The Long-Term Effects of Space Sharing

If you’re familiar with space sharing, then you’re probably familiar with the immediate benefits, like higher revenue for space providers or a flexible lease for space renters. What makes space sharing an even better idea than what you had first thought is the fact that there are long-term benefits—not just immediate benefits.

If at first, you weren’t totally convinced that shared commercial space is the way to go, then keep reading, because the long-term effects might just be what convinces you that this is the best idea for your business.

Finance

If you’re a space provider that has decided to share your underutilized space, then you know how awesome it is to have part (or even ALL) of your overhead covered. In the beginning, the extra revenue probably helped out with debts and other business endeavors. But as you begin to settle in and become even more financially stable, think about what you can do with that extra income. A few ideas include opening a second location, hiring and expanding, investing, or even saving it for something big that you aren’t ready to name yet.

As a space renter, you’re probably working on getting your feet under you financially. Like providers, you might need to pay off debts or continue to build before committing to a financial lease that locks you in. Once you’ve got your feet under you, there’s no rush to sign that lease just yet. If you continue to rent flexible space, then the immediate effects become long-term, saving you money for even longer. Consider sharing space to not only work off any debts, but to save for a future lease and other future projects, so that when the time comes, you’re absolutely ready.

Stability

For space providers, stability isn’t the most distinct benefit of space sharing, but it’s definitely an awesome perk. The more financially comfortable you are as a business owner, the more you are able to take risks and expand without the risks outweighing the potential. This is big for providers. By being financially stable, you have the ability to treat employees even better, as well as creating bigger impacts all around, making your entire company more stable as a whole. This leads to longevity you probably weren’t expecting to come from space sharing.

Space renters—stability might be your biggest benefit. Signing a long-term commercial lease is an awesome but scary experience that has the potential to pummel your business endeavors. It’s not the right step for every business owner, especially in the beginning stages of development. It’s more important to do the intelligent thing, than what you think you have to do, i.e. signing a lease before you are financially ready. You don’t have to lock yourself into a five-year lease to take the next big step. By space sharing, you are making a huge leap with your business but with a giant cushion underneath you. As far as stability goes, space sharing is one of the smartest options out there.

Experience

As a business owner, every situation you go into gives you experience. Space sharing isn’t any different. Both renters and providers have the ability to enhance their communication skills, network in their city, build meaningful relationships with growing businesses and learn how to deal with situations that they may not teach you about when you get your MBA.

As a business owner, your successes depend on how you adapt and embrace changes and experiences. These experiences will enrich your life as a business owner and have lasting impacts on your personal and professional life. When you’re in the actual process of space sharing, you probably won’t be thinking long-term. But just like any other life endeavor, the long-term benefits of experience will be there to guide you in the future.

Sustainability

The last long-term benefit we want to mention is sustainability. It’s probably not at the forefront of your mind, especially as you make decisions to help your business financially, but it’s an important benefit worth mentioning!

Have you ever thought about what happens to empty or abandoned buildings? In the best case scenario, they are converted into something cool, like a series of unique shops, meant to enhance the city and attract consumers. But what happens to the rest of the buildings that don’t get that kind of TLC? Unfortunately, nothing happens to them. They sit and waste away, bringing down the value of the area they are in. This happens because new buildings are erected with the hopes and dreams of creating something long-lasting and interesting, but this doesn’t always work out.

So, what if we changed up the game a little bit? What if business owners who were looking to be in a certain part of the city decided to get creative and utilize what’s already there instead of erecting more buildings? We don’t have a not-enough-space problem for businesses; we have an underutilization problem.

By embracing shared commercial space, you’re not only helping your own company’s stability and finances, but you’re becoming part of the solution to a much broader problem. Utilizing space effectively moves toward the kind of sustainability that could revolutionize the way cities do business.

Before you go

Space sharing has immediate effects like increasing revenue and slicing rent considerably for renters and providers alike, but by now you’ve seen those effects reach further than just the foreseeable future. By saving money now, you’re able to invest where you want and need to, giving your business the stability it needs to thrive. Between the financial benefits, gained experience, and effects on the community, the long-term effects of space sharing are incredible.

Growing your organization with space sharing is possible. Whether you need flexible space or want to share existing space—SpaceTogether exits to simplify the space sharing process from beginning to end. Learn more here to see if your organization is a good fit.