by Brianna Crandall — August 18, 2014—CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company and a national provider of transition services, and iCORE Global, a full-service commercial real estate provider, recently announced top tips for start-ups and entrepreneurs to conserve revenue through their facilities choices and in other areas.
While start-up companies have immense opportunity, they must work to minimize overhead investments to ensure revenue and investments can be reinvested in the company, notes CORT. The company adds that these top tips, listed below, do not just apply to start-ups in their preliminary phases; any company experiencing growth has many of the same challenges as small start-ups.
1. Plan ahead for real estate — Real estate is a daunting consideration for start-ups and a very complicated and strategic investment overall. Look for a commercial real estate provider who is focused on your long-term growth, not just selling space. By planning real estate and space layout early on, start-ups can ensure their real estate strategy is a competitive advantage rather than disadvantage. Flexibility is another key consideration. Keeping space flexible enables a company to grow or relocate with ease.
2. Lean on partners and fellow entrepreneurs — Starting a business can be overwhelming, but many people have been in your shoes before. Consider attending meet-ups with other local start-ups or even reaching out to an entrepreneur you admire. In addition to entrepreneur partners, consider everyone you do business with as a partner, particularly as you are selecting a commercial real estate partner. One piece of poor advice can severely damage a start-up, so ensure everyone you do business with truly cares about your company’s success.
3. Be frugal — This sounds simple, but keeping costs at a minimum can be a challenge with all of the expenses that arise when starting a business. Every time you consider making a purchase, consider whether it is worth more to you than reinvesting the money back into your start-up.
4. Negotiate confidently — Whether it is with employees, potential investors, suppliers or real estate partners, negotiating is a key part of success for a start-up, and it can also save time and money. While you may not have the experience or revenue to prove success, put your best foot forward and negotiate with confidence.
5. Consider rental — Paying overhead on items like furniture just does not make sense for a cash-strapped start-up. Renting furniture is a low-risk investment to get your office off the ground and ensure flexibility for whatever lies ahead.
“Many start-ups and even established companies fail because they spend too much time trying to do it themselves rather than finding strategic partners,” said Samantha Mueting, founder and CEO of iCORE Global. “It is critical all start-ups and companies experiencing growth find the right partners who really care about the business so entrepreneurs can focus on what really matters — growing the company.”
To support start-ups, CORT offers a variety of workplace collections, including its most recent Staks collection. This collection offers diverse workplace configurations that promote collaboration, flexibility and mobility. Flexibility is a key component of the Staks collection, making it a solution for a wide range of configurations and different types of offices.
iCORE Global is a leading full-service, conflict-free, commercial real estate (CRE) provider nationally, and claims to be the only worldwide provider maintaining its conflict-free platform and never acting as the asset manager for large owners of space but solely focusing on occupiers of space. With over 122 locations servicing 272 major cities across 47 countries, the company’s CRE teams are united in a centralized platform to deliver high-quality services and empower strategic real estate operations for local, national and multinational corporations.
CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is a leading provider of transition services, including furniture rental for home and office, event furnishings, destination services, apartment locating, touring and other services. The company operates more than 100 offices, showrooms and clearance centers across the United States, with operations in the United Kingdom and partners in more than 70 countries.
To learn more about CORT’s workplace offerings and services, see the CORT ad on FMLink.
