3. Working in an Office

If you are unable or prefer not to work from home, for example because you are going into business with others, then you will probably need to rent or buy some form of office space. Since buying an office outright is probably beyond the means of most budding copywriters, I shall just concentrate here on the rental options, which are as follows ...

Leasing space

Leasing office space is a relatively straightforward affair but can be quite a serious undertaking if you are just starting out, not least because you might have to stump up a hefty deposit or be tied into a lengthy or inflexible lease agreement.

Basically, I would not recommend leasing space as a start-up unless you are pretty sure of how much money you can make and can agree generous terms with the landlord. It can also help if you can split the risk with someone else, provided you are certain their income is guaranteed.

Things worth considering if you are going to lease an office include:

• What will happen if the number of people in your business goes up or down?
• Is the office suitable for the equipment you need, such as computers and printers?
• How secure is it?
• Is it fit for purpose? (In other words, does the building comply with fire regulations? Was it designed as an office, or has it been adapted? and so on.)
• How easy is it to get to?
• What is the state of the common parts of the building?

Sub-letting or sharing a lease

Sub-letting office space or sharing a lease with another company is probably a better idea than taking out your own lease, for a number of reasons.

• You will probably be able to agree better terms.
• You may be able to share furniture, equipment and services with the other business.
• You may be able to carry out work for the other business.
• If the other business’s services are complementary to yours, you may be able to refer clients to it, and vice versa.
• You will be more likely to experience the buzz of a traditional office.
• The other business may be able to help yours with finance or services.

Against these attractions, it is likely that you will have to sacrifice some flexibility as the future of your business will, to some extent, be tied into that of the business you are sub-letting from or sharing with.

Serviced offices

Another low-risk option is to take out what is referred to as a ‘licence fee’ covering serviced office space from a specialist company. The leader in this field is Regus (www.regus.com); others may be more competitive, but you may find that published rates are open to negotiation.

There is a number of reasons for considering serviced offices:

• The up-front cost for a serviced office is likely to be much less than it would be for finding your own space, as furniture, computer cabling and so on are all provided.
• The deposit is normally two months’ rent, compared with up to six months’ for a standard lease.
• Some companies even offer a service which will allow you to work out the break-even point of taking out a licence fee with them.
• With a serviced office you can move in, set up and expand with a minimum of hassle. Some companies even have smart phone systems that can make your business appear multi-national in hours.
• You can often rent ‘space’ on the serviced office company’s computer server, which, along with cabling, can save you a lot on technology costs.
• If anything goes wrong with the building, from a blocked sink to a breakdown in the air conditioning, you do not have to worry about getting it fixed.

Basic serviced offices have everything you would expect to find if you were working in a big company, from receptionists to photocopiers.

Top operators also have large conference rooms, video-conferencing systems and the ability for you to use other buildings in their network for work while travelling country-wide or internationally.

The bottom line with all of them, however, is that they let you focus on running your business.