How to Scale Your Office Working with a Limited Budget

Traditional office settings are not as common as they once were, mainly due to a lot of companies operating virtually in an effort to save money. While it’s appealing, it’s just not possible for some businesses to have a remote team.

For those that have a traditional office setting and are needing to expand, but are limited by a small budget it can be very difficult. I’ve seen great companies stall their growth because they couldn’t afford to allocate money to their office growth.

You can always take on debt, but that can backfire. If you are frugal and put in a little effort you can secure things like office furniture, computers, electronics, and anything else your office needs for expansion at a deep discount. I have put together five tips that you can try out. They are all proven to help save businesses a lot of money, allowing them to get the things needed to grow without being buried in debt.

1. Look at Craigslist

Sadly a lot of businesses fail, and they shut down. Many of them are left with an office full of furniture and equipment that needs to go. They will often list it for a low price or even offer it for free to anyone that will come and remove it.

Craigslist is a great place to find these local opportunities. If a company has folded they need to get rid of the items. And if they abandoned the office the owner will often just list it all for free to get rid of it as it would cost them money to have someone take it all away.

2. Check with Neighboring Offices

Sometimes offices downsize or upgrade, leaving them with equipment and items they have to dispose of. If you let your neighboring offices know that you are looking for whatever you need, they might have it and give it to you for next to nothing. Again, having to dispose of it would cost them money.

It’s a win/win, with you getting what you need and them not having to pay for removal. This is where being a good neighbor can really come into play.

3. Surplus Liquidators

There are plenty of companies that offer surplus equipment, from computers to phone systems and entire desk assemblies. There are local options as well as national ones. It comes down to what you are looking for, the quantities needed, the cost, as well as shipping logistics.

I have seen an entire call center’s worth of cubicles once listed for $50 each on online auction websites. There were 200 of them. They originally bought them for $2,000 each, so that gives you an example of just how much of a discount can be found if you are crafty.

4. Manufacturer Closeouts

Do you really need the new model laptop if your entire team is running basic programs or just doing basic web-based browsing? Always look into manufacturer closeouts and it equipment recycling. You can often buy out their old models at a fraction of the cost and they still do everything you need.

You can go direct to see if they have anything left over or you can also search websites that specialize in closeouts. They often have deals directly with the manufacturers to buy everything and then they markup slightly. In the end you still get unreal savings.

5. “Damaged” or “Defects”

Need to buy 100 desks? What if you could buy them at half price and the only thing wrong with them was a small scratch on one of the legs that was not noticeable unless you were really looking for it? Would you buy them?

There are plenty of huge savings when you buy damaged or defected items. Your equipment and furniture is going to get beat up over time. If you can save a lot of money by taking stuff with a scratch already on it go for it.