When it comes to myths, the humble serviced office gets a bad rap. Believe me, there are more than ten and it doesn’t feel like doing it full justice. The aim here isn’t to send you to sleep though, so ten it is. If it changes your perspective just a few degrees in favour of serviced offices, then the myths will begin to unravel in the wider context.
1: The Great Price Myth
First on the agenda is the well-embedded myth that serviced offices are too pricey. Wait a minute – too pricey? Let’s look a little closer. When you rent a serviced office, you don’t just get the four walls included in the overall cost. You can also tick off gas, electricity, water bills, insurance, maintenance, reception facilities, cleaning costs, furniture, service charges and plenty of handy add ons too, like high speed broadband and a coffee machine.
So, all these elements are already included in the price – still not sure? Renting a serviced office instead of a leased space can save you big money. Depending on what you need, you can cut anywhere up to 65% of office costs by going down the serviced route. Not only that but if you like what you see and are ready to commit, then there are even better deals to be had. So you see – this is a myth that needs to be completely squashed as it couldn’t be further from the truth.
2: Only for the Start Ups?
The next myth is that serviced offices are only suitable for small, start-up businesses. Wrong again! They are incredibly important to any business, because of their size and great prices! Large companies and corporations choose serviced offices for smaller project work. They begin to build a network of offices all working towards a common goal. Gone are the days when everyone needed to be batched together – email put paid to that. With the world becoming smaller by the minute, our offices needn’t be getting bigger. Myth number two exposed.
3: Serviced Offices don’t need be Short Term.
Linked to this last one is number three: Serviced offices are just a kind of short term fix. They absolutely needn’t be. Why change a good thing when you don’t have to? You have a contract that can easily be extended and if you’re happy with your space, then there’s no obligation to move. Lots of companies use the same serviced offices for several years at a time and who could blame them?
4: Make your Office Your Own
You can’t put your own stamp on serviced offices though can you? Can you? In most cases, yes you can. Not being able to personalise your own office puts a lot of people off before they even check the details. As long as you aren’t going to go crazy with the DIY, the provider will have no qualms letting you give it a personal touch. So that plant, picture and rug are safe to pack.
5: Quick and Simply Move.
Speaking of packing, another myth is that it takes forever to make the move into a serviced office. That’s right… not true. At least, not compared to moving to a leased office, where you have to pack and relocate everything from the desks to the cabinets to the swivel chairs and a thousand other items. At a serviced office, there’s none of that to worry about, so the moving process is actually quicker and is way less blood vessel busting.
6: No Hidden Costs
Another myth is that you end up paying for lots of things that are never going to be used. A reasonable assumption, and in the past perhaps it was true. Hidden costs could creep up unsuspecting. However, nowadays any extra fees are all totted up and presented clear as day before you move in.
7: 24hr Access to Your Serviced Office
So you’ve moved in and want to work round the clock. Serviced offices aren’t going to be open all hours though are they? Yes, another myth. Any reputable company will give you 24 hours access to your serviced space. This means that you can get the job done whenever it suits you.
8: What Will They Think?
The next myth is a biggie and concerns the integrity of having a serviced office space. Does it let you down? Does it look bad for your business? Will outsiders think twice about your ideas? No, no, no! The world has moved on – office spaces are found in every size and shape imaginable, all over the globe. Many of the huge organisations use serviced space to network their office projects, so don’t feel in any way embarrassed.
9: Worried about Internet Connection?
Getting on to the last two myths, then. Internet connections are poor in serviced offices being one. Again though, this is simply not true. Modern providers will now have fast speed, fibre optic broadband as part of their packages. You can even choose what kind of bandwidth you’d prefer, depending on your business needs. The serviced office providers know how important a decent connection is to businesses, so why compromise themselves by delivering a second rate service?
10: All your Amenities are looked after!
Lastly on the list of myths is that because the building is shared by lots of people, the amenities such as toilets and lunch areas etc. end up lacking somewhat. Well, yet again this isn’t the case. The owner of the serviced offices will understand the importance of a quality environment for everyone. If not, they’ll end up losing business themselves!
So you see, serviced offices are in fact one of the best ways of integrating your business with affordable office space. With someone like Send Business Centre, the process really couldn’t be easier. So now the myths have been busted, go and check out what’s best for you and your business.
