You don’t need to rent out office space to run a successful business. In fact, a growing number of companies are saying no to office buildings and going entirely virtual. This involves working from home or a coffee bar and hiring a team of remote staff. There are pros and cons to not having an office. But for many companies, the pros mostly outweigh the cons. This post delves more into a few of the questions to ask yourself when deciding whether to go without an office.
How much money could you save?
Office space is a huge expense. On top of paying the lease, you’ve got to pay for energy bills and maintenance. Commercial property insurance may be necessary and you may also need to invest in security and health and safety features. And then there’s all the furniture and equipment that you need to provide.
Unless you’re able to find an office near to your home, you also have to pay to commute there every day. So do your employees. This is another cost that ends up adding up in the long run, as well as providing you with less time in the morning and evening.
By running your business from home, you can save some serious money. This makes it a much more affordable option for many small startups.
Can you run a remote team?
If you need to hire employees, going office-less will require you to take on remote employees. There are many benefits to hiring remote employees – you’re not restricted to hiring locally, you don’t have to supply equipment and no-one has to commute. However, you do need to learn how to communicate effectively with a virtual team.
This typically means being reliant on email, instant messaging, phone calls or voice calls. You won’t be able to monitor employees as closely and you’ll need to get creative when motivating employees. You’ll also need to be comfortable working alone.
Some employers prefer to have a physical team around them. However others find a remote workforce to be easier to handle as it may help eliminate cliques, workplace bullying and other issues.
You can use a remote staffing service to help you find remote employees. Interviews will also need to be conducted remotely – as will any onboarding or training.
What about your clients?
Having an office can provide a private space to welcome clients and conduct meetings. Some clients may also trust your company more knowing that you have a physical office.
That said, many companies are able to communicate with clients remotely and are still able to prove that they are a legitimate business through an online presence. Besides, if a customer does want to meet in person, there’s always the option of meeting them in a coffee bar or another public space.
Will you be more productive?
Having everyone working in an office environment can allow for easier collaboration. However, it can also result in more distractions – while it can be nice to have colleagues you can chat with, this chit-chat may reduce productivity.
Studies show that many people feel more productive when working at home because there are less distractions and interruptions. However, not everyone works better at home and some people may find that it’s a much more distracting environment. Therefore, you need to work out what environment is more productive for you.
