A Virtual Office

Is it a good time to start my own business?

People always wonder if this is a good time to start their own business. The fact is, there's really never a bad time to launch a business. It's obvious why it's smart to launch in strong economic times. People have money and are looking for ways to spend it. But launching in tough or uncertain economic times can be just as smart. If you do some research and there's a high need for the business you're starting. Because many people are reluctant to launch in tough times, your new business has a better chance of getting noticed. And, depending on your idea, in a down economy there is often equipment (or even entire businesses!) for sale at bargain prices.

When you start a small business you face lots of challenges. In order to improve your chances of beating the odds, what is important is that you educate yourself about business development. Starting and running a business, or any form of self-employment, requires a range of skills and attitudes. It can be very demanding.

It’s important that you understand all the responsibilities you’ll have, and as many of the foreseeable challenges as you can. On the other hand, it’s also important to recognize the rewards of working for yourself and providing a quality product or a needed service to your customers and the community.

Working from home might seem to be cheaper than leasing or renting an office space, but in the current climate with lots of property available, office space rental isn’t the costly exercise you might think it to be. In fact, thanks to the recession, many landlords are simply eager to lease out their dead office space, and so as a result, prices are actually more competitive than ever.

You’ll be surprised at how cost effective this option can be and the extra benefit with renting an office space from Van Nuys Offices with one of their short-term contracts  It also allows convenience and flexibility, which are both essential things when a business is in its fledgling state. Shop around, take a look at the deals – it could be the best thing you’ve done to date.

An Advantage of Moving to a Traditional Office

There are plenty of great reasons to set up a home office. One of the perks of working from home is being able to take breaks when you want to, spend time with family, etc. However, this can quickly eat up your day without you realizing it. There’s nothing worse than picking up the phone with an important client and having a knock on your door or your child ask for something. 


But as your business expands, you might begin to feel a little cramped in your home office. If, for instance, your “office” is little more than a desk packed into one corner of your living room, then it won’t be long before your freelance life—printers, paperwork, contracts, and file cabinets—begins to invade your personal space.


That's when you know it's time to go out and look for a small office space for lease. Establishing an office that runs efficiently requires accurate calculations of the space needed and what is affordable.


There is credibility that comes from an office with a business sounding address.  For example, you nothing about two consulting firms.  You only know that  one consulting firm everybody worked out of their homes and the other firm had an office in the building next to the courthouse, you were a serious buyer of consulting services, from which consulting firm would you purchase consulting services?

Five Important Steps to Start Your Own Business

 

Start your own business today

1. WRITE DOWN A BUSINESS PLAN
The main biggest mistakes a young entrepreneur makes is not writing down a business plan. Not only is it a good planning tool, but it also the key element that will help you raise money. Include research into things like how much you can charge for your product/service, how much it will cost to produce or deliver.

2. FIND A LOCATION FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Although the idea of starting your business at home is money saving there is many factors to look at when starting at home. Will the kids interfere? do you have space? If these in fact are going to be a problem. Then go out and look, for an office space. 

3. SIGN A LEASE Ask for a copy of the form lease from your potential landlord. Read it and try to understand it. If you don't understand the legalese, find an attorney. Start-ups should look for flexibility and try to sign as short-term a lease as possible. Understand the details of what you're committing to when signing the lease.

4. MARKET YOUR BUSINESS Even though social networks are essential, don't underestimate the old ways of marketing. Your business is barely kick starting so you need to get the word out, let people know of your business, what products or services you provide. Embrace and use the most effective online tools (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn) available to broadcast your news.

5. KNOW YOUR COMPETITION Many businesses fail because they underestimate the competition. Often, it is not necessarily the quality of that competition, just the mere presence of it. You may think that you can drive your competitors out or at least steal some nf their business by offering a better price or better service, but many businesses can breed an intensely loyal following of customers.

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Choosing the Right Office Space

Finding the perfect office, in the perfect location, can have a huge impact on your business. With the average length of a commercial property lease at 5-10 years, finding the perfect space is crucial; nobody wants to be stuck in the wrong office for any amount of time, let alone 10 years.

The right office space can make or break a business. It’s not easy to find the perfect premises, especially if your experience is limited. The key factor is to take the time and don’t settle for the first one you think is perfect. Because remember, your business will have to live with it for the life of a lease.

Give yourself some time don't rush into a lease. Though the economy is in a state that there are plenty of office spaces around, you’ll still find that the perfect office space is hard to find. But, due to the recession, landlords now have cut their lease lengths to at least a year. Making things much easier for you. The best thing to do when you think you have found the perfect place is to determine how much space you really need. Once you have calculated this , you want to evaluate how much space you will need to expand once your business becomes successful and can hold more people. Paying too much for an office space could affect profits; paying a small amount for inefficient space is also a waste of money. Van Nuys Offices

Moving Your Home Business to an Office

The decision to relocate has to be made with specific regard to the future of the business. It needs precise planning and research, the establishment needs to be faultless and the owner needs to be sure that relocating is the answer for his/her business future. Once you have made the decision to move your home business to an office, you have some planning to do.

The advantages of moving out of your home office comes down to increased professionalism, more space to work and unlimited growth potential.  And less much less distraction. Renting a small office at a good price can be very meaningful.

The first decision you make when you have already decided to rent an office, should be your desired location. It’s usually a good idea to start looking at offices near your house to avoid a long commute. Of course, while this is the ideal option, it may not work out perfectly when you consider other details that greatly affect your business.  You need to make sure the new location reaches your target audience, so do some research of the surrounding area to find out who lives near the building you are considering. Try giving Van Nuys Offices a call, they have small offices for short terms and for only $195 a month. 

Second thing you should consider highly is making sure that all your office furniture, including desks, filing cabinets, and bookshelves, will fit into the new office space. Make sure you leave room for expansion, especially if you plan to hire a few employees soon. Also, consider where customers will sit when they come into the office.  Draw a layout, measure your furniture and move your furniture around so that you can get an idea of how much square footage you will need.

Last thing after you have found your perfect office, you signed a lease, and now you're ready to start running your business from the office.  DON'T  FORGET to update your address on all your licenses, bank account, vendor accounts, post office, and all your stationary.  If you regularly get inventory shipments, you need to let the distributor know your company’s new address ahead of time. This can prevent you from having to move merchandise shortly after it is dropped off at your house, so be sure to update your business address. You will have to do the same for your mail and any marketing materials that feature your current address.