How Private Office Memberships Compare to Traditional Offices
Debating between signing up as a Member of The Society or a traditional lease? Here’s what we offer above and beyond the commercial rental agreement.
The pace of business is faster than ever, and all companies, no matter how large, have to operate with speed and agility.
Perhaps you need to open an office in an emerging market, or scale the number of employees in a specific location. Maybe you’ve just acquired a company and require a space for those new teammates, or are launching an innovation hub and seeking an inspiring space where people can collaborate.
In any of those situations, you’ll need to source space—fast. Yet, the commercial real estate process has not evolved to match the speed of business. Leases are still long-term and inflexible. They don’t take into account that most companies need to scale up and down in markets around the world in order to stay competitive.
So What’s a Company Leader to Do?
Society 204: A Coworking Community has a solution: Society 204 Private Offices are a private, personalized space for teams of employees within a thriving coworking space. With Society 204 Private Offices, you get your own dedicated and private workspace, access to conference rooms, amenities, and branding—plus full operational support and access to all Society 204 common areas. This way, you can easily source as much or as little space as you need— without committing to a long-term lease and paying for space that will, at some point, inevitably go unused.
Private Offices at Society 204 offer you agility, without compromise.
Wondering what that means? Here’s how Society 204 compares to traditional commercial office space.
Lease terms
Commercial leases are long-term—three to ten years for prime real estate in the United States. These contracts are usually inflexible. Companies that experience growth or change rarely find that they have the right amount of space for their employees—they’re either overcrowded or underutilized.
Society 204 understands that businesses evolve. We expect your needs to change year to year—or even month to month. That’s why our service agreements start at 12 months for The Society’s Private Offices. If you need to expand, just let us know. We can work to meet your needs for additional (or less) space.
- Commercial Lease: Roughly 3-10 years
- The Society’s Private Offices: Starting at Twelve Months
Lease cost
Signing a commercial lease on office space requires an upfront payment to secure it, often first and last month.
With Society 204, there are no major capital investments or hidden costs. We charge a one-time setup fee with your first month’s membership. There’s no costly deposit or hidden charges.
- Commercial lease: First and last month as advance payment
- The Society’s Private Offices: $350 one-time setup fee
Office buildout cost
After you’ve signed a lease for a commercial office space, you then have the task of customizing it. This means sourcing and managing architects, designers, contractors, engineers, IT specialists, and other vendors. In the RGV, the average office buildout costs between $75 p.s.f. to $150 p.s.f., depending on the space finish-out. On top of that, the search, customization, and buildout before move-in can take 12 to 18 months. This leaves a lot of room for unproductive work as employees remain stuck in inadequate environments while they wait for their new space.
With Society 204’s Private Offices, you don’t need to undergo expensive and time-consuming build-outs. We’ll work with you to help make the space your own. First, you select the office. Then, we’ll help integrate your branding and personal touches.
- Commercial lease: $75 to $150 per square foot in the RGV
- The Society’s Private Offices: Move-in ready
Office operation costs and logistics
Even the best-designed office can’t run itself.
The Society allows you to offload office-management logistics. Our team handles Wi-Fi, utilities, conference room reservations and guest accommodations, security, cleaning, and mailroom services. We stock the cafe with water and gourmet MoonBeans Coffee. And with health and safety at the top of everyone’s mind, having a dedicated place to work can help ease minds. Plus, we handle all the cleaning and disinfecting. One less thing to worry about logistically. It’s all included in your Society 204 membership.
- Commercial lease: Headaches & Hassle
- The Society’s Private Office: Peace of Mind
The benefits of a Society 204 membership
With The Society’s Private Offices, you get your own private space, with a reception area, cafe area, and private lounge—and you enjoy all the benefits that come with being a Member of The Society. Your team can work, take meetings, and connect with other Society Members in our common areas. We also provide access to continuing education workshops for entrepreneurs and small businesses, career-development and networking events.
- Commercial lease: N/A
- The Society’s Private Office: $0
Focus on your business, not on real estate
As a business leader, the decisions you make don’t just affect your company’s performance. They also impact each employee’s overall experience.
That’s why Society 204 is here for you. With The Society’s Private Offices, your company gets a private, beautiful workspace designed for innovation and creativity that’s perfect for your company, and your employees get all the benefits and perks that come with being Members of The Society. But most importantly, we give you the ability to leverage our spaces to help you meet your business objectives—while giving your employees the best experience possible.
Society 204 offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.