Do you work as a stay-at-home parent? Do you have a home office or are you a work at home entrepreneur? Are you starting a business or incorporating a company in New York City? If you fall into this category of business person then you already know how important it is to balance your many daily activities and responsibilities. When you add into this the stressors of running your own business and the many expenses that can come with this, you can see why this is a difficult situation to be in. But there are ways that people you can have access to business services and save.

Your Responsibilities

If you are starting a business or working from a home office, you may need to balance:

• Having a professional phone answered in your business name.  If you use your personal or cell phone, you may encounter clients calling after hours and may need a professional greeting if you are not available
• You may not always have a professional place to meet with clients
• You may need to balance many different responsibilities
• Family members who may bother you or distract you

These are just a few of the responsibilities that you may have to manage when working at home or from a home office. While there are benefits to a home office which can help you save, there are also many areas where it can be distracting and even harmful to your business.

You need to become aware of the many distractions that can affect you in your home office. These distractions can also begin to cut into your bottom line. So what solutions are there available to you?  One option can be to rent an office space.

When to Rent Office Space

While it may sound like a big step for many businesspeople that are used to working at home, the time sometimes comes to leave home. You may have reached a point in your business life where you need to move out of the home office and into a real office in a different location. This doesn’t have to be far away and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a large space but sometimes it can actually save you money in the long run to move out of the home office.

You can often find a great office space to rent for a low price. Having the office in a different location can also provide certain tax benefits so you may save this way as well. Now you can find flexible and affordable office solutions that will not lock you into long-term contracts that you may not be able to fulfill. There are so many more options for the business owner than ever before. Consider that you can find:

1. Midtown and Downtown locations with better access to clients.
2. Team rooms and individual offices to choose from.
3. Business identity services (virtual office spaces)
4. High speed internet access in the office
5. Phone and voice mail services
6. Copy and fax capabilities
7. Access to conference rooms with equipment rentals

These are just a few of the things you can enjoy from your own office and many of these services are available in packages and affordable office spaces.

Virtual Office Space

Another idea is to save with virtual offices.

You can choose a central Downtown or Midtown New York City business address for your office, with flexible terms and add different amenities such as 212 phone number with telephone answering and digital 212 fax services. You will also have access to office space on demand, as well as access to conference rooms at affordable rates.

Whether you are incorporating a business and need a business address in NYC, need a full identity to make your business more presentable, or ready to take the step of renting your own space, there are many great options available to support entrepreneurs in saving money and keeping in flexible.

Please call Corporate Suites at (212) 512-0500.  We can provide you with virtual office services in NYC and flexible office space rental.

Before offering the explanation about the most appropriate way to assess prospective office space for rent, it is necessary to distinguish between executive office suites and traditional office leases/subleases. Executive suites represent one or a combination of office space that is exclusively dedicated to a certain business and the additional facilities – 1000′s of square feet of common space – such as hallways and meeting rooms, and amenities, such as reception/call forwarding, that are shared among several tenants within the facility. In this sense, when prospective tenants look at the cost of leasing executive suites, the asking rent may be quoted based on usable or rentable square feet, and often based on the number of workstations that may be accommodated by the space. On the other hand, commercial leases and subleases have the rent quoted based on rentable space calculated by landlord, in the case of lease, or by tenant, in the case of sublease. Hence, different types of office space can have the same asking rent per square feet, and for the same footage they can cost the same amount of money. However, that does not mean that they represent an equally good deal. In fact, for tenants without experience and the understanding of what the rent quotation based on rentable square feet (RSF) or usable square feet (USF) means, this can be a major mistake that can cost thousands of dollars over the length of a lease.

When an entire building is leased, the rent is quoted based on rentable square feet, which reflects the usable square feet plus the total in square feet for all other non-office rooms in the leased building (e.g. lobbies, hallways, roofs, etc.). In the case of executive suites, the rent quoted based on rentable square feet which already includes the area of usable square feet and the proportionate share for the tenant’s use of the building’s common areas (e.g. lobbies, hallways, etc.). This common share is calculated as the ratio of the rented space to the building’s total office space. For example, a 10,000 square-foot tenant in a 100,000 square-foot building has a share of 10% in the common non-office facilities (e.g. lobbies, hallways, etc.). [Note: This share also decides how much a tenant pays in communal costs for the building.] Hence, in order to compare apples with apples, it is necessary to obtain the rent for both types of office space (traditional office building and executive suite) quoted on the same basis (e.g. rentable square feet).] However, keep in mind, landlords can come up with your share on their own discretion, thus the common share formula can vary and can be up to 20-40% in high end Class A buildings which spend large amounts of money on security and other building amenities.

However, the rent of $50 per rentable square feet for an office building of 3,000 rentable square feet and the rent of $50 per rentable square feet for the same 3,000 rentable square feet in an executive suite still could represent entirely different deals. It all depends on the relationship between the rentable and usable space, called the load or loss factor.

In order to make the most appropriate decision about achieving maximum possible efficiency of rented office space for the most appropriate cost, it is necessary to know either rentable and usable square feet for both the commercial office building and executive suite, or, alternatively, rentable square feet and the loss factor for both types of office space. In case you do not have any information about usable square feet for the two types of office space, you may ask for the loss factor. The loss factor in relation to rentable square feet will help you determine what office space gives you the most usable space for your money. This will help you make the most appropriate decision.

The loss factor is actually the ratio between what is rentable and what is usable in a rented office space. It is calculated as the difference between the rentable and usable square feet divided by rentable square feet, as described in the formula below:

Let’s assume that you need 1,500 square feet of office space and you are comparing two different buildings, an Office Building X with 1,500 rentable square feet and a loss factor of 40%, on the one hand, and an Executive Suite Y with 500 usable square feet, on the other. An Executive Suite X will be a better choice because it will provide more usable office space. Using the formula above, the Office Building X will have 900 SF usable square feet, compared to 500 usable square feet for Executive Suite Y. But, when you factor in common areas such as kitchen, meeting rooms, reception area, hallways, you are easily looking at a minimum additional 2000 sf, which you don’t have. Thus, additional consideration should be given to the cost of “outsourced” services, which come as the free-of-charge amenities, such as cost of receptionist/building maintenance, office staff, business machines, available conference rooms, presentation of facility,  that are common for executive suite leases. These costs may not be included in the rent quoted based on rentable square feet for executive suites. However, they could be an important factor when differences, such as rent price per rentable square feet, between prospective office spaces are relatively small. More so, traditional spaces often require construction, furnishing, telecom setup, large security deposits, and long term commitments (5-10 years), thus studies have shown that the average time it takes between starting your search and actually moving into your space can be from 3 to 8 months. For an executive suite, there is no construction or furnishing needed, you can often commit to 3 – 12 months, with low security, and average time of search to move in from 1 day to 21 days.

Businesses interested in getting most out of their money can benefit a lot from understanding the aforementioned concepts. The understanding of how office space is measured and how rents are quoted will help tenants achieve major savings over the lifetime of their leases.

Downtown Manhattan was, at one time, the only place in the world to have a dense cluster of tall buildings dotting the skyline. It was a bustling, commercial district and the growth and energy of the streets was legendary. The area became the heart of the city, and in the late 1800’s boasted some of the finest shops and restaurants in the world.

Around 1920, New York’s subway system expanded. Drawn by the lure of newly constructed streets and buildings, many businesses relocated their offices to Midtown. Downtown adapted to the change, and created its own identity, developing a robust financial district.  Cultural and iconic neighborhoods also flourished, such as Greenwich Village, China Town, and Little Italy.

The area offers many affordable and flexible office  options for businesses. Office space in Downtown Manhattan is especially well suited for financial companies. Not only is it the home of the stock market, it’s also where the New York Federal Reserve bank sits. This is the most important Federal Reserve in America, and it also houses many other nations’ gold reserves. JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and AIG are three of the largest financial companies currently located in the district.

Downtown is also home to the city hall district, which makes it a good spot for law firms and insurance companies. All of New York’s city, state, and federal government buildings are in this district, as well as the courts.

Of course, Downtown offers much more than just office space in NYC. It’s also home to Battery Park, and some of the most beautiful and famous historical landmarks. Brooklyn Bridge, St Paul’s Chapel, which was built in the 1800’s, and the Woolworth Building are all located in lower Manhattan.

The area has also become mixed-use. The financial and legal firms could not use many of the older commercial properties, since their wiring was simply not equipped for the modern era. However, due to their status as historical landmarks, they couldn’t be torn down. As a result, they were renovated into luxurious residential properties. The change has created vibrant and diverse neighborhoods in the area, and fueled the rise of restaurants, nightclubs, luxury hotels, and retail establishments.

Downtown is also a major transportation hub. As the saying goes, all roads lead to City Hall. The same is true of the financial district. PATH (Port City Authority of New York and New Jersey) runs several trains through lower Manhattan, and the Staten Island Ferry also services this area.

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in further improving the downtown area, particularly after the tragedy that occurred on 9-11. New waterfront parks have been built, a major new transit hub was created at Fulton Street, and extensive construction of new class A properties are under way. The attractive rents to be found in the area are also helping increase interest there. Though office space in Downtown NYC is not the one-of- a-kind cluster of skyscrapers that it once was, it remains an architectural wonder and a vibrant and attractive location for a business.

On the 12th floor, Corporate Suites has available a spacious windowed 400 sf team room. The room is set up with brand new furniture including a small meeting table with great access to natural light.

This location is ideal for furnished office space use, and is convenient for fashion or design companies looking for an affordable and flexible alternative over expensive show room space. It is also convenient for companies who have recently downsized from a larger space.

The new virtual office website can be found at virtualoffices.csbcenters.com

The new website includes an elegant easy on the eye design, and more transparency with clearly stated prices and benefits.

A user may now order a virtual office right away with a order now form which will provide a live price quote for our services.

There is also a new photo gallery which shows highlighted photos from each location.

Our Upgraded Video Conferencing Room

The new room features IP Connectivity and is large enough for 10-12 people, comfortably.

Located in a 24/7, facility with elegant reception at 1001 Avenue of the Americas, in New York City, this video conferencing room is excellent for your next video conference meeting.

Give us a call at 212-512-0500 to book this room.

Corporate Suites attended the final day of the New York City Entrepreneurs Week, a week long event which took place April 20th to 24th.

Along with 10 other venture capital groups and service providers for startups, Corporate Suites contributed 6 months of furnished, plug and play, office space, to the winner, Trial X, of the business plan competition. In total, over $70,000 of prizes were awarded.

The event was a major success, and was sold out. It featured panels, discussions and events featuring some of the most succesful entrepreneurs and business people.

We were also featured in an article in The Real Deal which you can read here as well as aBetterOffice.

Virtual Offices

A Manhattan business address is world recognized for prestige and value and is a headquarter for 53 Fortune 500 companies. However, it is often expensive for a company to open up a satellite office, or a startup to rent office space in Manhattan even with lower capital requirment providers such as Corporate Suites.

Virtual office services were created to meet this growing demand for a “virtual” business address. It is a perfect way to enhance your image and reach new marketing potential, without spending as much on overhead. With access to meeting and office facilities, it is still a great way to keep the “bricks and mortar” presence of a big company and impress your clientle.

Virtual offices also offer you great business services such as mail forwarding, telephone answering and on-demand meeting rooms.

For a virtual office in Manhattan visit our website at www.csbcenters.com/virtual_offices.html

Happy Holidays!

We hope the New Year brings you all the best – from Corporate Suites, a leading Manhattan office space and executive suites provider. We may provide you with small offices and shared office space in New York City.