Office space in New York City is not cheap.  Every city goer knows that.  This is why it can be particularly hard for new businesses and startups to stake their claim on a New York City office address.  This is why it can be extremely beneficial, dare I say it, a must, for New York City business to have a flexible office space.  Unless you are a well-funded or well-established business, the chances are that a flexible office space will work to your advantage.

Space is Costly

The main reason that a flexible office space is a must in New York City is simply the cost.  To rent an entire floor of a building is going to make your business’s operating margins extremely tight.  You have to cover payroll, another hefty price in New York City, on top of everything else that is going to go into your operating costs.

Office space in New York City is twice as much as the national average.  In New York City you can expect to pay around $49.98 per square foot.  The national average comes out to $23.23.  So a 100 square foot office in New York City could set you back $5,000 per month.  That is a 10 ft. by 10 ft. room for those of you who are not in a math mindset right now.  If that isn’t reason enough to check out flexible office spaces, maybe these next reasons will tip the scale.

rererearranging by Shreyans Bhansali, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Space is Limited

If you haven’t already heard, space is a little tight in New York City, or as many New Yorkers like to say “efficient”.  However, that is a great way to assess the space situation.  Shouldn’t you be running your business as efficiently as possible?  Your desk does not need to be a behemoth, mahogany desk that you can comfortably lay across.  Flexible offices take full advantage of the limited space offered, giving you the most efficient workspace imaginable.

Your team does not need to be filed into their own little cubicles.  Down with the space constraining walls and barriers and in with the open floor plans with shared desks!  Your goal should be to maximize the limited space afforded to you and fill it with brilliant work.

Your Business Fluctuates and so Do Your Needs

Another great reason to opt for a flexible space is due to your business’s fluctuating needs.  Businesses that are just getting started are going to have their ebbs and flows.  There may be some years you expand and others you have to cut back a little.  Having foresight to rent a flexible office space will allow you to continually adjust your actual space to meet your spatial needs.

Flexible office spaces can accommodate your business whether you add 10 new employees or have to cut back on 5.  There really are no limitations.  Maybe you don’t need a full-time conference room and just want to use a shared one.  That way you aren’t paying full time for square footage that you are not using full time.

Flex Scheduling

Another very useful reason for opting for a flexible office space in New York City, is flex scheduling.  Flex scheduling is allowing your company’s employees to work outside the normal work hours.  This could mean that they work nights, stagger their start and end time by an hour, or even work from home part of the week.

Flex scheduling is becoming increasingly more common in businesses today because it helps to improve overall employee satisfaction, productivity, retention, and attracts the best talent.  Flex scheduling just makes sense in today’s world with all of the communication abilities that we have.  It has become less essential to have employees in the office because that same work can be done elsewhere.

A lot of startup companies and new businesses have adopted flex scheduling.  Maybe your company has already adopted it or is at least considering it.  Knowing what you do about flex scheduling, it might not make sense to rent out a large, permanent space for your employees to work from.  The space may be half empty for parts of the day or it may be scarcely used at all.  You might even be able to schedule alternating shifts so that your can provide customer service around the clock.  That way, you are taking full advantage of the flexible space you rented.

Flex scheduling has created a much stronger need for a flexible office.  Today’s business owners understand the value of paying for what they need as opposed to paying for what is offered.

Andrew Fujii is a marketing professional with expertise in digital/web and content marketing.  He is also a copywriter for multiple agencies and contributes to the TechSpace blog.