Blog

Holiday Office Parties and Lease-Free Office Options

December 14, 2010     No comments

With the holidays fast approaching and many small business owners still struggling to make a profit in a rough economy, one Chicago business owner named Leyla Arsan decided to bring some holiday festivities to self-employed professionals who work from home.

“A lot of us work from home, and we don’t get dressed up anymore,” Ms. Arsan says. “I wanted to get something together and be excited about it.”

David Zazove, co-owner of Inspire Business Center, which rents executive suites at two Chicago locations, plans to host a party this week at the company’s West Loop building.

Read the full article here.

In other news, many Chicago business owners are still reluctant to purchase real estate for their businesses, even though real estate prices and mortgage interest rates are at record lows. In fact, only a very tiny minority of businesses — six percent — have purchased real estate in the past two years, and just over half say they haven’t even considered it.

“In a way, it’s understandable,” says Chris Reilly, president of CIT’s small business lending division, headquartered in Livingston, N.J. “The recession has forced entrepreneurs to hunker down and cut expenses so they can keep their doors open.”

Read more about the prospect of trading up to a better office and the general office real estate situation here.

But there’s good news for small businesses, startups, and freelancers who may have thought they could never afford an office at all: Chicago office rent prices are currently at a low, and over the past five years virtual offices have become far more commonplace.

Even though rents have fallen, they remain out of reach for some businesses. Other workers travel and don’t need a desk that they’ll occupy for just a week or two out of every month.

That’s why some centers are seeing an increase in demand for what’s known as a virtual office. For less than $300 per month, in some cases, a client can get telephone answering services, a mailing address and limited use of a center’s office and conference room space.

In its annual report on the industry, Mr. Meyers’ office center association found that revenue from virtual office rentals at the 413 properties it surveyed rose nearly 13% in 2009 from the year before. Such rentals still accounted for less than 8% of an average center’s 2009 revenue, but that was up from 6.8% in 2008, the survey found.

At least one owner expects that “virtual” percentage to keep growing.

More than 60% of the roughly 800 renters at the five Chicago-area business centers owned by Amata LLC are virtual-office clients, CEO Ron Bockstahler says.

“Virtual has picked up in the last five years,” he says. “And I would imagine it would keep growing.”

Read the full article, entitled “Living the lease-free life,” here.

This concludes our latest round-up of Chicago office news, but be sure to check back soon for more news, tips, and resources. Thanks for dropping by!