How much would you pay per month to sit at a desk?

February 1, 2006 3:11 PM

We're a small technology company that currently has some free desks in a large loft office space in downtown Austin. We're considering subletting the desks to freelance designers and programmers, but we're not sure how much to charge.

Here's what a sublessee would get:

* A big wide desk and chair, with a personal dry erase board and homasote pin-up board
* High-speed internet access
* Access to conference room
* Weekly cleaning service
* Friendly office mates
* A really nice space (hardwood floors, high ceilings) in a super sweet location downtown, near lots of restaurants, cafes, etc.

If you were a freelancer/contractor, would you pay for this? How much? (If you're not familiar with the cost of living in Austin, include your own city in your response so I can adjust your number accordingly.)

posted by medpt to Work & Money (14 answers total)

In NY, there are writers workspaces with similar services to your office. Paragraph charges $100/month for workspace access M-F6am-6pm, Sat, Sun.
posted by junesix at 3:22 PM on February 1, 2006

I'm in Toronto. Single-person office space is *really* hard to find. Here you'd be looking at the $100-$200/mo range depending on how nice the facilities are etc.

The main thing is to vet the people thoroughly. The only times I've known this kind of thing to work is when you rent out space to friends and acquaintances. I've done that several times from friends with space to spare.
posted by unSane at 3:28 PM on February 1, 2006

I would pay $0. But that's just because I don't need it, as I have a comfortable home office.

I can't think of why anybody wouldn't want to work at home rather than in an office, if they didn't need to be in close contact with another person during the course. So one way to think about it would be to see if there are new, small firms or freelance project groups that might need space. That way it's easier for you to rent the space (1 check rather than 5, 1 search rather than 5, etc.). Two groups of ~5 friends of mine have started small businesses of this kind and right away went and got office space.

I'm in NYC as well, and I'm actually surprised at how low the Paragraph cost is. Considering how insanely expensive real estate of all kinds is in this city.
posted by lackutrol at 3:51 PM on February 1, 2006

Um, "course of the day." Did I mention I'm a writer?
posted by lackutrol at 3:52 PM on February 1, 2006

I'd pay about $300/month, and I'm on the central CA coast. Matter of fact, I wish I could find something like this locally. Yes, my home office is great, but it's hard to invite clients in through the living and dining room. I usually go to a café to meet clients, but it doesn't look very professional.
posted by letitrain at 4:06 PM on February 1, 2006

I wish I'd come across something like this when I was doing freelance work. That would be awesome.
posted by thedward at 4:10 PM on February 1, 2006

I can't think of why anybody wouldn't want to work at home rather than in an office

Distractions at home. Or lack of a space there clearly defined as "work" space, so that you're in the habit of focusing when you sit down there. Or cabin fever. Or a desire to have a place to occasionally meet with clients for discussion without having to invite them to your house. Or a desire to have a place to leave work at work.

I've done a lot of freelancing from home, and I'd happily spend $100 a month for a desk in an office with cool people and high speed access.
posted by weston at 4:49 PM on February 1, 2006

Have you checked what other people are charging on Craigslist?
posted by radioamy at 4:57 PM on February 1, 2006

I'm in NYC as well, and I'm actually surprised at how low the Paragraph cost is.

Actually, Paragraph's $100 a month is in line with similar services in and around NYC: Brooklyn Writers Space is $250 a quarter (i.e. $83 a month). The Writers Room is $400-$600 per half year ($66 to $100 a month), and The Village Quill is $149 a month. However, some of these might not be as nice as medpt's space.
posted by RichardP at 5:58 PM on February 1, 2006

I work at home. I live out in the country with dial-up. I would be happy to pay 100$ a month for an office desk in town with high speed access. Right now I go to the library because nothing like that is available here. But I would much prefer an office desk.
posted by 9000.68 at 6:56 PM on February 1, 2006

If I didn't have a cube in the labs from my advisor, I would absolutely love to rent a desk in such a setting for freelance work. I'd do this for the exact reasons weston mentions. The cabin fever is the primary one for me; if I didn't have to go to school, I would have absolutely no excuse to leave my apartment.

I think that I'd pay between $150-200(USD) for this, especially with the ammenities you listed. The dataport, access to conference rooms, and personal whiteboard especially drew me in.

One thing you did not mention was available hours. Are you giving these folks keys to your building? If so, you better trust them (or require significant legal/financial security). If not, I would probably lean toward the less-expensive side. I sometimes need to work quite late in order to make deadlines.

+1 asking friends first. Talk to folks you know and whose personalities might fit into the environment. If the different individuals in this office interact in the slightest, you should think about the group dynamic at least a little bit. But, interviewed strangers might work as well.

I don't mean to threadjack, but what would I look for if I were searching for this in Philly? What search terms did ya'll use for the NYC listings?
posted by Netzapper at 7:18 PM on February 1, 2006

$250. I was subletting one room in an office here in Kyoto with a partner for $900/mo., and the guy I rented from didn't tell me that he REALLY needed the money. His creditors came around one day inventorying all the equipment they were going to seize, including ours, and that's when we bailed.
I really need to get out of my "home office" with rambunctious toddler.
posted by planetkyoto at 9:54 PM on February 1, 2006

There is (was?) a place on Congress between 6th and 5th streets that specifically rented desk space to freelancers. Perhaps even on an hourly rate. Perhaps you could seek them out and find out what their rates are? Sorry I can't be more helpful than that, but I'm no longer in Austin and a quick search didn't turn up what I was looking for.
posted by medium format at 4:48 AM on February 2, 2006

You should consider whether your desk space will come with an accompanying parking slot. I would pay $100 per month for accomodations like you describe (and I live in Austin), but not if I had to find parking every day.

However, I have a comfortable home office with broadband already. Too comfortable: I'd pay to get out of the house to a place I can get some work done.
posted by Jonasio at 6:36 AM on February 2, 2006