Starting a counseling practice is more common than ever thanks to the public’s growing health, legal, and personal concerns, so renting office spaces can help make setting up these businesses a lot easier.
Counseling practices can be a very lucrative work for people in the medical field, as well as the legal field and other similar lines of work. Everyone from doctors and psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, lawyers, nutritionists, and other certified professionals can begin their own counseling practices and deal directly with the public.
However, for any counseling practice, finding affordable office space can be a challenge. Signing a long-term lease is prohibitively expensive and can be an impediment to starting a counseling practice. Luckily, there are a range of office space rental options that can be used for counseling businesses.
Things to Consider when Starting a Counseling Practice
When choosing an office space for a counseling practice, there are some key factors that must be considered.
Business Plan
Every counseling practice should have a business plan that clearly outlines the budget, business goals, and expenses. When choosing an office space for a counseling business, it’s important to ensure that the space is affordable for your budget. Traditional long-term leases can be expensive and have many hidden costs. Look for office rentals that have affordable rates and upfront costs.
Office Location
For any business, office location is crucial. For a medical counseling practice, it can make sense to seek an office space around other medical services that patients may use. Counseling practices are businesses, and like any other business, some locations or areas of the city may be more appropriate and lead to more success.
Accessibility
Counseling practices need to be accessible to patients or clientele, particularly if they are in a field with lots of competition. This means that, ideally, a counseling practice should be located close to the majority of patients. Often, this is not possible or patients may be coming from a range of areas, in which case an office location should be easily accessible by transit and car. Look for office locations around major thoroughfares or in city centers.
Parking
Counseling practices should have parking available for your clientele. Without parking, an office location won’t be as accessible for patients/clientele, leading them to choose another counseling practice instead. Generally, offices should have two to three parking spots per one thousand feet of office space. Handicapped spots are important too.
Counseling Office Rental Options
There are many different types of rental office spaces for counseling businesses. Choosing the right office space rental will provide you counseling practice with the best odds for success.
Hourly Office Rental
Instead of signing annual or multi-year leases, business owners can now rent office space on a monthly, weekly, or even hourly basis. With these rentals, there is no need for large commitments or investments. Business owners can rent space on an as-needed basis. As well, this allows for more flexible scheduling. For instance, if a counseling practice only takes appointments for half a day on Friday, they can save money by only renting the space for that amount of time.
Shared Office Spaces
With shared office spaces, business owners can access professional work environments for a fraction of the cost. Shared office spaces contain access to private meeting rooms, seminar rooms, and other spaces, which can allow for successful operation of a counseling practice. Administrative work and other office work can be performed in a shared office environment.
Virtual Office Spaces
Virtual offices allow business owners to gain professional office services—including receptionists, a business addresses, and tech support—that allow them to work remotely while still benefiting from a professional working environment. Virtual offices can be used by counseling practices that do out-patient or out-call appointments. As well, meeting spaces can be booked by businesses using virtual offices.
If you’re looking for affordable office rentals, Innovative Professional Offices offers fully-furnished rentals, along with boardrooms or meeting room rentals, in Ottawa, Brampton, and Mississauga. To learn more or to book a tour, contact us today.
