I moved into my new office two weeks ago and am nearing the end of the renovations. It’s on the top floor of a new building in a very desirable part of Toronto. I got it as raw space and had to put in dividing walls, closets, lights, and countless little details. The space is big enough for the four of us, plus an eight foot boardroom table. There are also two desks that are not being used at the moment that brings me to my question this week: should I rent out the desk(s)?
Here are the pros and cons as I see them:
Pros:
Extra income.
I would expect to make $300-$400 / month from each desk as it’s in a great location at the intersection of Canada’s most popular highway and most popular street as well as right on the subway. It has floor to ceiling windows and marble floors.
Complementary businesses.
If I can find people who run businesses that are complementary to my own then we could both enjoy a boost to our companies from shared resources and connections.
Energy.
I’ve always found there to be more energy in a full office than an empty one. Having motivated people around you can help drive you forward and give you an incentive to do more and reach farther.
Cons:
Unsuitable personalities.
I’ve worked with people who suck your time and can be real downers to the energy of the office. Getting the wrong person working beside you can just as easily sap your motivation and desire to achieve greater things for yourself and your business.
Shared resources.
There will be a number of commen elements that I will have to share with my potential officemates – my internet connection will be slower, I won’t have as much access to my boardroom, and the space I’ll have to myself will decrease.
Future expansion.
I don’t need the desk space right now and have actually expanded my business by hiring outside of Toronto so I haven’t needed more physical office space, but that could change in the future and I could be left without the ability to expand if those desks are taken up.
What would you do? Should I rent out my desks?
I think you should rent it out, you just have to do extensive screening to get the type of person you want. Maybe it won’t be so bad to have someone who has a completely different business than yours. Maybe it’s someone who’s looking to get out of their home office for a while, maybe it could be a consultant who would rarely require boardroom space. As far as resources go, you can upgrade your internet access and split costs with your renter, don’t ya think?
You could always rent a desk out on a contract basis. For example, if you rent the desk out for 6 months at a time, you’d get the extra income, could probably handle six months of working alongside someone you may not completely jive with and could also see how the use of shared resources went.
As far as future expansion goes, you’d know that you would only have to wait until XXX date to be able to begin expanding.
Thanks for the suggestions guys – I’ll likely try it for 3 months to make sure we get along and it’s a good working relationship. Just like you have to give employees a trial period I believe you need to give tenants a trial period!