James Chun runs a successful video production company, but as a sole proprietor he doesn't have much need for a permanent office, nor can he afford to rent one.

But Chun said he occasionally likes to meet his clients in a more professional setting than the neighborhood Starbucks or Border's. So he recently signed an agreement with a locally owned company that rents office space and support staff on a temporary basis.

Chun is one of many small- business owners who are using temporary offices, also known as "virtual offices" or "executive suites." He has signed an agreement with My Office, owned by businesswoman Kelly Sugano, on Waimanu Street in Kaka'ako.

"It's a lot cheaper than running my own office," said Chun, owner of Crane Media. "I don't have to pay all of the extra expenses, like insurance."

My Office is one of a few companies in Hawai'i that provide office space on a temporary basis. Sugano's company targets local small-business owners, but at least one Mainland company, Texas-based Corporate Office Centers, caters to entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies looking for a Hawai'i presence.

Although different in size, both companies offer similar services.

Virtual office companies provide phone answering and forwarding services, mail boxes, office space and conference rooms. When a call is made to a client, its name pops up on a computer and the receptionist will answer the phone using the company's name.

VARIETY OF OPTIONS

The service is popular on the Mainland where small businesses often want to give the impression that they work out of an office, rather than from home. Rental packages vary, depending on how often a business wants to use an office or conference room.

At Corporate Office Centers, a basic package costs $250 a month and a business would have access to a meeting room for two hours a month. Located at Restaurant Row, Corporate Office Centers also offers space that can be rented by the hour, week, month or longer, said Thad Pittman, company president.

"Most of the people would buy a package," Pittman said. "If they only need it for an hour at a time but they need a professional business place or for security reasons they don't want to meet at their house or at a coffee shop, we would assign them one of our offices and they would use that as a meeting room."

Pittman said his company has between 250 and 300 clients in Hawai'i.

Sandi Quildon, owner of SPQ Architects, was a temporary tenant at Corporate Office Centers' Restaurant Row space for about a year, but has since signed a long-term lease. Quildon worked out of her home until she decided she needed a more professional atmosphere to meet her clients.

"The biggest thing for us is a human connection. Having a human being answer the phone was very important to us because it's the best way that we know of to personalize our service," Quildon said. "You have access to conference rooms, which is very important to a small business to be able to meet in a professional setting. We had parking in the garage, which makes it a lot easier for our clients."

FEWER DISRUPTIONS

My Office will open its doors on April 1 and Sugano said she hopes to have at least 40 businesses signed up by then. Although her space is much smaller than Corporate Office Centers (2,100 square feet as opposed to 20,000 square feet), Sugano said she will offer the same type of service.

For $300 a month, a business owner will receive the phone and mail services and will be allowed to rent a meeting or conference room for $25 an hour. At $450, a client will get 10 hours of office space each month.

Office space also will be available to nonmembers, Sugano said.

Sugano owns a wedding consulting business and said she decided to launch My Office after holding many meetings in public places.

"I constantly met in coffee shops and bookstores and it just got so hard to hold a professional meeting," said Sugano, who moved her A Perfect Day business into a part of her My Office space. "I realized how much time I spent there just waiting for people or going early just so we had a table that we could use. I wanted to find a place where I could do business in a professional manner as well as helping other people who are in the same situation."

Chun said he has similar experiences meeting potential clients at coffee shops.

"In the middle of a conversation a blender will go off and it kind of disrupts my flow," Chun said.

Chun has signed up for the $450 package and says he expects his temporary office will help his business. He said monthly rent for a small office would cost him at least $1,000, which Chun said would be a waste because he doesn't need a full-time office.

"I will have 10 hours a month and that's about two or three meetings a week. That's about how much I would use it for," Chun said.

LESS RUNNING AROUND

David Louis, owner of Dynamic Sounds, said he's considering signing up with My Office. He said he would use the space to meet clients and also to train new employees.

"This way I'll have a central area Downtown where I can say, 'Meet me there,' and this way I won't be running around to four different spots on the island," Louis said.

Sugano said it "would be great to make money" running My Office, but she said she sees it more as a service than a business. She estimated that it will cost her about $10,000 in rent and other expenses to run My Office each month.

"If I can help any other small business just get a little bit ahead from other people or just get that little step of professionalism, that'd be great," Sugano said. "We completely understand how small business works and how every penny is tight. So we do want to maximize every penny possible for our members. We don't want to take anybody's money if it's not feasible for them so we'll try to work with them in anyway that we can."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.