A business center rents out fully equipped offices and conference rooms. As a rule, both individual workstations and team offices are offered, and it is now also often possible to share rooms – so-called co-working. The possible times of use vary between one hour and several years.
If you have an important business appointment but no representative office space on site, you can also rent rooms to hold conferences, meetings or customer presentations. The advantage: The guests are professionally received by Business Center staff, and the environment is more individual and “businesslike” than in a hotel, for example.
What are you thinking? Would you rather go to a hotel or business center for a conference? Write me how you see it and why.
Most business or office centers also offer the use of their business address. Perhaps you know this service under the term Virtual Office. It allows founders, sole proprietors or start-ups to use the – ideally first-class – address of the center for their external appearance, for example on the website or for business correspondence. The business address service is also a good solution for established companies that want to be located close to their customers at a reasonable price or for home office users who do not want to communicate their private address to the outside world. Mail and parcels from customers who use this service are accepted in the Business Center and, if desired, securely stored or forwarded until they are picked up.
The service catalogue of most providers also includes a professional telephone service. Employees of the Business Center answer calls and then report with the customer’s company name. In my experience, this leaves a more professional impression during absences due to business travel or illness than simply landing on a mailbox or possibly not reaching anyone at all. The employees of the Business Center can also take care of secretarial tasks such as paperwork, phone calls or travel bookings.
Clearly, the more attractive the location of a business center, the better it will be for customers. But not everyone understands an attractive location to mean the same thing: if some want to get to the airport or train station as quickly as possible, others need to have the most important customers or the widest possible choice of restaurants on their doorstep. Ideally, the location of a business center should kill several birds with one stone: a renowned address, central connections and an optimal environment even during lunch breaks or in the evening.
For many young and smaller companies, but also for the self-employed and freelancers, it is also important to be able to react as quickly as possible to changing conditions such as declining orders or increased demand – and to be able to expand, reduce or terminate their office workplaces at short notice if necessary. Because long contract terms are then counterproductive, service-oriented business centers rely on flexible terms, offer different room sizes and inexpensive entry models (such as the use of a conference room from one hour). In contrast to renting an office through a broker, the brokerage fee is not charged in a business center. Especially in times of strong demand, it is also important for many business customers to be able to use the rented premises in the evening, at weekends or on public holidays. That’s why offices in business centers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Feel free to write us what services you are looking for or what you think makes a good Business Center…
The equipment separates the wheat from the chaff quickly. While some facilities are deterred by worn carpets, loveless offices and outdated technology, well-managed business centres rely on an inviting working atmosphere, maximum functionality and contemporary furnishing.
Anyone looking for a suitable supplier should look out for height-adjustable desks and bar tables in individual and team offices, as well as a conference table in each room. I also think it is important that the office chairs meet ergonomic requirements. Well-equipped centres not only offer a first-class, state-of-the-art technical infrastructure, but also, for example, a shower for refreshment in between. So if you want to get off to a good start and jog to work or ride your bike, there’s no excuse: you can also freshen up and change in the Business Center.
Which equipment detail did you particularly like or miss during the last use of a Business Center? I would be delighted if you could tell me about your experiences …
As you can imagine, there are quite different price models. This also has to do with the respective city and location. In any case, it is important that the costs are transparent.
At the three CS Business Center locations in Hamburg, a business address can be used from 79 euros a month. The use of the telephone service with local telephone number and own extension as well as professional reception of all incoming calls is available from 89 Euros. If one combines both achievements, 129 euro result. Whoever wants to use a business address, telephone service and 5 days a month a modern and attractively designed individual office in an absolute top location pays 379 euros. The prices for single, team, daily and boss offices vary according to size, situation within the center, useful life and contract duration. Maximum flexibility and full transparency are our top priority.
The best thing is to get a few offers and compare the prices yourself. Click here for the inquiry form for our Business Centers in Hamburg.
In my experience, the biggest differences between the various providers are in terms of service. It starts with the inspection and trial use, continues with the drafting of contracts and customer friendliness in everyday work, and ends with situations in which something does not work, such as technical problems. It’s nice not to spend hours “starving to death” in hotlines and impersonal waiting loops, but to have a local contact who knows how to solve the problem most quickly.
But service also means that you only have to pay for what you use, and of course that the infrastructure is optimally organised: from coffee machines that are always ready for use to printers with single-sheet billing and perfect conference rooms or catering services.
Perhaps you are now wondering whether you are also a “candidate” for a business center as a sole proprietor, freelancer, home office worker or start-up founder because you want to avoid long-term leases with high costs and would like to remain flexible.
Then I can only recommend that you give yourself an impression and get individual advice. Real service-oriented providers will make you a suitable offer and make a sample use possible – then you know immediately what to think of the service there.
The question of who is eligible to use a Business Center and when it really makes sense is also the focus of the next blog post, which will be published in September.
Until then, good luck at work.
With kind regards
Your Christian Schmidt
