3 Alternatives to Traditional Office Space

If you’re looking to save on your business expenses, you might be thinking about other ways to work that don’t involve renting office space.

12:47 01 December 2017

Perhaps you’re launching your own company and don’t have the financial resources to rent or buy premises for your team, or maybe you only need a small space because you’re working alone.

 

An increasing number of companies are embracing co-working spaces and remote employees to avoid the expense of office space. So, if you’re keen to cut costs without compromising your productivity, here are five non-traditional workspaces to consider.

 

Working From Home

 

If you’re just starting out, working from home makes sense. It won’t add any additional costs on to your existing rent or mortgage, and you can use your own private line, computer and Internet connection. This works best if you have a spare room or garage you can convert into your office, but a corner with a desk or even a laptop on the sofa will do when you’re new to entrepreneurship. 

 

The downsides to working from home include a lack of home/work separation, distraction of home-based tasks and jobs and lack of privacy when it comes to inviting co-workers for meetings. Many people decide not to work from home due to a lack of space, but you could always look into business storage solutions in your area if you have important documents or stock to store.  

 

Hot Desking

 

According to BBC statistics, around a third of all UK office workers use hot-desking as an alternative to renting an entire space. Hot desking can cut the costs of running a full office by 30%, so it’s well worth looking into if you’re keen to save some money. 

 

The downsides of this controversial way of working include disruptive noise, lack of personal workspace, competing for desks and poor communication among colleagues. Whether hot desking is right for you will depend on what type of business you’re running, as well as your own preferences and ways of working. 

 

Serviced Office Space

 

Rather than financing your own office building, you could rent a private office in a shared space and still reap many of the benefits. By renting a room in a serviced office building, you won’t need to take care of any of the bills, health and safety regulations, Internet wiring or phone systems, as most of this is provided for you. 

 

Some serviced offices or business centres offer extra facilities, like a shared kitchen tea and coffee and even prepared lunches if you can afford to pay a little extra. You can arrange your office how you like and pay a monthly fee to rent the space, much like you would rent a flat in a multi-occupancy block. The downsides to renting serviced office space is that you may be interrupted by other workers, and you cannot control that noisy office next door or the group that stand and smoke outside your window. 

 

So, there you have it: three alternatives to renting office space. Whether you work solo or as part of a team, there are a number of non-traditional options to help save you money while still running a successful business.