serviced office spaceA great deal of time is spent looking for the right office space for a small business or a start-up venture – but finding the right office space to fit your business needs should not be rocket science. You need to decide if traditional raw office space or serviced offices will work best for your business.

By limiting your criteria for what best serves your needs and those of your customers, you will be more efficient in your office space search and will likely save money and time. You have to decide if you are willing to make capital investments on infrastructure required in traditional raw office space, or if you want to get down to business and focus on serving the needs of your customers and build your business in a serviced office environment.

When you rent a traditional raw office space, you are in control of layout, design and features. You decide the decor as well as the theme of your office space when you rent a ‘blank canvas’ office. With raw office space, you also get to choose the copiers, printers and telephone systems you want. But can your start-up afford to make these capital investments?

As a start-up business, you have to be careful with where you plan to use your start-up funds. You have to decide if you want to make an investment in office equipment or if you want to invest in growing your business. While the answer may seem simple, many small businesses and start-ups do not come about until a prospect asks “so where are your offices?” That is the point when many new businesses have to consider getting an office space. Being new to business, they wonder how much an office will cost them and how much they will have to invest in office equipment.

While most small businesses (who previously have not had an office) will do a search for office space and look at traditional raw office space, the smarter small business owner will look for serviced office space. The smarter small business owner recognizes that a professional business centre will give them the address they need – without the capital investment that takes away from their start-up funds.

When a start-up business considers an office business centre for their place of business, they are not only considering capital cost savings, but are looking at a prestigious business address. Customers and potential clients want to know that the business they are dealing with has not only made smart business choices, but that they have also chosen a wise location to serve them better.

Even businesses that do not require a physical office space may choose an office business centre that offers virtual office services. This type of arrangement will give a small business a prestigious business address, as well as a place to meet clients and to receive ‘a-la-carte’ secretarial and administrative office services without the need to hire additional staff.