Starting a business means taking on a considerable amount of risk. A new start-up is a fragile creature and there is never any guarantee that it will succeed. As you consider leasing office space for your new and growing business, there is one thing you should keep in mind to protect your business and your finances: the ability to sign a short term lease agreement.
In his book The Home Office From Hell Cure, Jeffrey Landers discusses the importance of short term lease agreements for small business start-ups. Most conventional real estate brokers and landlords want you to sign a three to five year lease agreement to make you worth their time. However as Lander’s states, this “can be absolutely catastrophic for a small, growing business.” Let’s pretend you sign a three year lease agreement. Say your business is booming for the first 12 months. But as the 18 month milestone rolls around, things start to spiral downwards. You still have almost a year and a half remaining obligation for rent payment on hand despite the hard times your business is facing. You may get to the point where you have to close up shop. As Landers states “the ongoing rent payments for an office you can no longer use or afford will only put your business in a more precarious situation and make it even harder, if not impossible, for you to turn things around.” Sticking to a 12 month lease agreement or shorter is critical for a small business start-up.
Let’s look at the bright side of things. Say you sign a three year lease agreement for an office space and your business begins to skyrocket. You find yourself busting at the seams in your office space just 6 months into your lease. What do you do then? Having a shorter lease agreement is ideal so that you can grow and add to your business as the need arises.
The great thing about business centers like Buttonwood is that we offer short term lease agreements. In fact, we offer 3, 6, and 12 month lease agreements. And the best part about it is that you have the ability to add an extra office as your business grows. At Buttonwood, we understand that a small business start-up is in its most fragile stage. Let us help you today!
