Published on 27/11/2015 by Punchmedia

Why Sharing is Caring for Small Businesses

For a lot of small businesses, working from home or out of someone else's living room is both economical and convenient when you're starting out but eventually there is a need to establish your own headquarters as your business grows.

It can be an intimidating step when this time comes and the prospect of finding your own place and potentially signing an expensive and long-term commercial lease is a daunting one.

Good commercial real estate can also be difficult to find and it's even harder to find something in an affordable price range if your business is in its infancy and the cash-flow is not there yet.

One alternative that is fast becoming the preferred one is sub-letting a co-working space with multiple businesses.

Many Australian small businesses are finding that this is an effective way of helping their business grow while making new contacts – often with those that are in the same or related industries.

Melbourne based Digital Agency, Synq Digital is one such business that took the step from hammering it out at home or the local coffee shop to working in a collaborative environment with like-minded people.

Synq Digital Co-founder, Billy Robinson said the move to a shared office space was an important one for the mindset of their team.

``For us collaboration with another digital business to share ideas and clients and to generally help each other was a big part of it,'' he explained.

``We really wanted create an energy within our team of three or four which when combined with the other business' 11 or so employees made for a great vibe around the office.''

Mr Robinson said it was the ideal option for them while their business was in the early development stage.

``When you're a certain size of business I think it works really well. If you've got less than five people working with you it's a great way to grow and make new contacts.''

While Mr Robinson said sharing an office space could work across a range of industries he had found that it was most effective in the digital space.

``I think it certainly works best if you're operating in the digital space or as a freelance business. You can basically come and go as you please and work with people as the need arises,'' he added.

As a small business, there are many decisions that arise which require careful consideration and this is just another of those.

There is no one solution for office space needs and businesses must be creative when thinking about branching out of the home and into their own commercial space.

Committing your start-up business to a big liability such as a 3 year lease can be tough when resources are initially limited so our advice is to think outside the box! There are plenty of alternatives out there.

For a lot of small businesses, working from home or out of someone else's living room is both economical and convenient when you're starting out but eventually there is a need to establish your own headquarters as your business grows.

It can be an intimidating step when this time comes and the prospect of finding your own place and potentially signing an expensive and long-term commercial lease is a daunting one.

Good commercial real estate can also be difficult to find and it's even harder to find something in an affordable price range if your business is in its infancy and the cash-flow is not there yet.

One alternative that is fast becoming the preferred one is sub-letting a co-working space with multiple businesses.

Many Australian small businesses are finding that this is an effective way of helping their business grow while making new contacts – often with those that are in the same or related industries.

Melbourne based Digital Agency, Synq Digital is one such business that took the step from hammering it out at home or the local coffee shop to working in a collaborative environment with like-minded people.

Synq Digital Co-founder, Billy Robinson said the move to a shared office space was an important one for the mindset of their team.

``For us collaboration with another digital business to share ideas and clients and to generally help each other was a big part of it,'' he explained.

``We really wanted create an energy within our team of three or four which when combined with the other business' 11 or so employees made for a great vibe around the office.''

Mr Robinson said it was the ideal option for them while their business was in the early development stage.

``When you're a certain size of business I think it works really well. If you've got less than five people working with you it's a great way to grow and make new contacts.''

While Mr Robinson said sharing an office space could work across a range of industries he had found that it was most effective in the digital space.

``I think it certainly works best if you're operating in the digital space or as a freelance business. You can basically come and go as you please and work with people as the need arises,'' he added.

As a small business, there are many decisions that arise which require careful consideration and this is just another of those.

There is no one solution for office space needs and businesses must be creative when thinking about branching out of the home and into their own commercial space.

Committing your start-up business to a big liability such as a 3 year lease can be tough when resources are initially limited so our advice is to think outside the box! There are plenty of alternatives out there.

punchmedia

Curtis is a leading expert in the business-for-sale industry, serving as a senior content creator at anybusiness.com.au.

With a career spanning over fifteen years, Curtis has accumulated extensive knowledge in the domain of business sales, acquisitions, and valuations. His deep understanding of market dynamics and his ability to translate complex industry jargon into accessible insights make him a trusted resource for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to buy or sell businesses.

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