AllisonTodd – SiMar

Top Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

Allison Todd — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 10:00:06 +0000

Are you starting your business as a first-time entrepreneur? If so, here are some top tips to get started. Be warned, it’s work. As an entrepreneur, starting out, who can’t use a few tips to get ahead, right? First tip, make the most of your opportunities. The best opportunities will have measurable success. That success includes things that generate more traffic, increase leads, and maximize conversions.

Here are some top tips to consider when you are starting your business:

Dear First-Time Entrepreneur

Allison Todd, Operations & Digital Growth Strategist, explains that in order for first-timers to create a successful business they need to a plan for success. That plan includes these top to dos: (a) fine-tune the business plan, (b) assess the finances, (c) complete the business legal paperwork and (d) schedule some “pick your brain” sessions with the experts. Oh and be sure to choose the best tools and systems to boost your business marketing strategies.

Identify What Makes Your Business Stand Out

Before you start all of your business planning, take some time to think about the business as a whole. Think about what sets your business apart from others. For instance, if you are planning to launch a coaching business, there are tons of coaches. How will your business stand out. The foundation of your business plan is your unique selling proposition. So, what’s yours? Your customers will remember how you differentiate from your market competition? It’s essential.

Describe the Business and Business Model

Once you have discovered your unique selling proposition, you will have a good understanding of your business niche. It’s important that you be able to share what your business is, how it serves its clients and what makes your business different from the rest. As you build your business, you will speak to many people. Prepare yourself to be able to articulate your niche in various ways. This includes a proper business description and a business summary. The business summary will include both short-term & long-term business goals, the business structure, the business marketplace and more. With all of your planning, continuously analyze your business model.

Analyze the Market Conditions

The business market dictates your business success. When testing your business idea, ask yourself if your business has a place in the market. Identify your target market and the the target audience. Get specific and outline your ideal customer. Why will your customers buy products and services from your business? Be detailed. Describe this person in detail and identify their pain points. Once you understand the market, create your action plan. Your action plan is the strategy. Define the steps that illustrate how to reach your target market, connect with your target market and convert.

First Time Entrepreneur Teams & Their Roles

Part of a good business plan is knowing what type of business team you need. You should be able to identify when it is time to build or grow your team. The business growth and business income are good indicators. The secret to this is having an understanding of your finances. Outline your business team to include the roles and responsibilities. Who will be responsible for what aspects of your business? How will responsibilities and tasks be assigned to each team or each person? How will you manage those people and their tasks. Allison shares, “Knowing what you need in advance will ensure you identify when you need it while growing your business.”

Starting a new business can be overwhelming, with or without a plan. Contact SiMar to learn more about the business services that support your needs. You are creating business steps while building, executing, managing and growing. Understand that it’s not easy, but it’s definitely worth it! You will learn as you go and that’s ok. By all means, keep going. Make sure you ask for help when you need it. With a few simple tips & strategies, you can look forward to starting a growing new business.

For more tips and techniques, join our business community at position2profit.com.

Has Your Business Productivity Taken a Dive and Sales Prospects Gone Stale?

Allison Todd — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 01:25:16 +0000

Has your business productivity taken a dive and sales prospects gone stale? Are business sales inconsistent and slow? It may be time to upgrade your sales prospecting system. There are tons of opportunities out there. But you must go after them. Sales boils down to time and numbers. For a business to thrive with growing revenue, it must invest the the time to convert leads. The best way to begin is with a strong sales prospecting strategy.

Sales Prospecting at A Glance

But what is sales prospecting and how does it relate to business productivity? Sales prospecting is the process of searching for your next customer in order to create a business relationship. To begin the process, a business team member will conduct outreach in the form of calls and emails to convert leads. Leads are often converted to loyal followers or ambassadors to the business. It’s a great way to nurture leads with interest in your product, service or brand.

The sales aspect in a business, requires varying strategies to achieve the goal. Unlike other processes, sales prospecting takes a deep dive into the customer’s journey and identifies winning customer personas. For these reasons, outbound prospecting and inbound prospecting includes face-to-face, email, call, letter or a digital experience. Advance technology like instant messaging is also a key performers medium to achieve prospecting results.

Sales Prospecting Funnel

A good sales prospecting process works like a funnel. It begins with a ton of information that you narrow done to the relevant facts and take action. This includes identifying leads and opportunities that qualify the buyer’s experience. buying preference, diverse behavior, market movement, demographics, needs and wants, and other aspects that dictate the customer’s buyer experience. All of this leads to sifts positive leads, financial capabilities and pertinent information affecting purchasing power of customers.

Many believe that the end-game of sales prospecting is converting customers. However, a closer look will tell entrepreneurs, and their teams, that the Internet negates such assumptions. With the evolving market today, sales prospecting no longer stops at acquiring new customers or clients but focuses more on creating personalized, flexible and sustainable relationships. And like a proverbial movement in a funnel, it can be painstakingly slow. However, the time investment will prove to increase business productivity.

Addressing Sales Concerns

How do you ensure you have an effective sales prospecting process? Amid competition, business development must include the art of diplomacy and compromise. Negotiations are built upon the two. One does not have to focus so much on increasing the bottom line but more so on instilling mutual trust and respect. To do this, you have to cultivate strong core values in the company, sharp analysis of market movement, and robust relationship with both internal and external stakeholders of the company. Proposals to be done must be dynamic allowing ample time to integrate a customized approach in addressing needs and wants. Bottom line is, sales prospecting is all about consistency and constancy in applying strategic mindset– and a dash of optimism to motivate and inspire. With this, your business can be one step ahead of everyone else.

Do you need help increasing your business sales and business productivity? SiMar Inc., Atlanta’s premier business consultancy and digital marketing firm, offers comprehensive services to address unique business needs. Schedule for a consultation now!

Know the Signs: 7 Ways To Drown Your Success with Insecurity

Allison Todd — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 23:14:28 +0000

Insecurity leads to more insecurity. As long as you have a choice, there are options. Choose to make the best decisions for your business with confidence. Stay focused and move forward. In the meantime, here’s 7 Ways To Drown Your Success with Insecurity. And I hope you tackle each and every way.

One of the silent killers in business and life is insecurity. It’s an emotional aspect that molds self-image and influences human behavior. Some people, indeed, feel insecure in their own skin. As entrepreneurs or employees, insecurity can easily be hidden behind huge smiles and large cloaks of anonymity. However, such underlying hurtful and self-critical thoughts will continue to create more thoughts and emotion. Even if you know it’s coming, you want to do all you can to manage it. Don’t let insecurity drown your success.

Here are some common signs of insecurity:

You change your mind a lot. If you find yourself unable to figure out what you really want thus, your goals and objectives continually fluctuate like the market interest rate, you change your mind a lot. One moment, you are all for re-branding and the next moment, you want to stick to current strategies. It’s a dilemma that breeds disaster.
Decision-making is a constant struggle. Is everything a challenge from deciding what to eat to major business decisions? Do you find it hard to take a stand? Better yet, if you consult friends and colleagues over and over again but still don’t trust their opinions and can’t make a decision on your own, then decision making is a constant struggle.
Validation from others comes highly regarded. You want every action, every decision, or even the way you dress, move, or speak to be acceptable to others. You scream for approval in everything you do.
You have the tendency to be over-controlling and demanding. Do you know someone who takes offense when others do not share their ideas or methods–and they take it as a personal attack? If constructive criticism is not in their vocabulary, controlling may be a part of their personality.

More signs of insecurity:

People who are insecure constantly talk about themselves. They sing praises not to impress others but more to appease their own insatiable desire for approval. This is also part of the reason why they have a hard time recognizing the efforts or worth of others–because they are too busy talking and thinking about themselves.
Being defensive is like a reflex. You easily take offense, even on things that do not matter. As previously mentioned, criticism is not your cup of tea.
An insecure person finds it easy to pick on another person’s faults. This is either to hide an inner affliction or a way to feel a superficial superiority. Often, these acts are done by either starting or spreading gossip.

This is serious business. Read more on this topic: How Self Esteem Shape Up Life and Business Decisions

Next Steps & Solutions

It is important to know where your insecurities stem from and the influence it has on your life. A business coach is an optimum choice when one’s insecurities become so intense that it prevents progress. One way to divorce your insecurities is to start by accepting that you have strengths and you have weaknesses, we all do.

The process is not going to be easy because it is really a struggle within your own self. The moment you start poking on those critical inner voices, expect screams of retaliation in return. Push your hardest and do not back down! If you want to be successful in your business or personal goals, do not listen to the taunts that entice you to hold back on your greatness!

Want to break the walls of insecurity and create bridges of confidence? A coach or mentor is your solution. SiMar Inc. founder Allison Todd is a professional coach who develops high performance capabilities in people. Schedule a consultation now!

Correlating Rapport Building and First Impression

Allison Todd — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 20:18:31 +0000

For many young people, socialization can be such an easy thing to do—online. Social media allows millennials to easily reach out to others. The same interests can draw them together and regardless of familiarity, will often allow them to interact freely. Anonymity is another factor that allows them just that. But bringing that into actual conversations, presentations or business dealings is somewhat of a challenge. Building rapport, or harmonious understanding, is the first step to a successful interpersonal relationship and this requires time. By knowing how to create that killer first impression and then, consistently building up such connection will do the trick.

First Impression Lasts

Millennials or not, first meetings can bring out anxiety in anyone. There is simply nothing more unnerving than being sized up by the other party. It is also but natural to want to be liked and be given the amount of attention and respect. But the need to create a killer first impression is the first step in building rapport, a salient aspect in excellent interpersonal skills.

People naturally feel intimidated or unsettled when being entrusted into an unfamiliar environment. But confidence and optimism will help you overcome situations like this. But while many millennials are touted to be oozing with confidence, building rapport still needs consistency and constant practice way beyond the ease of first meet-ups. To build rapport, certain skills set like verbal and nonverbal, motivational, active listening, sense of humor, and empathy must be utilized.

Rapport Building Behaviors

Building rapport is the very process that turns a killer first impression into a lasting one. This is where trust and mutual respect usually comes in. To start, here are some important behaviors to consider:

Be sincere when you meet people for the first time. When you are sincere, your smile is usually brighter, your handgrip tighter, and your warmth can be felt by the other person or the other group.

It is recommended to talk on a first name basis to build rapport but be wary of cultural differences. Japanese, for instance, prefer last name basis for formal talks.

Make good use of easily understood terms so you will not sound condescending. Using jargon not familiar to the other party can easily turn a conversation to a bumpy start.

When talking, try to keep eye contact and let your nonverbal cues mimic what you are saying. Lean towards the person you are talking to. Keep your hands open and your legs uncrossed. A relaxed manner will help the other party feel welcomed. It also makes you feel more relaxed.

Practice empathetic listening by being attentive. Nod every now and then or make appropriate sounds and gestures. Ask questions to make the other party know that you are listening.

Clarify any confusion or unclear matters. This will prevent misunderstanding. When in agreement, always openly say so to motivate the other party and build trust. When you disagree, however, always give the reason why.

Be genuine and be honest. It is best to admit a mistake or acknowledge some points that you have no idea of. This helps to build trust.

Don’t forget to offer compliment and maintain politeness all throughout.

Building rapport by starting strong on your first impression can be tricky. Experts believe that first impressions carry a huge weight in dealing with other people. While it may be true, it still takes a lot of consistency and constant communication to tighten such rapport. Practice and mentorship will help largely on this aspect. When done accordingly, you can guarantee building lasting relations with everyone else—and often to your advantage.

How to Effectively Deal With Complex Situations

Allison Todd — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 12:15:45 +0000

Your store’s suppliers do not deliver goods as planned. An employee fails to meet the deadline for a much-needed project. Your business partner is doing things without consulting you. A manager suddenly calls in sick and no one is available to handle her post but you, who also happen to have another commitment. Day in and day out, complex situations can happen to you, your work or your business. It is going to be tough and frustrating. Yes, it can sometimes get the best out of people. But do you know that there are ways to help effectively deal with such complex situations?

Work It Out

Health experts often reveal that exercise prevent frustrations from building up. It encourages mental clarity, release endorphin, and deliver needed energy to last throughout the day. While it is almost a daily occurrence for problems and challenges to take place in your office, store, or in your life, you can engage in an early morning workout like a jog around the block or a 30-minute run on the treadmill can be of great help. Yoga or Pilates is also an excellent choice of workout as both can strengthen the muscles, release positive, and enhance mental clarity. Don’t have time? Walk or bike to commute for work or business.

Feel the Outdoors

People often overthink when dealing with a difficult situation. Things can get overwhelming that it often gets the worst out of their character. Do not go down that slippery slope. Once you put yourself in the midst of it all, you tend to go down faster than you can handle. Try to pause, if not, step back and see the whole thing from another perspective. One way of doing so is to get out and rest your mind. Some topnotch entrepreneurs go for long walks or visit a nearby spa for an hour of full body massage. This helps revive the mind and let’s get a glance from an outside perspective. Often, being too engrossed in your work or business will make your imagination well run dry. Get some fresh air. Once you get back, you’ll be amazed at the results.

Act On It

Too much analysis can be draining. It just does not help to feel that no matter what you do, it will not simply matter. The complex situation will still persist. It will drive you to think negative thoughts about your co-workers or your employees, your business partners, or yourself. So, why not gain full control of yourself. Accountability matters when problems start to rise. Too much finger-pointing leads to nowhere. Acknowledge there is a problem. Work out a solution. Then, delegate accordingly. The best way to address a problem is not just in finding solutions but also in ensuring that such will be applied accordingly.

When it comes to dealing with complex situations, two things usually come into play—emotion and change. Problems, uncertainties, and changes are often considered negative. By simply curving such fixed mindset into a growth mindset, you can easily see the opportunities lurking behind. Gain back control on your thoughts and actions, and spread positivity to everyone. When this happens, you can guarantee turning any complex situation into an opportunity for growth.

Health Care and Small Business: Striking the Best Deal

Allison Todd — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 09:13:53 +0000

Without a doubt, health insurance is an important must-have for everyone. It is, however, expensive leading many businesses to outsource their office needs. While some companies provide coverage with a percentage of the premiums being shouldered by employees, there are also those who simply let them acquire their own policies via the Affordable Care Act. So, how to find one that will best suit your workforce without spelling trouble for your money bag?

Learn the difference between group and individual coverage. Group plans, often considered the most affordable, relies on the precepts of “uniformity”. This means coverage therein is generic and applicable to all group members. Individual insurance plans though a little steeper are more specified. Price of coverage relies mostly on the insurers pre-existing conditions and risks.

Consider enrolling your business for a Health Reimbursement Plant (HRP) or Health Savings Account (HSA). The former is a 100 percent employer-funded account can be set-up to finance medical costs of employees and are virtually tax-refundable. The latter can be funded by both taxpayer and employer. There are certain stipulations on HSA plans as mandated by the IRS though. So make sure to check that, too.

Seek out the assistance of a health insurance broker. When you don’t have the time or any inkling whatsoever with regards to certain stipulations, a reliable health insurance broker can save the day. They are more adept in the ins and outs of the healthcare business allowing you more insights to the whole arrangement.

If you qualify for SHOP or Small Business Health Options, finding the best group plans for your workforce can be easier. Simply enroll your business and enjoy the perks of finding the best assistance in finding appropriate health care program for your company.

Be aware of tax credits. Small businesses with less than 25 full time workers paid on an average of $50k annually and have an outstanding healthcare coverage and share of 50 percent or more of the premium cost is eligible for tax credit.

Consider brainstorming with employees. When you have 20 or less employees, the group insurance route may be the least productive choice. Try pushing for self-insured plans with option of providing additional compensation for employees as an add-on. This will tell your workforce about your sincerity and goodwill in ensuring their health and well-being.

Be informed of tax laws and subsequent updates on healthcare. In case of group insurance, make sure to have a review with the healthcare provider on an annual basis to see how it addresses health concerns of employees particularly hospitalization. Check also for any changes on laws and other important aspects that require legal action.

In all these, it is important to note that keeping your employees well and healthy guarantees more productive results. Employees who are well-protected often deliver more benefits to the company. So whether you offer a group coverage or push for personal healthcare plans with add-on compensation, knowing that your wards are covered definitely means good business.

Understanding the Impact of Customer Behavior to Business

Allison Todd — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 20:09:44 +0000

Customers make the world of business go round. If you are an entrepreneur, much of your focus usually points to that of keeping them happy, contented, and loyal to your products, services, or brand. If they need the moon, you will very much pick it from the sky and deliver it to their doorsteps. Truly, your customers’ happiness and satisfaction come first and foremost.

In Their Shoes

Today, however, it is wise to accept the truth that customer loyalty is a highly volatile aspect of business. Markets, with the aid of technological and Internet advancements, have become so customer-centric leading to business to be always on their toes to prevent using costly means to keep them satisfied. Be reminded that loyal customers are automatically considered brand advocates. Their “word of mouth” recommendations are often, preferred due to high trust ratings noting the fact that their feedback emanate from actual experience.

This is why many companies, big or small, engage in market research. Such efforts help to point specifically where target markets thrive. Studies are also being done internally via social media interaction to put your own selves in their shoes, that is, to look at your products or services via the customers’ lens. After all, customer behavior is best understood from within.

Understanding Customer Behavior

While market research may seem the best approach, it still has holes that need to be looked at—closely. You need to be in the very position that will help convert customers to make purchase decision and be able to share such decision to others. This is why the need to understand customer behavior at a much closer vantage point helps to strengthen your clout on the future of your product, service, brand or company as a whole.

To do that, here are some important clues to follow:

1. Observe carefully customers behavior on your own website. People rely mostly on the Internet to search for products or services and often, they leave traces behind like where they usually go, the amount of time they usually allot for such, and the keywords and phrases they often use to search for you. Some website analytics also offer insights on how well your website perform in terms of traffic and conversion, and other factors which you may deem pivotal to the purchasing power of your customers. All these will help point strengths of the business and the weaknesses for you to immediately patch up.

2. Social media is another important route to gather salient points on customer behavior. Crowdsourcing, for instance, is some form of behavioral targeting that allows businesses to take a closer glimpse to what the customer deep down wants. Some agencies and consultancy firm also make use of social media to gather behavioral data.

3. Carefully identify customer types and pursue each of them accordingly. This is going to be tedious but, when done appropriately, can mean the world to your business. Focusing your efforts on customer types that appeal more to the business will help point you to the right direction.

4. Make good use of the “mystery shopper” approach. Be a customer yourself and see for yourself how your business truly deals customers on the level. This helps to gain complete knowledge on how the purchasing and feedback process run.

5. You may also try to get into the recordings of customer care and assistance to verify if policies are followed. Sometimes, the problem is not in your product or service offerings but in your customer support.

Customer behavior is everything to a business. No matter how good a product, service or brand, if your efforts are not aligned with that of your customers, everything is for nothing. With these pointers, you can finally analyze customer behavior and craft ways to satisfy their needs.

Social Talks To Strengthen Brand Building

Allison Todd — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 20:59:58 +0000

While it was continually being broadcasted that today’s consumers spend more than 8 hours on digital content, many businesses today still settle on the half-truths of self-promotion. Truly, there is some sort of dissonance between marketers and businesses as solidifying relationship with one’s customers is still as arduous and discombobulating.

Simply put, many businesses do not “talk” to their customers. Many failed (and are continually failing) to learn from their audience, more so listen to them at their level. There are some however, who have learned to leverage actual feedback from consumers—and these are some of the important points they shared:

1. Learn where your customers thrive. Where do they spend time online? What and who are they following on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms? What products and services appeal to them? What posts and other content pique their interest or keep them interested? Starting a conversation with your own audience and seek out these information. The more you learn about customer intricacies, the more effective engagements will be.

2. Engage in active listening. Often, the best conversations start when you engage customers to tell you their thoughts and views. Put yourself in their shoes, would you not feel important when a company asks for your inputs? Let your on-boarding initiative be customer-centric. The moment you open your ears to their concerns and views, the more you can make them work to your business’ advantage.

3. Ask customers the reason for either liking or disliking your product, service or brand. Real insights always come from real-time feedback, from real people buying your brand. Talk to them directly and infuse the reasons behind their actions. Through that, you can gain more traction on your social media growth strategy.

4. Know what your customer needs. Even with good intentions in mind, what your own perception of what the customer needs may actually be not aligned with their views. So, consider asking them what specific improvements and other quirkiness they need. When you put those commendable points, you can immediately turn customers into brand ambassadors.

5. Engage your customers. Crowd-sourcing is the trend these days. So are the use of beta testing, round-table live discussions, hashtag conversation, and hangouts. Involve them in the process. Valuing your customers’ thoughts and opinions, particularly when crafting new products or business solutions, often boomerang in a positive way.

6. Learn your audience’s lingo. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own industry’s jargon forgetting the fact that our customers may actually have their own language. Pay close attention to that. Often, miscommunication can put your brand-building efforts on digital media astray leading to its failure.

7. Don’t forget to give thanks to those who continually embrace your brand. Sincerity is a powerful thing. When they do not, it is also essential to ask the reason behind. Be open-minded and accept both positive and negative criticisms. In both instances, always show gratitude as both encourage growth to your brand.

Customers are, indeed, shaping up the minutiae of brand-building. Talk to your customers in a language they can understand. Dissect what they deep down need. Connect with them and be sincere at that. In doing so, you can finally strengthen your social brand and make big with your goals in mind.

Understanding the Intricacies of Modern Brand Management

Allison Todd — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:50:47 +0000

Believe it or not, there is a huge truth in the adage “You are who Google says you are.” in business. When people searched for products or services, they immediately make good use of their smartphones, computers and tablets to seek out Google’s search capabilities. Even searching on complaints and controversies which your brand may be embroiled in as far as the 90s can be easily done via online search.

This only means that your online presence speaks volume about your brand. Your website to your social media profiles, status messages, tweets, pictures, articles, and other stuffs posted online is a reflection of what your business represents, and its culture. While the Internet revolutionizes various aspects of business, this makes branding management even more challenging and arduous in this day and age. To give you competitive advantage, here are some ways to manage your brand without fail:

1. Begin brand-building with your profile in mind. Make your company profile—from account name to photo to cover image—deliver the very imagery that represents who you are, what you stand for, and what you wish to achieve. Be straight to the point in the “About” section. Let your brand ambassadors like employees handling customer service or admin of the page mirror the values of your brand.

2. Steer clear of controversial brand ambassadors. Yes, in this day and age when information overload is notoriously easy, the use of questionable entities will cause more harm than good to your business image. Whether employees or endorsers, it is important to ensure that impression given out must be always on the positive.

3. Policies must be in place particularly in the use of apps. This is to protect private and sensitive information of the business. Part of the policy must be proper venue of the download, data protection, and so on. If you may, consider blocking of free apps to prevent leakage of critical information.

4. Gear your digital team against online trolling. Cyber-bullying is also notorious online striking both individual and business pages. One wrong tweet, like political or sensational topic, can easily blow out of proportion leading to heavy trolling or posting of offensive comments. Do make sure appropriate action plan is in place to handle such situations.

5. Set clear social media guidelines for your team. This will help give your employees or brand ambassadors a clear mandate on what photos, posts, links, and messages to post. It will also help create standard form of replying to comments or reacting to negative comments. Make sure to discuss each item at length with your team to prevent double standards.

6. Be relevant and effective. Share content which are not only significant to your brand but also those that are timely. Keep social media profiles up-to-date and in-sync, too.

7. In everything else, be consistent. In the world of brand building and management, consistency is still the key to gaining the respect of online audience. It also helps to draw in more followers when you give up to date information, organize contests, give freebies, beta testers, and so on.

With the rate this whole Internet and tech-gadget dependency is going, your online reputation definitely precedes the overall aspects of your business. Keep your audience enthralled. Poke on their excitement and curiosity. By keeping them engaged, you may also turn them into your own set of brand ambassadors, like reliable word-of-mouth campaigners on the digital level.

Rent or Buy: The Office Space Debacle Continues

Allison Todd — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 20:45:39 +0000

Unless you are well ensconced in your garage or extra office space at home, one of the most challenging concern growing businesses has to contend with lies on whether to buy or rent an office space. For small business owners, the idea of either leasing a space or buying an official headquarters can be perplexing. There are just too many factors to consider vis-à-vis the long term goals and financial sustainability of the company. To give you an idea, here are some of the notable pros and cons between buying vs. leasing debacle that continue to puzzle even the most seasoned of business minds.

Why Buy?

While it is easy to choose buying a house over leasing one, it cannot be said the same to an office space. For one, you need to understand that this means lack of flexibility in your current space. Your business will be “tied-up” to the current location making it harder to expand when the need requires so at a later time. Of course, this also entails coughing off a big chunk off your capital for the down payment, improvement, and maintenance costs.

However, buying also comes with astounding perks. For one, it allows you to have a clearer perspective on your fixed costs. Keep in mind that office rental usually increases year after year. Mortgage interest and property taxes also provide hefty tax deductions thereby, increasing your “income” potential. Take note also that real property rarely depreciates allowing you to have a solid investment for the future or as a retirement fund.

Why Rent?

Many startup businesses and small-scale entities prefer leasing or renting an office space over buying to give them more flexibility. Not only does renting allow them to be flexible in terms of image and location, renting also allows them to covet prime property in a more affordable way. Basically, one does not have to shell out huge capital investments that only get tied up to idle asset like an office space. Subsequently, this also allows them to simply let the business grow first and then, be able to move from one prime location to another as they thrive.

But while the option may seem perfect for up and starting businesses, leasing also have notable disadvantages. Remember that lease increases annually and if your business does not take-off as planned, such cost may be too much of a burden. Leasing does not also assure you long-term hold on a strategic location. Often, some landlords tend to toughen their agreement once they see potential in their property.

The Verdict

So, should you lease or should you buy an office space? Again, it all depends on your long-term goals as a business entity. Often, one’s decision will involve not just strategic location but also tax, financial, and personal reasons. Do take note that the surge of rent-to-own office spaces is fast becoming the trend these days. With the help of a financial planner and broker, finding the best deal may give you the win-win situation you want.