3 Tips for Controlling Office Costs as a Start Up Business

Start up companies often struggle with finances. A new business is unlikely to turn a profit within the first year or two of business. This means that expenses need to be controlled and budgets need to be set at a realistic and affordable cost. Some costs, like an office, are a necessary cost. These tips will help the startup business equip a business office, without breaking into the budget.

Secure an affordable space

The highest cost of an office is often the rent of the office space. It might be tempting to rent an office space downtown nearby the best restaurants and coffee shops, but this is going to result in a higher rental fee. It is best to avoid unnecessary costs in the first few years of business. If you rent a space, you can always move a couple of years down the road, when you have begun to see a profit. Negotiate a startup deal with the landlord. If your business does not require you to see clients, the location of the business really does not matter.

An extremely affordable office space option is with used storage containers. When you buy used shipping containers, you can easily convert them into a mobile office. There are currently over 17 million shipping containers in circulation with the number of active shipping containers at more than five million. In total, they make around 200 million trips a year, according to Billie Box. Yet, with such a high number of unused storage containers, they can easily make for an affordable office space.

Choose second hand furniture

Purchasing all new furniture can be a costly expense. A better option is to purchase second hand furniture. Many offices sell their furniture when they upgrade. Additionally, many businesses overspend on the budget and then are forced to let go of their expensive furniture at a fraction of the cost. This means that you can get high quality office furniture that is still in great shape, for pennies on the initial dollar. When you furnish your storage containers office with secondhand furniture, you can end up saving thousands of dollars.

Smaller office space means more affordable utilities

Many business owners fail to include utilities in their office fees. If you have an office space, you also have to pay to provide power, heat, and internet to it. This can become a burdensome cost if you are not yet producing a profit. A smaller office space often translates to more affordable utilities. Storage containers are a great option because they are small enough to result in reduced utilities and they are also very secure. The average individual workspace has shrunk anyways, from 80 square feet in 1992 to 39 square feet this year. This is the average for projects that were taken on by Jacobs, a major design and workspace construction firm.

But, don?t let the standard size of storage containers fool you. There are all different sizes to choose from, allowing you to create an office space that meets your business needs. You can even choose 40 feet shipping containers. A standard TEU container can hold around 3,500 shoe boxes, and a 40 foot high cube can hold more than 8,000 shoe boxes. You can choose to purchase an office container for sale that has already been customized for office purpose or you can purchase new storage containers for sale and design it to meet your business needs.

Startup businesses often face a challenging beginning. The first few years of business are spent tweaking the product and better meeting the customer?s needs. It is almost impossible to turn a profit during this time period. These tips will help the standard startup business control their office space costs until they can turn their initial investment into a profitable business.