My friend George needed a good-sized space for his business – with a reception area, conference room, and a couple of offices. He didn’t want to shell out the money to buy or rent that much space. But he found a novel solution that got him what he needed… almost free of charge.

Here’s how he did it:

After searching around, he determined that it’d cost him about $2,000 a month to rent enough space for his business. Instead, he leased a larger space for $3,000. It had three extra little offices and a large reception area.

He rented out the small offices for $700 each, for a total of $2,100 a month. Then he sectioned off four workstation cubicles in the reception area, leaving room for a receptionist’s desk. He had no trouble renting out the four workstations for $300 each. That’s another $1,200.

His gross monthly income from these rentals is $3,300. Even allowing for a few vacancies during the year, he’s pretty much breaking even on his own rent.

In other words, George has a $2,000-a-month office practically for free.

Using the same general idea, you can keep your overhead down so you can start a business with very little capital.

[Ed. Note: Want even more strategies for starting and growing a business on a shoestring? Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur and publisher who has started over a dozen profitable enterprises. To get more practical small-business tips, check out Paul's "Street Smart" program by clicking right here.

Office space is a secondary business concern, something to think about once you have a proven way to bring in sales and revenue. To learn how to get to that point as quickly as possible, check out Michael Masterson's book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat.]