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They had the brains and the background, but lacked a big bankroll. “We found that raising capital with no clients and just your reputation is difficult at best,” he said. “We all scraped our savings together and began hitting the pavement. Our first office was a room at the Homewood Suites in Addison, Tex., where we strategized on long pieces of paper bought from Kinko’s and taped to the wall because we didn’t have a white board.”
The enterprising group soon heard of an office available nearby. “The room was about 11 by 15, and three of us worked there for three months,’’ Mr. Wright said. “We used all our own computers and got business cards from an online printer that put a special protective coating on them. These cards could literally be held underwater and not get wet.”
The group called in lots of favors and continued to work on establishing the company, soon landing their first client while still based in their tiny office.
“Finally, we landed some big clients and are now in our present larger space in Addison,” Mr. Wright said. “We are still very budget-conscious — we have VoIP phones that don’t work well, all our furniture is from Ikea and we moved into an ‘as is’ situation and fixed the place up ourselves — but we are doing well.” The company has just opened its second office, in New York City.
James Hills relied on the same entrepreneurial spirit after quitting his job last year. He and his wife, Heather, decided to start their own business, MarketingHelpNet.com, which helps small-business owners market themselves. Mr. Hills, located in Bartlett, Ill., made an office from a former storage room, and built his desk into a closet, giving him an extra few feet of valuable work space. “Also, I am using Vonage for both my fax and voice, which is great because of free long-distance to Europe and low costs to Asia for some of my contractors,” he said, referring to the broadband provider that uses “voice over Internet protocol” to offer phone and online connections.
Some businesses do not actually need a fancy physical space, but would like clients to envision them working in a professional environment. In this case, a virtual office like those offered by Micro Office Solutions can help. With this service, businesses receive a business phone number — answered by a receptionist — plus voicemail and a company mailing address. In many cases, this is a desirable address, perhaps on Park Avenue in New York. The mail is then forwarded to the business’s actual location. Companies like The Regus Group offer several virtual-office packages, including some that include access to furnished offices, conference rooms and other facilities for occasions like client meetings.
FURNISHED-OFFICE companies like Sunshine Suites can help businesses that need a full-time location, but can’t afford a traditional office. For less than $300 a month (with no long-term commitments) you can rent a private cubicle at one of Sunshine’s locations in New York. The rent includes business essentials like Internet access, technical support, printers and office equipment and other amenities. For $700 a month, you can get an entire private office.
Bottom line: do your homework, and odds are you can find bargains or freebies for almost every office essential you need to get your business off the ground.
“With some creativity and research, you can run a small office efficiently without much money,” Ms. Francis said. “And your clients will never know the difference.”
