Private offices and meeting rooms suite

Accountants, therapists, consultants, lawyers and small firms needing a private office, and anyone who needs a meeting room by the hour.

Monthly rent for each private office, plus hourly or half-day charges for the meeting room, often booked online.

• Selling and networking locally
• Organising bookings and cleaning schedules
• Customer service
• Basic budgeting

• Get the landlord's written permission to sublet or license rooms to others
• Check zoning, fire code and occupancy rules with your municipality before building partitions
• Commercial general liability insurance, and check what your landlord requires
• Keep meeting rooms private enough for confidential conversations
• Empty offices still cost you rent, so start with the fewest rooms you can fill
• Register for GST/HST once you pass the small supplier threshold

Startup costs are typically around $15,000 to $60,000, depending on the suite, partitions and furnishings. Because empty offices still cost rent, start with the fewest rooms you can fill. These figures are estimates, not quotes.

Get the landlord's written permission to sublet or license rooms. Check zoning, fire code and occupancy rules with your municipality before building partitions, and check insurance requirements, including commercial general liability. Also check GST/HST once you pass the small supplier threshold.

Monthly revenue is typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on how many offices you fill and how often the meeting room is booked. Estimates suggest at least about 15 hours a week for bookings, cleaning and tenant enquiries.