Shared office space is rapidly becoming the new trend for many businesses—especially for startups and small and medium-sized businesses. Shared work environments first appeared in San Francisco in 2005—and have rapidly spread across North America ever since. This type of space is popular with home-based business owners as it provides them with a place to meet with clients in a professional setting. But beyond cost savings, a shared office space can have many more advantages:
- Low overhead costs and short-term lease flexibility.
- Encourages interaction between tenants—a social behaviour that just may stimulate your team’s creativity.
- If you are a home-based business, then shared office rentals can provide you with a place to interview and train new staff. Meeting at a coffee shop or restaurant may not send the best message.
- Shared office space provides a place for meetings with a remote workforce—rather than meeting for lunch or dinner at a restaurant and spending your resources on a meal.
- Shared office rentals also give you a place to hold company events.
Basic Amenities Provided
- A good shared office space will provide its clients with the basic amenities, such as high-speed Internet access, meeting rooms, and an answering service. The meeting rooms should also include refreshments for your clients.
- An answering service can free up valuable resources for your organization and allow your staff to focus on the day-to-day running of your business. An answering service will emit a professional impression to anyone who calls in.
- Furthermore, a reputable shared work environment will provide all the furnishings you need so you won’t have to worry about spending your resources on desks, chairs, and more.
Networking Opportunities
You may be surprised at the networking opportunities that shared office space rentals present:
- Potential clients: With various organizations sharing the same space, you may find potential clients, or even receive deals at a discounted rate from your fellow tenants.
- Mentorships: If one of the tenants is a veteran leader of a small or medium-sized business, then other startups can turn to that business owner for valuable advice.
Low Overhead
One of the main money-saving benefits of renting a shared office space is that your overhead costs will be significantly lower than if you were to buy into a contracted lease. Most small- to medium-sized businesses that are still building themselves from the ground up could benefit exponentially from this setup. The offices already come fully furnished, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the cost of purchasing or moving in office furniture unless there are specific pieces you really want or need to bring in yourself. Shared offices also provide full accommodations including an IT department, Wi-Fi access, an administrative staff, and so much more. All of these accommodations are included in your rental fees and you can use them whenever you need them rather than having to hire additional staff.
Flexible Lease Terms
Renting a shared office space gives you the flexibility to use the space whenever you need it, but it also means that you’ll never be locked into a lease agreement that doesn’t comply with your needs or that’s longer than you intend to use the space. Some office rental companies offer unlimited flexibility to the extent that you can pay on an hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, or even monthly basis. The reality is that if you’re running a small business, you might not need to be in the office all the time. Sometimes, you might only need the office space for a few hours on a specific day to meet with clients or your employees. Companies that provide office rentals take this into account and are more than willing to accommodate your needs.
Allows for Dynamic Networking
Shared offices can often become social environments. Not everyone is necessarily there to network. Most people just want to go in, complete their work for the day and leave without having to interact with others, which is perfectly acceptable and understandable. However, you’d be surprised how many like-minded individuals tend to serendipitously gather in the same place. In a lot of ways, this can be a good thing because it creates a prime environment for creativity and new ideas to be discussed and thrive. You might come into contact with people who are experts in the same line of work as you and can collaborate with them to help propel each of your business goals. On another note, you might meet someone who’s an expert in another industry whose services you might require. For instance, if you’re an entrepreneur who’s trying to build your professional web site and need the assistance of a talented web designer, you might just find one within your vicinity. Sometimes, it pays off to socialize during work hours!
Better Office Space and Location
Since the early 2000s, there’s been an influx of interest and demand for shared office space rentals, which means more companies are offering this service and monopolizing the majority of the desirable locations for people to work. Shared office space rentals offer convenient, central, well-maintained, and full-service amenities that outshine the meager contracted lease terms being offered by traditional long-term and legally binding offices leases.
Whether you’re a startup looking to move out of your home base or an SMB looking for a space where you can meet with clients, Innovative Professional Offices (IPO) provides office rentals in fully equipped business centres and shared office space in GTA at an affordable price. Contact us today.
