If you are considering moving out of that home office to get away from the family, or want to build a professional image for your company without all the capital outlay to start your office or multi-year lease commitments, then an executive office may be right for you. Executive suites are professional business centers that have all the amenities built in. One of the most beneficial elements of an executive suite is the reception services. Consider the fact that if you had to hire a secretary for your business how much you would have to pay weekly or monthly. The receptionist in a business center has the ability to answer calls for you in your business name using a sophisticated PBX system. For a small monthly up charge, she can screen the calls before transferring the call to your office, cell phone, or voice mail. In addition to the reception services, most of the executive suites are furnished offices, with an unfurnished option as well. Your private office will have a nice desk, chair, credenza, guest chair, and minor storage. It will have phone lines and internet connection hooked up and ready to go for you. The internet connection is usually a T-1 line, which is fast enough for most businesses. Some even have T-2 and T-3 lines installed. You will have a key to your office that you can come and go as you please. However, before signing the lease, make sure that the center has 24/7 access. If this is an important part of your business, you can’t afford to be locked out of your own office. The other amenities that are included in the executive suites are shared conference rooms, shared reception lounges, and shared kitchen/break rooms. The conference rooms are furnished with nice furniture, some with video conference and other multimedia devices. Check with your executive suite to see if they have the proper equipment that your business need when you use the conference room. Conference rooms are used on a reserved basis; usually you can let the reception know in the morning that you need the conference room for 8 at 3pm for 2 hours. Then at three, it is set and ready to go. Depending on the office providers, some offices have 2 or more conference rooms, so reserving a conference room at a time you need the most shouldn’t be very challenging. Here’s a friendly advice. Before you sign the lease, calculate how many hours of conference time you will need per month. Then ask the office provider how many hours of conference time they allow your business to have a month. A typical answer is 8-20 hours. If you go beyond those hours given to you, you will be charged extra. By knowing how many hours you will need to use, you can negotiate those hours into the lease before signing the lease. This way you assure yourself of not getting charged more than what your monthly rate is. If you don’t use the hours, they do not accumulate (in most cases). This is not a cell phone plan.
Beside the base rent, you will have several miscellaneous charges. The base rent usually covers your office, basic reception services, and conference usage. You will also have to pay for telecommunication charges. This is your phone and internet. A typical charge is $50-$100 each, which is fair, considering you don’t have to worry about setting it up or if it goes down. However, you will have a setup charge before move-in. Setup charges include setting up your office with furniture, phone, internet, and janitorial services. Most office providers charge anywhere from $250-$500 to set up your office. If you haggle with them or use a professional broker like officeblvd.com, you will get the setup charges waived in most cases. There are other minor charges, like fax services and beverage services, but the minor charges won’t break you.
Leases for executive suites are very flexible, anywhere from a month-to-month, to 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months up to a 24 months lease. If you sign for a 12 months lease, the office providers will be very flexible in waiving the setup charges and also will give you a free month of rent. Again, if you use a professional broker like officeblvd.com, we can usually get you the best deal anywhere.
Also, consider the fact that you are signing a lease, and there will be a deposit. The deposit is usually one or two months of total rent (base + telecommunication + misc). Most will try to get you to pay two months deposit. If you have good credit, some will run your credit application and if it comes back favorable, the deposit will be reduced to one. Again, here’s where your broker works for you to get the lowest deposits.
End of month specials. This is the best time to get office space. Office providers have goals and deadlines to meet, and the last week of the month is the time that they are most flexible. Don’t wait until the end of the month to lease space; we can get you a fantastic deal anytime.
To sum up, let’s say your base rent is $850. The total communication charge is $200, and the deposit is $1050. Your initial check to the office provider will be $2100 or $3150, depending on the deposit. Your monthly payment to the office provider will be $1050, and that will cover everything. Before speaking with us, think about how much you can afford to spend monthly, a range. Give us that range, and we will find you an office space in that budget.
What is Office Blvd all about?
Office Blvd is established to help businesses, especially small and startup companies find office space. We assist in finding alternatives to long-term leases and large capital outlay that it takes to open a “conventional” or “traditional” office space. Our services include free search for executive suites, also known as serviced offices, professionally managed offices, office business centers, and furnished office space. We also assist in subleased offices, also known as shared office space, and virtual offices. If you have larger requirements, we will refer you to our partner in Beverly Hills who can help you with any size requirements. All of our services are completely free to you.
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