Sunday, May 25, 2008

4 Easy Ways to Find Office Space for Your Freelance Business

The kitchen's crowded and taken at least in the evening for meals, your home has enough bedrooms for the family without any room to spare. To keep your home-based business going, you're forced to set up a small desk and computer in the corner of the living room. Now the business is taking off and you really need office space. But how are you going to do it? Do you kick one of the kids out of the house? Eat out as the only meal options so you can completely take over the kitchen?

Obviously, there are more realistic options out there, and better ways available to find office space from which to run your business. Here are four easy ways you might try to solve your office space problem:

1. If your business is primarily Internet web sites, you may need nothing more than a good laptop computer, a large briefcase/computer case, and a workspace with an Internet connection. Writing and web publishing business can be run out of a reserved room at the public library, if your library system has study rooms available and public Internet access. Cafes and coffee shops often have cozy booths or tables and wireless Internet connections for their patrons. That's another excellent office space option if you want to get out of the house to work and your business model permits it.

2. If you require a permanent office solution and have nothing in your home, look into adding a portable building and furnish it with electricity, plumbing, whatever. Such portable buildings often are used as storage sheds. But if you have a bit of money to invest, they can be turned into one-room offices detached from your house and offering the privacy you need. Word of caution: Make sure there are no zoning laws or building code requirements this solution would violate. You don't want to get your business moved into affordable, practical office space only to run into legal issues.

3. Rent affordable shared-office space in a local office property. Most cities and even small towns have office centers which offer package deals that include one or two rooms, utilities, Internet access, phone access, a mailing address, and even a shared receptionist. You generally can customize such arrangements to meet whatever office and storage space requirements you need.

4. If your business requires it and your budget allows it, go the full route and rent or buy full-fledged, dedicated office space.

Ideally, you have a home-based business or career because you want to work from home and value the so-called career in a bathrobe. You want to work from home to avoid a commute, or whatever. But finding office space outside your home may be something you decide works best for you. It's your career, your choice. Hopefully, these four easy ways to find office space for your home business will help.