Now - advice for those who decide to rent a full-fledged office. How to choose a room and what details should you ask the owner? Andrey Petukhov, marketing and sales director of the MIAN24 real estate agency, told Theory and Practice what to look for when choosing a workspace.
Andrey Petukhov
director of marketing and sales of the real estate agency "MIAN24"
Decide on your priorities
Depending on the role of the premises in the business, the so-called front-office and back-office can be conditionally distinguished. A free translation into Russian is “selling” and “serving”, respectively. Are you going to serve clients in the office? How many customers per day are expected? If there are a lot of clients (retail business), then it is quite natural that the front office should be located in a passing place next to the metro. If, for example, you organize a design studio and the main communication with the client is online, then almost any space will suit you. Therefore, it is important to first decide how you will work with clients, and only then look for an office.
Choose an office for people
A typical mistake of a business owner is to rent an office near their home or "in a prestigious location". In this case, there are problems with finding staff and attracting customers. Not everyone is ready to go to a remote industrial zone or pay 500 rubles for a business lunch. Think about ordinary workers: how they will get there, where they will have lunch, and so on. An important problem is parking - immediately decide how many parking spaces your employees and customers need.
Classes and prices
Offices are conditionally divided into different classes - A +, A, A-, B, C and D. The higher the class, the better the location, the quality of the premises and the development of the infrastructure. But be careful and choose by the sum of the characteristics, and not just by the class. The average rental price is now 22.5 thousand rubles / m² per year, but the price range starts from 9 thousand rubles / m² and goes to infinity. Of course, renting an office in a business center is the most convenient option. For example, if expansion is needed, it will be possible to move or rent additional premises in the neighborhood.
Crisis - the most successful period for rent
Since the summer, due to geopolitical factors, office rental prices have fallen by 8-15%. Even many large companies give up part of the space or transfer back offices to cheaper business centers. Therefore, right now you can encounter very advantageous offers. You can safely bargain with the owners and ask for concessions.
Combine formats
But, despite the price correction, prices in prestigious business centers remain exorbitant. At the same time, modern communication technologies allow you to work with the whole world online - take advantage of this opportunity. For example, you can place a small front office in the center of Moscow, and service units - in the near suburbs. Some employees can be hired to work remotely with weekly meetings in the office.
Underwater rocks
Feel free to ask questions to the owner from whom you are going to rent a workspace. The key question is "legal propiska": will you be able to get legal address and whether you will be officially included in the list of tenants. Without this, for example, not a single serious bank will open a settlement for you. Immediately discuss all related costs: who incurs Maintenance premises, which ISP is allowed in the building, etc. If you need a sign and other outdoor navigation - discuss it "ashore": according to the law, without the consent of the owner, any outdoor advertising is unacceptable.
Consider Subletting
Sublease is a common business practice. If the room you like is too big for you, you can sublease the “extra” space, earning a fixed income every month. Ideally, a sublease can cover most of your office expenses. You can also use sublease when renting an office. In this case, be sure to ask the landlord for written confirmation of the consent of the owner.
Rent or buy?
Often customers ask the question: what is more profitable - to rent or buy? Each situation is individual: it is necessary to compare the growth of rental rates and the rise in prices for commercial real estate. Majority choice, even large companies- rent. At the same time, alternative instruments, such as commercial mortgages and real estate leasing, cannot be ruled out.
How to search
You can look for an office on your own or entrust this work to a realtor. But even if you contact a realtor, first do the preparatory work yourself - look at the offers on the Internet, chat with the owners and their agents. This will allow you to clarify your requirements, as well as feel more confident when working with a realtor. When choosing a contractor from among agents, pay attention to personal experience realtor, and not just for the general work experience of the agency. And don't be shy about requesting a replacement realtor if you don't like their job.
Leasing commercial real estate is one of the most profitable types of business and is almost always in demand. Many small firms and start-up entrepreneurs are looking for office space for their own placement and organization of their business. Their desire to purchase a roof over their heads, and for relatively little money, allows them to receive a steady income from renting space. In addition to small entrepreneurs, often the premises can be easily rented out for small shops, where the former owners of small kiosks and trading places in industrial markets.
A striking example of the success of the commercial real estate rental business can be numerous office buildings, stuffed to overflowing with small firms.
The attractiveness of this direction lies also in the fact that its organization usually requires only initial investments, and all current costs can be shifted to customers. Naturally, to create such a business, you must have a suitable property.
For the reliability of the enterprise, it is desirable to acquire such an object in the property, so as not to depend on the whim of its owner.
However, in case of a shortage of funds, it is possible to rent a building, subject to the right to sublease its premises. It is often more profitable for the owners of a building to rent it out as a whole than to painstakingly look for many small tenants and formalize relations with them. This is all true, but still, a decrease in the share of profits significantly affects the overall profitability of the project, so the acquisition of a building as a property is always a priority compared to renting, and carries fewer risks for the entrepreneur.
It is absolutely not necessary to choose real estate objects in the city center, where their cost exceeds all conceivable limits.
It is often much more profitable to buy a building or premises on the outskirts of the city or somewhere in a residential area, which will require a much lower level of investment.
The only important condition in the selection of real estate objects is the availability of public transport stops nearby.
A good option for acquiring such an object is the old abandoned buildings of ruined industrial enterprises, offices of shopping centers. Than in worse technical condition the building is located, the cheaper it can be purchased, which is used by many entrepreneurs who earn money by renting out commercial real estate. On the other hand, if there are sufficient funds, sometimes it is easier to build a new building, planning its space for rent in advance.
When repairing an old premises or equipping a new one, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the delivery of commercial real estate.
Since the premises of the office building will be rented out to different tenants, it is necessary to provide for a separate supply of communications and the possibility of disconnecting any premises from heating and electricity in order to avoid unnecessary expenses for empty areas. In addition, it is desirable to pre-design common areas, toilets, eating areas, locations for shared office equipment. This will create comfortable conditions for the work of small businesses and increase the attractiveness of real estate. As a rule, tenants do not impose special requirements for interior decoration, so repairs and decoration can be done using cheap building materials. This reduces the amount of investment needed.
Particular attention should be paid to the connection of modern communications, especially high-speed Internet, as well as the organization of wi-fi.
Moreover, among the tenants it is advantageous to have an accounting firm, as well as a firm offering office services: photocopying, printing texts, and so on. This makes it possible to provide tenants with the necessary office services and fully fill all the leased premises. To attract customers, you can also use common areas, the lobby of an office building, allowing you to place tenants' advertising products in them, installing special advertising structures for this.
An excellent addition, in terms of technical equipment, is also the connection of a mini-automatic telephone exchange and the provision of city telephone numbers to tenants, which will help to secure permanent tenants in the allotted places.
When organizing a business for the delivery of office real estate, it is necessary to pay special attention to the legally correct execution of contracts, the possibility of recovering losses from unscrupulous tenants. The efficiency of renting office real estate is confirmed by experts who estimate the growth in rental rates by about 10% per year. Experience shows that it is possible to recoup investments in the creation of an office real estate center in 2-3 years.
Naturally, for the proper organization of a business, it is necessary, the order of which can be made on our website.
There is a room. What business to open? Most businesses, regardless of their size, require specific premises in order to provide their services or produce their products. Any room in good condition is suitable for doing business - be it a garage, a hangar, a basement, Vacation home, apartment or something else. This article takes a closer look at running an apartment and basement rental business.
In order to start a business, you will need to purchase an apartment or a basement, which will already become a fairly large investment. Do not forget that the purchase of real estate is one of the the best views investment instruments and that is why the cost of ready-made apartments is quite high. The best options for the acquisition will be real estate at the initial stage of construction. At this point, real estate will save from 20 to 40% of the cost in the aftermath.
Purchase and registration of real estate
Of course, business centers remain the most popular option for opening an office, whose infrastructure is fully aimed at optimizing the workflow. However, the cost of premises in such centers is quite high, and many medium and small businesses cannot afford such acquisitions.
The second most popular option is renting premises on the first floors of residential buildings and the so-called street-retail (premises on the ground floors with a separate entrance and their own showcases). Former commercial premises are also in high demand. Very often you can find various businesses in the basement. Often this grocery stores, cafes and restaurants, beauty salons and small shops household appliances.
When considering the option of opening a business for renting premises, you should familiarize yourself with the demand and supply of the rental and sale of real estate market, the infrastructure of the area in which the planned purchase is located and the “passability” coefficient (approx. coefficient shows a value based on the number of people visiting the surrounding area in a certain period of time).
The purchase of real estate is associated with the manipulation of large amounts of money, and such transactions are often preyed upon by scammers.
You need to buy real estate either from a trusted person (relatives, friends or colleagues), or in agencies (the most unprofitable option), or with the participation of a realtor (in this case, you will have to pay for his services in the amount of a certain percentage of the purchase amount). To protect yourself when buying, you should carefully read all the documents and familiarize yourself well with the seller himself. Safety in this business should come first. Once a property is purchased, it must be formalized so that it can be rented out on a commercial basis.
The final stage of preparation will be the repair of the premises. Rich content is not required, as many companies redesign the premises to their liking. It should be borne in mind that the transformation of an ordinary apartment on the ground floor into a street-retail class premises will require documentary evidence, since the installation of a street door or large shop windows will affect the integrity of the building.
Renting out premises
Almost any street-retail category is suitable for the central part of the city. Such premises are happy to rent various shops or restaurants. In the sleeping areas of apartments on the first floors there is no established list of tenant companies, which is why the demand here, although lower than the central areas, remains at a decent level.
Advertising has been the engine of business for centuries. To find clients for your real estate one of the better ways will be active advertising. Placement of advertisements on Internet resources or in newspapers, design advertising sign on the building in which the premises are located or submitting information about their services to target agencies (although in this case there is a chance that you will have to share a percentage of the income).
The amount of rental income depends on the premises and its location. For example, from a small two-room apartment in the center of Moscow, you can get from 100,000 rubles a month. According to statistics, most apartments for rent pay off in about eight years. When buying an apartment on credit, monthly payments will amount to almost the same amount of income, which will allow you to get an apartment in ownership with virtually no costs.
Daily rent
Renting apartments as a business arose not so long ago. The main difference from regular rentals is a more frequent change of clients, which will eventually require more active advertising. Initially, daily rent was not considered as a type of business and was only a way of periodic earnings.
Now renting out your own housing stock is one of the most easy way receive funds in a commercial way without much effort. A long-term lease gives permanence of income, but in this case, the level of profitability is lost. Daily rent will give a good daily profit, but there are many worries with the constant search for customers and more time spent on short-term leases.
The second most popular way to profit from a business based on the rental of premises is the targeted purchase of real estate for subsequent rental. The process of buying, registering and searching for clients is almost identical to the acquisition of premises for conducting commercial activities with other entrepreneurs and companies. However, in this case, you will need an apartment in a prosperous area, with good infrastructure and within walking distance of public transport. All this will have a positive effect on the amount of profit.
The so-called sublease closes the top three ways to create a rental business. In fact, the entrepreneur will become intermediaries between the two links - the landlord and customers. This method is suitable for those who do not have enough funds to purchase real estate and do not have their own. The essence of the process is the registration of housing in a long-term lease and subsequent re-renting by the day. In this way, it is possible to “recapture” the rental payments for the first ten days. The income for the remaining twenty days will become the net profit of the entrepreneur.
Organization of the process
In addition to the availability of real estate, several aspects will need to be taken into account. Firstly, any commercial activity requires mandatory registration with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation. When registering an enterprise, two types are suitable legal forms– individual entrepreneurship and limited liability company.
Secondly, the documentation of real estate for the possibility of conducting commercial activities. In the event that we are talking about sublease, then all agreements with the owner of the apartment should be notarized and all points should be taken into account - cost, terms, the possibility of retaking, and so on. Any transfer Money it is better to make in the presence of a notary.
The third is the arrangement of living space (minor repairs, the purchase of consumables, furniture, etc.) and the start of an advertising campaign. Advertising should be maximized - active work with newspapers, Internet resources and third parties. Third parties can be understood as various legal and individuals, with the help of which information about services is disseminated (for example: placing business cards and booklets at stations or transport agencies).
The business of renting apartments for rent is a rather difficult task in terms of the time spent.
A large number of clients will require a lot of attention and care. In order not to be mistaken and not to miss the deadlines for payments, you should sign an agreement with each new client. The transfer of the keys to the rental property is carried out after signing. At the end of the contract, the apartment should be inspected for damage or theft of property.
Any enterprise is created in order to bring profit to its owner. And a higher level of profitability will be available only if the entrepreneur is interested in its development and modernization. There are two ways to increase profits - updating the housing stock (purchasing modern household appliances, repairs, improving the infrastructure of the apartment, etc.) and buying additional real estate. In the first way, an increase in amenities will cause an increase in the cost of rent, however, the number of customers may decrease due to the high cost. The second method is guaranteed to give an increase in profits, but it will also add work.
Development of a client base
The best customer is a regular customer. The apartment rental business confirms this rule like no other. The constancy of the client base will reduce the time spent on the lease and downtime.
The first thing you need to pay attention to when selecting clients is the condition of the proposed premises. In the event that the declared characteristics do not correspond to reality, the entrepreneur will most likely lose the client.
In no case should you lose communication opportunities. Daily apartment rental as a business is quite dynamic and should provide customers with the opportunity to contact almost at any time. The timeliness of providing information and the ability to book rooms in advance will play a positive role in the growth of the reputation of the business.
In the event that the business is not limited to one or a couple of apartments, it makes sense to issue a client program.
Various promotions such as free transfers, 2+1 or discount periods will increase the number of clients, as well as increase the number of permanent tenants.
Short-term rentals are popular among those who come to the city for short periods. From this we can conclude that the client may be new to the city. This is another plus for the entrepreneur. The release of your own products, on which the logo, contact details and price list are indicated, will be a good step in developing a client base. All this can be combined with the necessary things in an unfamiliar city - printing information on city transport maps, calendars and more.
Aspiring entrepreneurs believe that having an office is just a must-have for business. On the one hand, the way it is, because it is in the office that we meet clients, it is the office that is the place of interaction between employees. But not every business needs an office. In this article, we will consider whether an office is needed for a business.
It will be useful: learn to build your own workplace under the guidance of curators free business game "Your Start"
Do you need an office for business?
There are many reasons why an office is necessary for a business.
1. Workplaces of employees. Of course, when hiring staff, it is important to know and control how employees work. There is such an idea that without control, people will not do anything themselves. But this is just a personnel question, how many right people do you recruit into the team and what is your motivation system. Today a large number of of people works remotely outside the office, and nevertheless does a good job.
2. Meeting place with clients and partners. If you ask a question, do you need an office, then for meeting clients and partners, - of course, yes. After all, you cannot constantly advise clients only by phone, people will want to meet with you in order to conclude a service contract. Therefore, in this case, the office is necessary.
Let's say you have a travel company. You need an office, at least so that clients can come here, get detailed information about the countries and resorts of the world, conclude an agreement, pay and pick up documents.
Of course, all this can be done remotely, we are sure that this will not make the work less effective, but since people tend to be afraid of working with one-day firms, people need guarantees, so they will prefer a personal meeting with you.
The same goes for partnerships.
3. Official registration of the company. Another reason for the need to rent an office is the place of registration of the company.
4. Employee control. Beginning entrepreneurs, as a rule, do not have a well-functioning system of business operation and employee control. Therefore, they need an office to see who is doing what during working hours and to be able to direct the activities of the company.
- Real estate agency. You can seek help from realtors if you yourself are not sure of your choice. Choose an agency that specializes in commercial real estate.
- Independent office search- this is the most the best option, because you understand exactly who your customers are and why you need an office. If you need an office just for employees and managers, then most likely you can rent a space on the outskirts of the city, while saving on expenses. Many entrepreneurs believe that having a business requires renting a status office. But this is not always justified. An office is important for clients to feel comfortable in it. But good and quality service is much more important than an expensive company office.
- Office in a shopping and entertainment complex. Today, the place of high traffic of people are shopping centers where office space is rented out. If your business is related to customer service, then you can safely consider this option. But you should be prepared for high rents.
- Lease contract. When you decide on an office, you will have to sign a lease, and you need to be very careful in this matter. If disagreements arise between the tenant and the landlord, then the contract will be the most important document for resolving the conflict in court. After all, if you do not carefully study the contract, then you may have to constantly coordinate the slightest actions with the landlord, or you will not have access to all leased areas .
- State registration of the contract. After the conclusion of the contract, if it was concluded for a period of more than one year, you should register it with executive bodies local authority.
- Sublease agreement for non-residential premises. If you enter into a sublease agreement, then you need the consent of the owner of the premises, documented.
Alternative options for renting an office
If you do not want to spend money on office maintenance, then there are alternative business options for you.
- Virtual office suitable for companies that can carry out their activities solely with the help of communication tools and Internet connection capabilities. The main thing here is to create the right system of employee motivation and accountability.
- coworking also suitable for those who do not want to rent an expensive office, but cannot work at home or in a cafe. Coworking centers have become very popular and bring together people such as freelancers, photographers, programmers, designers, Internet entrepreneurs.
- Business incubator. Young companies that work in a high-tech sector can try to get into a business incubator and get a place to rent on preferential terms.
Conclusion
It is profitable to rent an office on the outskirts of the city in office space. But this option is not suitable for those who work directly with clients and need a place to meet with clients.
But if your business allows you to conduct a project remotely for at least some employees, then it is better to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, consultants, workers, designers do not have to be in the office, they can work on the road, at home or even in a cafe. You are required to create a clear system of employee interaction in this format.
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Any, even a small business, most often needs one detail - in its own office. As practice shows, the times when the seriousness of the company was reinforced by the colossal size of the office are long gone and customers no longer respond to such a revealing detail. It is important for the client that the office is closer (usually in central areas), clean and pleasant to visit, and that there is nothing superfluous and no stranger when the client arrives at the appointed time.
That is, when starting your own business, you need to at least rent an office in the center, in a good building with parking, and if you have several employees, it is advisable for everyone to have their own office. Small businesses do not always have the funds for this, and here another small business comes to the rescue with mini-office rental services.
In Russia, this direction is quite young, but already tested. Profitability is very high, competition is still very small, demand is quite sufficient to reach zero by the end of the first year.
What is this type of business?
Everything is simple here. You rent a large area in a business center, preferably a whole floor, and refurbish it so that you have many small offices, enough for normal operation one person and for work with the client.
As a rule, the demarcation is carried out using glass partitions on metal structures. Glass here is used specific, specially created for such structures. It transmits most of the light, absorbs most of the noise and is not transparent. That is, by renting such an office, the client will feel quite comfortable, as in a small private office.
Naturally, renting such an office will cost much less than a full-fledged one. And your income will be much higher.
For example, the cost of 1m2 within the Garden Ring ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 rubles a year. That is, taking the maximum, a month per meter will cost a little more than 4,000 rubles. The average area of a standard office in the center is 20 m2. That is, renting the entire office for an entrepreneur will be very expensive, about 80,000 rubles a month. For a small business, this is a significant amount.
At the same time, 5m2 is quite enough for one person in a comfortable environment. That is, 20,000 rubles a month. You can rent a mini-office of such an area with a significant mark-up, say, at a total cost of 30,000 rubles. Given that by renting an entire floor, you yourself are likely to receive a very significant discount, the benefit here can be quite significant.
Where should you start when thinking about such a business?
First of all, if you have already begun to draw up a business project and make all the calculations, you must realize that profitability here directly depends on the number of “points”. If you decide to stay in only one place (in one business center), the probability of burning out in the first few months is very high.
Select sites for rent of different price categories and plan them as follows:
- single offices - 60% of the total area;
- double - 30%;
- premium class office (for meetings) – 10%.
At the same time, remember that the equipment with which redevelopment is carried out is disassembled and assembled very easily. Already in the process of work, you will be able to understand which offices are in the greatest demand and you can simply make redevelopment.
The fact is that in some business centers, it is single-seat offices that will be in demand, while in others, on the contrary, multi-seat ones.
What services can you offer?
- Turnkey office rental for a long period. That eats, the client simply comes and can work. Computer, telephone, fax, furniture - all this is at his workplace.
- Office rental by the hour. The client can equip the workplace for an hour, a day or a week. Most often, meeting rooms and conference rooms are in demand.
- Virtual office. An unusual trend that is gaining popularity. You provide the client with a legal address, a full range of postal and secretarial services (you provide the secretary), as well as the opportunity to hold business meetings and meetings at a certain time in a staffed office.
It would be nice to place several copiers and a cooler on the entire floor.
For everything to work properly
One area for rent is not enough here. In order for your enterprise to work properly, you need to establish its “life”.
Each office should be provided with the Internet. You should not have any problems with this, since quite a few providers provide for very little money high speed internet for commercial purposes.
The second important task is office cleaning. Your customers will not run around with rags after a day's work, putting things in order. You must take on this task.
Sign an agreement with a cleaning company and the moment will be decided.
The cleaning company will work at the agreed time, for example, a couple of hours before the working day, or after. In other words, your clients will come to a clean office space.
Naturally, do not forget about such moments as the climate control system in the premises, the bathroom.
Naturally, everything Additional services are included in the cost of renting the area, as a result of which you do not pay for them at full load.
Now let's talk a little about the organization
As a form of business, it is best to choose OOO . And all the moments with the registration of business and subsequent accounting best to give to a consulting company. It's just that you won't have time for that. We will not go into details on this issue, especially since we have repeatedly considered them in other articles.
