Going all inclusive. Taking the hassle out off renting office space

By: Mary-Anne Bowring

Tired of business rates, organizing cleaning services, heating bills, fixing the AC, decorating and replacing worn furniture, filling up and cleaning the coffee machine, buying milk and fruit, and interviewing another receptionist? The list goes on.

If any or all of the above are getting you down, have you thought about going all-inclusive? It's hard enough running your own business, especially when you are a start-up, with so many things to deal with. No wonder people are turning more and more to coworking spaces, even for their private office needs. They can leave all the fiddly bits to concentrate on what they want to do, running their business. Knowing that there is always coffee available when they want it, if there is a mess they don't have to stop what they're doing to sort it out, all the bills are included with no surprises, and there are very often workshops, accelerators and incubators discounted or free to take advantage of. We have some at Camden Gateway, but that's another blog piece. Taking the hassle out of the day-to-day workings can be a relief in itself, not to mention the value of having a coffee in one of the breakout areas (something else that you don't have to take care of, although, here at Camden Gateway we do like members to put their dishes in the washer. Any members reading this, please take note) while chatting with someone who is doing something similar, someone who is going through some of the same things. then there is the whole creative thing; this depends on the particular space, how they operate, and how you fit into that environment. Some have more distractions than others, and some like that more than others. These can be kept to a preferred level in a private office. They can be very creative and collaborative places, though. We've had a fashion consultant and a member who works with 3D printing, sitting at the same desk, discussing 3D jewelry samples. Affordability has always been important but it's even more so these days, and with everything getting silly expensive, sharing the costs can ultimately help ease the strain without losing the benefits, perhaps even gaining some, as mentioned above.