When to get an office.....

[BRGBusiness]

Hi all,

I am currently in the same predicament I suspect lots of you have found yourself in (or perhaps are in right now!) - my business is taking over the house! On the plus side obviously I am happy things are growing steadily but I don't have much space left.

Sadly my profits are not high enough to cover the expense of an office, and still provide any income. So I am stuck. Do any of you have any tips on finding cheap office or stock storage space, or have any other suggestions for me? I want to grow my business!

I should probably explain a few things -
- I hold a lot of stock, so a secure premises is vital - this has thrown lots of properties out of the window, and means I cannot really office share.
- I am a sole trader - no staff etc to worry about coming and going.
- Ideally the premises would be accessible 24/7, as I work odd hours in my other job, and am a bit of a night owl!
- I cannot think of any friends/family locally who could help me.

Has anybody had any experience of trying to work with storage companies as temp offices etc? I think I saw an article on that.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[OvcaX]

Why don't you use a coworing place?

At start i was working from home.
My conclusions:
- I got FAT. (Fridge is near)
- I was half as productive
- I was always at work

 

[BRGBusiness]

I could possibly do that, but would that make it impossible for me to store stock?

For clarity, I am an ebay seller selling used products, which need individual listings (ie: I need access to stock to work), so I cannot put all stock in storage and just work from a desk.

 

[OvcaX]

You can find a coworking place that has mini offices.
They are usualy much cheaper as any other office

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

There must be lots of businesses that have a spare office and storage space going to waste that they'd be glad to let out for a small fee. Problem is finding them!

 

[RedOnion]

If its the stock taking up all your room, you could use a fulfilment company. No need for an office then and the fulfilment company can store, pick, pack and post your stock.

 

[fairdealworld]

I think Scott has a point. Many businesses, including mine, just haven't an inch to spare in their business premises. On the other hand many businesses have more space than they need. I was talking to the owner of a shop near to my own the other day and the owner who has struggled through the recession and who still has his head above water now but is working so hard to keep it this way. He's realised that though his stock fills the whole place at present it does sort of sprawl plus maybe many lines do not earn their keep, so he's started to think he could display in a more compact way, drop some lines, put up a partition and maybe get another business to occupy that space. You might need to investigate places near to you, spot those which could actually spare some space (even if the owner doesn't realise that until you put the proposition to them) and see if you could come to an agreement with the owner.

 

[Ste Hughes]

What about a storage unit? Might be a cheaper way to do it. They are secure, many let you enter 24/7, I imagine all you need is a laptop connected to the internet, a printer and storage... It could be a good solution.

 

[pudbwmsc]

Storage unit as suggested above or a shed/outbuilding in your garden?

 

[Jason L]

I used to rent a storage unit to hold stock when I ran an ecommerce business.

I know they had some businesses (ebay sellers I think) who also used the site as an office - so you could see what they charge for this kind of set-up.

One thing I would advise - make sure you really can afford to rent an office before you leap in. Don't think you will just sell more to fund it - it's a big overhead and you need to get your timing right. How much more product do you need to consistently sell to fund this? Make sure you have a good buffer.

Good luck with it!

 

[Karimbo]

if the ratable value (ususally close to the annual rent - but not always) is above £6000. Then a business rates of around half (46-48%) applies.

landlords will require you to have premisis insurance or supply you with an insurance contract of their own.(they tend to be not too expensive, but costs vary)

There are service charges and utility charges as well - remember there is a standing charge element to utilities. So two premsis = two lots of standing charges.

If you need internet you will need to get a business telephone line which is substantially more expensive than a home telephone line. Internet is much more expensive too. There are ISPs who can supply internet without landline but their internet only line is actually just as expensive as a phone +internet line.

Self storage is the ideal stopgap. It is incredibly cheap way to move out of your home office. (or just keep your overspill/stock there)/

Lastly, dont forget refit. When you move out you will most likely going to go on a shopping spree buying furniture, equipment. Heating would be a big cost- commercial property tend to be quite badly insulated.


So moving to an office should be a medium to long term move.