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VEGAS INC C OV E R STO RY BREAK TIME: A kitchen and lounge at Regus executive suites. People who rent office space from the company can use the shared amenities as they please. Added services, such as administrative work, cost extra. a month. A phone and Internet package costs $199 a month. Meeting rooms rent for $54 to $108 an hour. Executives also can pay for dedicated bandwidth so they don���t have to share an Internet connection. Those prices vary. ���If you don���t need it, you don���t pay for it,��� Agustin said. ���We look at your budget.��� In the lobby, two administrative assistants sit in front of computers. When the phone rings, their computer screens prompt them with a personalized greeting for the business the caller is trying to reach. That gives the impression of a larger office. For an additional fee, Regus employees also write out invoices and keep financial records. ���They run people���s offices so our clients can run their businesses,��� Agustin said. Real estate agent Tom Buntic learned about the demand for executive suites when he bought an empty office complex last year at East Sunset and South San- | 4 MARCH 2013 20130304_VI01_F.indd 17 | dhill roads. He remodeled it to include space for 24 executive suites. They all rented in three months. This year, Buntic bought an abandoned office building with 44 suites at South Eastern and East Wigwam avenues. So far, he has leased 10 of them. Buntic has a different business model than Regus. He charges a flat fee for office space: $300 for 105 square feet, $600 for 180 square feet. Each office comes with an Internet hookup and access to a copy machine, conference room, break room and cleaning services. There are no long-term leases. ���I found that by charging just a flat fee, I can keep my prices competitive,��� Buntic said. Buntic doesn���t offer telephone or secretarial services because no one has asked for them, he said. ���I found a lot of people coming to me are really more mobile,��� Buntic said. ���Very few people have landline phones. We can save costs that way.��� ���Technology has made a lot of things obsolete, like video conferencing,��� he continued. ���Every computer has a camera on it. I have a fax machine available, but nobody uses it.��� Buntic���s clients include real estate appraisers, software developers, stock traders, insurance agents, financial planners, salespeople, an architect and a psychiatrist. ���Basically, any small- to medium-size business that needs an office can use this,��� he said. ���It doesn���t work if you���re a supplier who needs a ton of storage space. But it makes sense even for larger companies that are struggling. They may be spending $2,000 or $3,000 a month. They can rent several executive suite offices and still be in business, have fixed costs and save money.��� ViewPointe combines the two models. Offices rent for between $600 and $1,000 a month and include a phone, five hours of conference room use and steve marcus signs. Secretarial services, additional phones lines and covered parking cost extra. Johnson said occupancy is fluid. Four offices currently are available in the 75-office suite. ���Executive suites are geared toward being flexible and not having long-term leases,��� Johnson said. ���If someone is outgrowing their space and needs to move into a bigger office, we make it so they can terminate their lease quickly. Sometimes, I���ll go six months without an opening. Other times, I���ll have two or three in one month.��� The kinds of businesses that are drawn to executive suites also change consistently. ���During the recession, we saw some businesses downsizing, and they came to use us,��� Johnson said. ���Now, the economy is growing again, they���re growing, and they need bigger offices. When the economy is good, we see more startups. That���s just how small business works.��� 17 2/28/13 3:49:37 PM