Office Rental Space in Kansas City

10 Money Saving Ideas for Small Business Looking for Commercial Realty in Kansas City Part II

Growing businesses need to save all of the cash they can—especially if they are considering a move into a new office rental space. Here are some more tips for tightening up your finances:

6.   Avoid high bank fees. Banks these days are trying to make more money off of fees to compensate for all of the new regulatory changes. Do everything in your power to steer clear of bank fees that are avoidable, such as bounced check fees, ATM surcharges, and debit-card fees. Consider even switching banks if you think you can save more money by doing so.
7.   Think about bundled services. Sometimes companies can bundle services such as phone service, internet, cable, fax, and web hosting. Your business could potentially save hundreds of dollars per year by bundling just two or more services from the same company.
8.   Use payroll debit cards. Your business can cut back on administrative costs by using a debit card payroll system, which bypasses the expense of printing checks and even lowers fraud risks.
9.   Keep track of employee spending. Employees at any level could be misusing or abusing company credit cards. Avoid these issues and save money by setting guidelines, monitoring monthly spending reports, alerts, and activating preset limits.
10.   Use electronic invoices. You can email invoices (e-voicing) directly to your customers, which will reduce your business’s printing and postage expenses.

Saving money in a multitude of little ways can add up for your business, and potentially allow you to save up the money to move into a bigger and better office rental space in Kansas City.

To find out about our available office spaces, call Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial at 913-685-4100!

The Pros and Cons to Subleasing Commercial Realty in Kansas City

There are a few different pros and cons to subleasing commercial space for lease in Overland Park:

Pros:

Taking over another company’s space can be a great way to get a short term lease at rent rate that is below the market value. Sometimes you can get a sublease for 10-50% less than the regular lease rate. The shorter your sublease term, the lower the rate.
Sometimes the outgoing tenant might be relocating to a different state or going out of business and might be willing to sell your business their office furniture and equipment at a good price.

Cons:

The downside to signing a shorter sublease is that your company will most likely have to move out at the end of the least term (whether you have outgrown the space or not), or pay the current market price to remain in the space. If the market price jumps up 30% during your year-long sublease, you might wish you had signed a five-year lease.
The subleased space usually comes as is, which means a landlord will not provide tenant improvements like private offices or new carpet. Your business will have to pay for any necessary improvements, which might not be a cost efficient path if you are only planning on staying in the space for a short time.

Consider these different benefits and downsides of renting a subleased space as you search for your best office rental space in Kansas City option.

To learn more about Southcreek’s available spaces, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Leasing Office Equipment for Your Office Building in Overland Park Part II

Buying office equipment can be a huge expense for a new company. Renting is one other long-term option, but leasing offers several benefits as well. Here are a few of the advantages of choosing to lease your office space equipment:

Leasing can help your business afford more. You might not be able to afford to buy top of the line office equipment for your office space, but you might be able to afford to lease it. Having better furniture and office equipment in your space can boost your employees’ morale and productivity and can create a more professional image for your company.
Leasing could be beneficial for your balance sheet. You might be able to leave some leased assets and related obligations off of your balance sheet. This could potentially improve financial indicators such as your company’s earnings-to-fixed-assets ratio or debt-to-equity ratio. However, remember that accounting rules do require that under certain types of leases you have to report assets leased on your balance sheet.

If you choose to lease rather than purchase equipment, keep your lease short-term—two years is a good length. Negotiating a “modern equipment substitution clause” will let you exchange or update your office equipment so that you can keep up with the changing technology. You will also want to include a cancellation clause that allows you to cancel the lease for a fee, and be sure to note the cost of a cancellation penalty.

Looking for office rental space in Kansas City. Give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about Southcreek’s affordable office space in Kansas City!

10 Commercial Real Estate Kansas City Loan Mistakes

Often securing a loan is part of renting Kansas City office space, especially in the start-up phase of a business or in the case of expansion or other projects. Here are a few common mistakes that businesses make while applying for a loan to be aware of as you try to procure your own loan:

Not doing enough research. Make sure that you put in the time to review commercial loan terms from multiple different banks and commercial lenders.
Not finding the best lawyer. A lot of times it can be tempting to choose a family member or a friend who happens to be an attorney to help you with this process, but you will want to hire a commercial real estate attorney—someone who has experience in negotiating the types of real estate loans you need.
Failing to have a clear plan for the money. It is important to lenders that you have a definite plan in place for how you intend to use the money, as well as a timeframe in which you plan to complete any projects.
Failing to present a business plan. It is to your advantage when you are applying for a loan to be able to show lenders a well-structured business plan that lays out all of your financial and operating data and shows the general trajectory of your business.
Not investing your own money. It is a good idea to have your own available cash on hand when applying for a commercial real estate loan, because commercial lenders want to see that you are willing and able to cover a percentage of the cost with your own investment.

Being aware of these steps could give you a better chance at procuring a loan!

If you are interested in office rental space in Kansas City, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Analyzing Your Needs When Renting Office Space in Kansas

An important early step in finding office rental space is analyzing the needs of your company. This can both help you narrow down your potential space options and prevent issues from arising later in your lease. There are a few factors that you might consider as you prepare yourself for your search for a commercial rental space:

Your business’s corporate objectives.
The importance of building attributes such as image, location, service, and amenities to your company.
What you would like to see in your lease terms and what price range you are willing to consider.
Any legal parameters.
The size of offices, open areas, and any warehousing areas.
The size of common use areas, including copy, break, conference, and storage rooms.
What kind technological amenities your business might need.

At this stage of the rental process, pre-determining the square footage your business is looking for based on your needs can also be helpful in narrowing down potential rental spaces. You might consider planning out in detail how your business will use a space. This involves looking at each component of the space and asking yourself detailed questions about how you want it to look. For instance, when you consider a reception area, you might think about whether you want a built-in desk, how many guest chairs you need, whether you want elevator exposure, etc. Determining all of your needs in detail can make later steps in the rental process go a little more smoothly.

Give one of Southcreek’s commercial realtors in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100 to ask about how we can work with you to determine if our office rental space in Kansas City meets your business’s needs!

3 Tips for Searching for Commercial Office Rental in Kansas City

In this economy, there are a lot of opportunities for businesses to search out good deals on office rental space. Here are a few tips to remember as you look for office spaces to rent:

Think small. A lot of landlords who were previously looking for bigger tenants are now looking to diversify and divide up large spaces for smaller tenants. This means that small businesses looking for rental space now have more options to choose from.
Consider the duration of your lease. Landlords are also becoming increasingly flexible about negotiating the duration of tenant’s leases, so tenants have a better chance of deciding how long they would like to stay. You might want to think about where your business is at as you negotiate your lease length—if you are a small start-up company, you might want to stick to just a few years, but if your company is thriving, you might want to take this opportunity to secure a longer lease.
Learn your market. Now is the time to see a lot of different spaces as you make your choice. You might also consider working with a broker to help with the nuances of finding a rental space, especially in this economy.

Being savvy about the current real estate economy could help you land an attractive deal on office rental space in Kansas City. If you would like to ask any questions about the size of spaces available or the duration of leases at Southcreek, give one of our commercial real estate brokers in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100!

3 Tips for Creating a Welcoming Kansas City Office Space

It is important to create a welcoming work environment both for your own employees and your clients. Here are three tips, or three “Fs” of office decorating to remember when trying to create an inviting space:

1.   Furniture. As odd as it might sound, strategic furniture placement when decorating a room can be traced back to the famous Chinese art of Fung Shui. The goal is to create a sense of “chi,” or energy flow, that contributes to a peaceful feeling in the room. Color schemes also can improve chi in a space.
2.   Frames. Visual pieces on the walls both leave an impression on a client and have to be seen by employees daily. The key is to not overdo frames, because that can create a sense of chaos, but a total lack of wall décor can make an office space seem bare and cold. It is important to achieve a balance between these by finding a suitable amount of decorations that work with a consistent color scheme.
3.   Filing. It may seem like a daunting project, but do not be afraid to leave behind the old filing cabinets and start using computers. Though this transfer might seem difficult at first, it is actually a time, stress, and money saver in the long run. Losing the paper will both free up space and increase your organization and accuracy. Be sure to back up your files on disks or memory sticks—a small shelf of these backups is a much more efficient use of space than a forest of filing cabinets.

Need to find some office rental space in Kansas City before you start worrying about decorating? Give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out how Southcreek Office Park can help you create your perfect office space.