, or better still office sharing, neither is as good as having an office but then that has to make economical sense first. I would've thought a rent of £980 isn't exactly on the high side compare to costs of building an extension or even a shed or converting your garage, but then that may add value to your property.

deanshepherd

I would say £980 is on the high side. I currently pay around £7k per annum in rent for an office that very comfortably fits 3 people plus a partitioned meeting space. It was advertised as a 6 person space and comes with kitchen, shower facilities, right next to a main line station in greater London.

The shed that cost me £6.5k was a one-off cost so even using it only for a couple of years is considerably cheaper than renting.

BCASL

I too worked from home (converted garage) and soon gorew out of it - in the long run I wish I had missed out the conversion and went straight for rented accomodation. We have about 700 sq feet over two floors and pay about £7k in rent, for a high street location (albeit not on the ground floor)!

Monsoon

I really do recommend moving to an office.

I was lucky and found a small room (9' x 12') for £1000 pa all inclusive except telephone/internet. I bit their arm off

It made such a difference and I'm glad I did that instead of renovating the shed at the bottom of the garden.

There are now 4 of us and we pay about £5k pa for 2 rooms.