How our business centres can help your side hustle to thrive in 2024

E-commerce is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK. While many are started as a side hustle from a spare room, there comes a time for most successful e-commerce entrepreneurs when they need to reclaim their home – which means moving the business into professional business accommodation. But e-commerce start-ups have different requirements of their workspaces than more traditional businesses. Here’s how Capital Space’s business centres across Kent, Essex, Buckinghamshire and Greater London are meeting the needs of today’s online entrepreneurs.

A growing opportunity in the retail sector

The e-commerce sector is set to grow continually over the next few years, with UK revenues expected to have an average growth rate of 12.6 % annually by 2025 and UK online sales predicted to reach their highest annual growth since 2007 with a 36% increase.

This means thousands of entrepreneurs up and down the country storing stock in their spare rooms and managing fulfilment from their kitchen table. There comes a time in every e-commerce entrepreneur’s journey when the side hustle has taken over and needs to be supported properly as a growing business – which means moving into dedicated business accommodation.

If any of these sound familiar, it may be time to look for a proper workspace for your growing e-commerce empire:

• You can’t remember the last time you sat down for a meal because your kitchen table is covered in packaging
• Your friends have stopped coming to stay because your spare room is overrun with stock
• You have to move a dozen boxes off the sofa to sit down to watch a box set

The workspace requirements of e-commerce entrepreneurs

The e-commerce sector requires a unique type of business space, unlike many companies which simply need an office with desks. You probably need storage space – and lots of it – for your stock; you need somewhere to package and dispatch orders; but you probably only need one or two desks, as you can run your business successfully from your laptop. Additionally, you may need more storage space during key seasons, such as the run-up to Christmas.

How Capital Space business accommodation supports this: Our workspaces are customisable and can be formatted into whatever set up your business needs, with offices, workshops and studios available. We can also cater to businesses with seasonal demand; our flexible monthly contracts enable you to upsize or downsize according to business needs, for example taking over a second unit for a month or two (subject to availability).

The support service requirements of e-commerce businesses

As online businesses with a lot of stock, e-commerce retailers have specific needs – here’s how our business centres meet them:

• Super-fast connectivity: Fast, reliable internet provision is essential for online businesses. Our flexible monthly contract includes superfast internet available from the day you move in, with a back-up failover service so that your online business has a reliable connection at all times to run off, as well as dedicated onsite expertise, on hand to ensure your business runs smoothly.
• Security: Our centres are monitored with 24-hour CCTV security, so you have peace of mind your stock is safe in our centres.
• Postal services: With packaging and dispatching a key aspect of e-commerce operations, we offer franking and full postal services with post collected daily, including registered and recorded options.
• Business support: Our friendly, supportive centre management teams can assist your business with phone answering, printing, shredding and cleaning, meaning you can focus on managing your business.
• Financial clarity: Our simple monthly license with broadband inclusive makes financial planning easy, so you have more time to develop your business.

A business community to help your e-commerce business thrive

Aside from a space to work, our business centres offer a community of fellow entrepreneurs and access to a hub of other businesses, opening opportunities for collaboration, mentoring and support. For example, you might have a paper company in the office next door who can ensure you never run out of packaging, or an accountancy firm across the hall might help you manage your finances as your business grows.

Alternative workspace options for e-commerce entrepreneurs

If you’re not ready to move to a dedicated workspace just yet but need a professional business address, a virtual office can provide the perfect interim solution.

Some e-commerce entrepreneurs have used self-storage units as a base. While these can provide a solution for storing stock, they often don’t have internet or heating, or other benefits such as extensive parking, and are unlikely to have other businesses around that you can call on for support. When you’re growing a small business, that support and community can be important in sustaining you towards success, as recent feedback from some of our Capital Space customers testifies:

“…amenable and nice reception staff, who will always help out, nothing is too much trouble, and everything works well – we love working here.”

“The staff here are a breath of fresh air! We feel we are managed as a client rather than a tenant, and the community spirit in the centre lets you make the most of where you work.”

“It’s fantastic knowing we have the full support of Capital Space behind us.”

Leveraging professional accommodation to take your e-commerce business from a side hustle to a main income will give you the professional framework to help it succeed. Our business centres can provide you with the space and support you need to develop your business – without your home feeling like a warehouse.

If you are searching for flexible workspace for your ecommerce business get in touch