Hi all! I am starting to look at a place to rent/lease to get my business going. I was just wondering if you all would mind sharing how much you pay for rent/lease and how much square footage (approx) that you have.

Thanks a bunch!!
~Chelle

I'm in the exact same boat! Can't wait to see what others say.

It really depends on where you live and what you are looking for. There are spaces in my area that run more than $2k per month, some charge per square foot (about $1.50). I just kept looking and found something in a tourist area close to my house for $600/month. www.oldtownspringtx.com However, it was a huge DUMP and I spent several thousand getting it up to par! When you find the right place you'll know it!

I got mine for under $12 a sq foot. For a 1200 sf space, this is about $1200 a month. The strip mall was sold in the middle of the lease signing process, so the new owners had to approve the rate and they were, shall we say, not very pleased with how low I was getting it. It's not a major strip mall, but it's a high traffic, growing area.

Also remember that you may have common area fees in addition to your square footage rate (snow removal, outside lighting, parking lot maintenance, etc.).

One thing I would strongly recommend is find a place that already had a kitchen in it. You will save thousands on construction. My place did not have a previous kitchen space and the cost to trench thru the concrete floor to place all the water and gas pipes/lines is tremendous!!! The cost to install the vent/hood over the stove and baking areas is also a high cost. ($1000 a linear foot and I needed 8 feet of it, so it's $8000 JUST for the hood!)

I'm losing my shared space in March and am in a mad panic trying to find a new spot. Leased space in my area (SF Bay Area) is obnoxiously expensive. The cheapest spot (that'd pass code) I've found so far is $1700 for 610 sq. ft. That doesn't include utilities, garbage pick up, etc. (My current shared space is around $500/month, utils included.) If I signed a 3 year lease, I could get a "discount" for $1550/mo. Hahahahaha.

Whimsette
By a shared space do you mean that you split the rent with someone else? I'm curious because I was thinking of doing that and wanted to see how it worked out.

jsmith, I sublet space from a restaurant. They're closing their doors in March.

For the most part it worked out fine and I'd certainly sublet space again with the right people.

The problems I've had at this space were:

* missing tools and supplies until I brought in a locker with a lock
* accommodating their schedule changes
* dealing with their cleanliness issues (a constant battle)

If you look to rent space from someone or share, I highly recommend talking about those types of things before you commit. How will you deal with scheduling conflicts? Who gets priority? Who's responsible for cleanliness? Are your standards of cleanliness the same? Can you keep your stuff stored there? Is it safe? What happens when something sprouts legs and walks away? Will they replace it or is it gone forever?

A long answer to a simple question, I know. Sorry about that.

Thanks.