There will always come a time in the life of a successful small business when you have to think about growth. The work you have on your plate will be too much for you to handle on your own, forcing you to either drop clients or look for support for the work you do. Opening an office can be a great way to get started with this, giving you the chance to start hiring more employees to support your work. Of course, though, the costs that come with something like this can end up being staggering. To help you out with this, this article will be exploring some of the best ways to take the costs out of opening your first office.

Property Leasing

Buying or building an office outright will be far too expensive for most small businesses. This will come with a huge up-front investment, leaving you with nothing to fill the office or get started on hiring employees. Thankfully, though, there are alternatives to buying an office that makes this whole thing cheaper. Leasing is the most popular way to do this, enabling you to sign a contract that will last for years to come, ensuring that your doors can stay open long into the future.

Leases aren’t cheap, but they give you the chance to spread the costs of your building needs over the course of several years. You will have more control over the building than you would with traditional renting, enabling you to redecorate and add or remove features of the building that you don’t like. You will have to pay a monthly fee towards your lease, but this will give you the benefit of being able to break out and find a bigger building when you need to grow in the future.

Furniture

Furniture can often end up being one of the most expensive parts of opening an office. You can’t simply buy the cheapest pieces you can find, as they won’t stand the test of time and will almost certainly have to be replaced. Instead, you need furniture that was designed for a professional environment. There are loads of companies out there that make options like this, giving you the chance to find furniture that will be perfect for your office, but this can come at a price.

Instead of buying your items new, it often makes more sense for new offices to look at secondhand options. When another office closes down or renovates, they will almost always end up getting rid of old furniture. This will often be sold off at extremely low prices, giving you the chance to get some bargains on this essential element of your office. It’s always worth reading classified ads and social media posts just in case you can find options like this.

Computers & Other Devices

It would be impossible to run an office without computers. Modern workplaces heavily rely on machines like this, but the machines themselves are never cheap and you have to be careful when you’re buying them to avoid overspending. A big part of saving on this will involve buying machines the meet the specification requirements of the professionals using them. For example, you don’t need a powerful machine to be able to handle emails and word documents, but you might need something with a little more oomph if you have team members working on things like photo editing.

Borrowing your machines from someone else can also be a great way to save money on this part of your business. Laptop rental services are becoming increasingly popular, giving businesses the opportunity to save up to buy their own machines. You can borrow machines for as long as you like, paying a monthly fee that will cover things like maintenance and repairs. This will not only reduce the cost of your machines, but it will also make it cheaper to keep them running long into the future.

Cloud Services

In the past, it was very common for businesses to spend a small fortune on things like servers. A server room would be used to route internet connections, provide email services, and handle file storage for your company. Nowadays, though, all of these services can be handled by companies like Microsoft and Google, with cloud services having the potential to save your business thousands over a few short years.

Microsoft Office 365 can handle your file storage, emails, and security, while also providing services like office software and collaboration tools. This can make it far cheaper to manage your server systems, saving both space and the resources required to provide these services for yourselves. Both Google and Microsoft have made a name for themselves for providing excellent customer support to their business clients.

IT Support

With computers and other tech filling your office, it’s common for businesses to rely on a dedicated employee for their tech support needs. In reality, though, this sort of employee will cost a small fortune, and it’s unlikely that you’ll always have problems for them to solve. It makes a lot more sense to look outside of your business to find people to fill roles like this, and there are plenty of services out there for you to choose from.

Managed IT solutions are far more affordable than hiring someone directly. You will have the option to pay for the hours you use, ensuring that you never have to pay when work isn’t being done. Alternatively, though, you could also choose to pay a flat-rate, covering your machines and other tech devices against any issues they might have. This is an excellent way to make sure that your systems are always up and running without spending a fortune in the process.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to get started on building your office without having to spend a small fortune on it. This process can be difficult, with many small businesses running out of resources along the way and finding it impossible to get started with a proper office.