The last day on my 9-5 is getting closer and closer and we need an office to run a software development service business with my two partners pretty soon. Found a nice office already and now we need furniture + equipment and here comes trouble.
Our inial estimate was ~1k per employee ($600 for a used laptop, $100 table, $250 chair). Pretty soon we realized that we definitely need 2 monitors, cause it boosts productivity quite a lot. I've done some research and came with $60 for Ikea tables (2 options), $100-$200 chairs (decided that everyone would pick what's comfortable for them) and $500 used laptop + $150 used monitor or $300 for 2 used monitors and $200 for a used PC. So still under $1k.
But now one of my partners insists that we should look very cool & modern so proposes $400-500 chairs, $200+ table and $2.5k MacBooks pro (which are not serviced in our country, so warranty repairs would take months) and the other one is more on his side, except maybe laptops. At least monitors that I've found are fine for them. Still, that's $3.5k+ for a workplace.
I agree that we should look modern and cool in the eyes of our future employees, but now we have one mid-term paying customer and would blow up half of our day 0 money on the office. I've done it before and know that service business is full of ups and downs, especially in the beginning and while it's still small. We can spend weeks looking for our next client with 0 income and that money would help to survive those periods. They have pink glasses mode on.
At least everyone agrees that we don't need a full blown kitchen, for now...
Yeah, Ikea tables are not very rigid and those $500 laptops are heavy and bulky, maybe even scratched here and there.
But does it matter that much?
P. S. We do need an attractive, nice looking and comfortable office...
Our inial estimate was ~1k per employee ($600 for a used laptop, $100 table, $250 chair). Pretty soon we realized that we definitely need 2 monitors, cause it boosts productivity quite a lot. I've done some research and came with $60 for Ikea tables (2 options), $100-$200 chairs (decided that everyone would pick what's comfortable for them) and $500 used laptop + $150 used monitor or $300 for 2 used monitors and $200 for a used PC. So still under $1k.
But now one of my partners insists that we should look very cool & modern so proposes $400-500 chairs, $200+ table and $2.5k MacBooks pro (which are not serviced in our country, so warranty repairs would take months) and the other one is more on his side, except maybe laptops. At least monitors that I've found are fine for them. Still, that's $3.5k+ for a workplace.
I agree that we should look modern and cool in the eyes of our future employees, but now we have one mid-term paying customer and would blow up half of our day 0 money on the office. I've done it before and know that service business is full of ups and downs, especially in the beginning and while it's still small. We can spend weeks looking for our next client with 0 income and that money would help to survive those periods. They have pink glasses mode on.
At least everyone agrees that we don't need a full blown kitchen, for now...
Yeah, Ikea tables are not very rigid and those $500 laptops are heavy and bulky, maybe even scratched here and there.
But does it matter that much?
P. S. We do need an attractive, nice looking and comfortable office...
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Last edited:
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
.
