Office Space

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That's a heckuva deal. For 6 grand a year it wouldn't take much extra work to easily pay for itself
 
Boys, I'd be a darn fool if I didn't jump all over this. In addition to a large office area, which we can setup for shooting portrait sessions, he has a nice waiting area and conference room that we get use of. That conference room alone is worth the rent. The building is located right on main street in the Hazel Path subdivision. Here's a google link:

Google Maps

The building is owned by my former accountant. This past Sunday, they had a waterline break in the upstairs office and so the offices have gotten all new drywall and they're installing wood flooring. We got our choice of room and the painters will use whatever color we choose. The guy is a Christian music industry guy and makes his living doing a syndicated TV show where he sells product. The other tenant is a computer consultant who stays gone most of the time. I'm going to call him tomorrow and tell him we're taking it. Oh yea, he's willing to go month-to-month on the rent. We can try it for a while and if it doesn't pan out, no big loss. BTW, the office we chose is the far-left windows at the front of the building (facing main street).

That's cool Rick. It also appears the office is down the street from a Wendys! If clients want quick drinks or dinner after work, you can grab something for them and have it ready when they arrive LOL! Easy way to get the sale! You found your way into their heart with that Frosty!

...I can't believe you guys can find these office rentals for so cheap in your areas. Maryland is a overpriced area for this stuff. There is an office condo not far from me advertising for $4,568 a month, and it is probably no bigger than the one B SHARP has. I'm not seeing anything for $400 or $500 a month around here.
 
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That's cool Rick. It also appears the office is down the street from a Wendys! If clients want quick drinks or dinner after work, you can grab something for them and have it ready when they arrive LOL! Easy way to get the sale! You found your way into their heart with that Frosty!

...I can't believe you guys can find these office rentals for so cheap in your areas. Maryland is a overpriced area for this stuff. There is an office condo not far from me advertising for $4,568 a month, and it is probably no bigger than the one B SHARP has. I'm not seeing anything for $400 or $500 a month around here.

Your area is just crazy expensive. Around here, I really would have expected to pay $800-$1100 for this space. The guy doesn't appear to really need the money but he had a long time buddy/tenant to move out. He told me we were the only ones responding to the ad and if we hadn't come along he was just going to setup his recording equipment in there and use it as a spare office space. I'm pretty stoked at the possibilities it opens up to us. Doesn't totally make $$$ sense to put out money we don't have to but just something in my gut feels right about it. It gives me some new avenues and types of business we can chase.
 
Just confirmed acceptance on the office space. He says the crew is expecting to be finished by end of next week and we can move in the following Monday. He's even going to let us take down the chair rails and put light gray on the walls (for photography purposes). I'm kinda getting excited about this.
 
Just confirmed acceptance on the office space. He says the crew is expecting to be finished by end of next week and we can move in the following Monday. He's even going to let us take down the chair rails and put light gray on the walls (for photography purposes). I'm kinda getting excited about this.

You may like it so much you quit the day job and go full time...Go to your own office everyday...get there around 10 am...11 am if you want...no big deal. Quote on gigs all day. Since you have an office you can easily become a multi op...bring on more DJs. Start booking more events. You would get to the point to where you have 10 or more DJs working every Saturday for you plus your photography work. You could be the big DJ/Photography company in your area.
 
You may like it so much you quit the day job and go full time...Go to your own office everyday...get there around 10 am...11 am if you want...no big deal. Quote on gigs all day. Since you have an office you can easily become a multi op...bring on more DJs. Start booking more events. You would get to the point to where you have 10 or more DJs working every Saturday for you plus your photography work. You could be the big DJ/Photography company in your area.

Or you could do what I do... go to the office when I feel like it and when I have meetings scheduled, otherwise work from home where it's easier to work on my gear and music stuff without disturbing the neighbors. Quote on gigs when they come in, but don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring. Throw out any idea of becoming a multi-op. Instead, focus on being the expert.

I've got friends who own big DJ/Photography companies. They come to me to talk about their problems... LOL.
 
Or you could do what I do... go to the office when I feel like it and when I have meetings scheduled, otherwise work from home where it's easier to work on my gear and music stuff without disturbing the neighbors. Quote on gigs when they come in, but don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring. Throw out any idea of becoming a multi-op. Instead, focus on being the expert.

I've got friends who own big DJ/Photography companies. They come to me to talk about their problems... LOL.

True...With more staff there will be more problems/issues/concerns. This business really requires hiring people you truly trust. Also, finding people who are go getters who want to be DJs and really work this business is super hard too.
 
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Oh man, found out some info. A very trusted, long-time friend finally responded back to my FB msg today. Said he knows this guy very well and said he's a crook. The lease holder is in the gospel music biz and my friend says he runs up bills with everyone possible and finally burned all his bridges down south of town, then he moved up north to my town. I'm a bit torn. The space is perfect and a great deal. The only gear I'd have in the building would be a TV, desk and maybe a few lights. Not sure if I want to go thru with this deal or not although, in this case, it would be me paying him, not him owing me anything. Any words of advice?
 
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Any words of advice?

If you really trust your very trusted, long-time friend, walk away quickly. When this guy stops paying his rent and they change the locks on the building, you will also be locked out with all of your stuff locked inside.

It's also entirely possible that this guy's lease prohibits him from sub-leasing the space in the first place. You know what they say - if it sounds too good to be true...
 
If you really trust your very trusted, long-time friend, walk away quickly. When this guy stops paying his rent and they change the locks on the building, you will also be locked out with all of your stuff locked inside.

It's also entirely possible that this guy's lease prohibits him from sub-leasing the space in the first place. You know what they say - if it sounds too good to be true...

I heard from a 2nd friend/referral this morning that vouched for the guy. I know the building owner personally so, even if the guy skipped town, I'm not worried about it. Will likely use this as a temp situation to see if we can make it profitable. If so, I'll go pickup my own space in a few months. In the long run, I'd really rather have something where I can have some signage out front.
 
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Congrats, Rick. The location looks great - easy for people to find. I think you'll quickly discover the benefits of having dedicated space.

Hey Brendan, help me settle an argument. I'm inclined to put a nice, 4k, 50" TV in the new office. Wifey thinks it's not important to brides and won't impress them as much as nice furniture and printed copies of our work. I have to admit, my intention is to have a nice slideshow running during sales meetings and doubt that I'd be using the monitor much (if any). What do you (or others here) think about it?
 
I think it's a nice feature and adds to the professional look of the office
 
Hey Brendan, help me settle an argument. I'm inclined to put a nice, 4k, 50" TV in the new office. Wifey thinks it's not important to brides and won't impress them as much as nice furniture and printed copies of our work. I have to admit, my intention is to have a nice slideshow running during sales meetings and doubt that I'd be using the monitor much (if any). What do you (or others here) think about it?


Why not compromise with your wife, and install a 40' or hell...go small with a 32 inch. Your office isn't THAT big. If I had an office, I would install my 32 inch Emerson in it. It is in great shape and just sits in my basement unused. Yes, I believe you should have a screen though.
 
Hey Brendan, help me settle an argument. I'm inclined to put a nice, 4k, 50" TV in the new office. Wifey thinks it's not important to brides and won't impress them as much as nice furniture and printed copies of our work. I have to admit, my intention is to have a nice slideshow running during sales meetings and doubt that I'd be using the monitor much (if any). What do you (or others here) think about it?

Well, here's my take on it. Furniture matters, but you're not selling sofas and chairs (you don't want to get furniture that's too comfortable, especially if people are meeting with you after work). I bought an IKEA Klippan sofa for my office because there's no way to lean back in it comfortably.

Printed materials are great as a take-away, but I don't like to go over printed things during my meetings. If somebody gets themselves here to meet with me, the face-time is most important and they can review the folder and inserts that I give them once they get home. The only time I use printed materials during the meeting is if they ask about my pricing.

My TV cost less than the sofa and makes my meetings run ridiculously smooth (I run a looped slideshow on it until we start talking about my online planning tools, then I mirror the display of my Surface Pro to it via Chromecast. I don't even have to fumble with a remote; the TV auto-switches inputs when the Chromecast wakes up). I can also mirror the display of the PC at my desk (at $35, a Chromecast is a bargain). The 50" display doesn't take over the room, but things can still be seen in details from 10 to 12 feet away. By comparison, the photographer across the hall from me has a 32" 720p TV on a stand that she uses to display a slideshow of her images. I think it makes her work look dull. And while it's true that brides aren't impressed by the size or brand of TV you've got on the wall, it's what the grooms notice each and every time. Grooms don't care about things like flowers or linens, but they've got a lot of pull in deciding what DJ gets hired.
 
Rick, before you spend any money on televisions or anything else, you had best check that you are properly insured.
From what was discussed in another recent thread, you may not be properly covered for anything that happens outside of an event itself. Expanded coverage or a separate general liability policy may be needed now that you will be meeting clients on your premises, not theirs.
 
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B-Sharp is pretty accurate in a lot of the comments he made and the benefits of an office. I have an office space as well and it has made a big impact on the impression it makes and the comfort it creates when clients are actually there, rather than in a loud and crowded starbucks. Downside... bride and grooms are just not choosing to meet as much in person anymore... at least not for consultations. For finalizations they're more inclined to meet.

In regards to furniture and tv's... don't worry about furniture too much.. Find something chic and modern (or whatever your brand represents) and focus more on content. Canvases, tv's with videos or pictures, magazines, etc for a client to grab their eyes on and be impressed and create interest in your services with. My website is my go to place for content, so I don't bother with brochures or pamphlets.

I attached a pic of my personal office on day 1 when I moved in (I have a lobby area for larger meetings for when family comes) to give an idea of what I have. The tv is always playing my videos from events and my walls now are covered in canvases of events (literally have the office and lobby covered in canvases that are at least 30" wide)... mostly of my uplighting designs which can be found on my site. When people walk in, at some point they usually say "wow" that picture on the wall looks beautiful, to which I respond yes that is what we can do with uplighting.
03D87A79-35D3-4529-B677-EC25733AA5DF.JPG
 
If you had an office space you had to pay for would that change how you do business or would it remain the same? Would you agree to do events that you normally would turn down?