About two years ago I bought my own home business. My intent was to be able to work from home using the telephone and internet. This business is now doing very well and as a result I have needed to have more merchandise on hand than my home office can accommodate. As a result I started looking for office space to rent.
We live on a lake in a resort area. There are three small towns within ten miles of our home. The largest city is thirty four miles. In the small town closest to us there was office space to rent, however the most affordable space was on an upper level of an office building and the only access was a flight of steps. I knew that it would be difficult for some of my clients to get to the office, and it would also be difficult for the delivery people. The next small town which is six miles from our home had office space to rent in two different buildings. One building was newly built so the space could be custom built to my needs. It was a nice space; however I had not planned on spending the amount of money that this rental would cost. The other office space to rent was next to a convenience store. The entrance was in an alley way. The space was the right size and the alley entrance would be great for deliveries. The main purpose was for storage rather than foot traffic or retail sale, so I thought this would be a good location. I was told that the person that owned the office space to rent would be out of town until the next week. I left my name and telephone number with the person that had showed me the office space to rent.
On my way home I stopped at a neighbor’s house to visit. I explained that I had been looking for office space to rent because of my growing inventory. She suggested using the neighbor’s garage next door to my house. The house next door is used only once or twice a month as a lake cabin. The previous owner had a heated workshop area in part of the garage. The new owners do not use this area. I called the owners and explained what I needed in regards to space. They said that if I wanted to pay for the electric and heating costs I could use the space. This was a perfect solution to my needs. The space was accessible for deliveries and storage. I did not have to drive to a different location to access my inventory and my out of pocket expenses are very minimal.
