Deciding where to open your first (or new) office is a tough decision. For many, location is key. But when searching for an office space for your small or medium-sized business, have you considered the benefits of a business center and the relationships you could form there?
If you’ve never set foot in the Buttonwood Business Center, let me give you an idea of what a business center is like. It’s almost like an apartment building for businesses. You share a common hall. You share access to a nice printer/copier/scanner machine. You even share a kitchen for storing lunches or grabbing a quick cup of coffee before starting your day.
You may be asking yourself, well what’s so great about that? Can’t I just put my own printer in my office, or my own coffee maker or refrigerator in my office? Well, sure you can. But then you and your small business miss out on opportunities for word of mouth marketing.
Business centers are great for being in close proximity to other small businesses and you may be surprised at the symbiotic relationship that can form. As you start meeting your neighbors in the hallway or kitchen and sharing about your business, it’s a great way to start getting your business name out there.
Here is just one example to give you a better idea. Say you are an accountant who just moved into a business center. After being there a few days and meeting a few neighbors, you meet a marketing consultation firm just down the hall and it just so happens they are in need of an accountant to do their payroll and tax work! What an easy way to gain business! Not only that, but you could swap services and use them to help market your new accounting firm.
Word of mouth referral is a huge driving factor of sales for small businesses. What better way to take full advantage of this than to position your small business in a business center where there are ample opportunities to get your business name out there?
