On a recent morning in Sausalito, media consultant Myles Weissleder pulled up to the Paradise Bay Restaurant, walked out on the dock and got into a blue inflatable dinghy.

He was headed to his new office.

"This is not like taking Muni to work," said Weissleder as he yanked on the outboard pull string to start the motor and pointed the dinghy toward the red-and-white houseboat anchored 500 yards out in Richardson Bay that now serves as his floating office.

The 39-year-old entrepreneur, who works with tech startups and organizes SF New Tech, San Francisco's largest event series for technology lovers, purchased the 1971 houseboat for $2,600 last month when a recent addition to his family made working from home impossible.

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Weissleder had been running his company from his small flat in Sausalito since he moved to the Bay Area 10 years ago. Besides organizing the monthly technology events that attract several hundred people, his company Mylermedia has been busy helping launch online projects such as CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 podcast, ReFrameIt.com, Power.com and Greenbydesign.com. Last year, Mylermedia also helped organize the National Presidential Caucus.

While he enjoyed not having a commute and the flexibility of working from home, he decided it was time to establish a real and unique headquarters for his rapidly growing business after having his best quarter yet.

Just as many other small-business owners in this position, he first considered traditional office space.

The recession helped flood the Bay Area office market with space, but prices in areas like Sausalito remained far from affordable. Although Sausalito office prices decreased by 20 to 30 percent in the past eight months, few spaces are available for less than $2.50 a square foot a month, according to Theo Banks of Keegan & Coppin Company Inc., which specializes in commercial real estate in the North Bay.

High price of space

For a one-man operation like Weissleder's, there was another issue.

"There aren't many offices available under 1,000 square feet and they can command a higher price," explained Banks.

San Francisco's office market, which offers more choices, presented its own problems - a long commute and few dog-friendly options for his 90-pound Lab-pit, Pico.

"I love coming into San Francisco when I need to, but I don't find much value in spending time in a car commuting when you could be geared up where you are - all you need is a phone, Internet, time and space," said Weissleder.

Besides, he always wanted to work on the waterfront. Inspired by the first social Internet platform, the Well, which came out of the same Sausalito waters in the 1980s, Weissleder settled on the rusty houseboat that allows for a short commute (provided the motor isn't flooded) along white yachts and a row of sleepy sea lions stretched out on the docks.

"You can't beat this," he said.

Although it features one of the world's best views - Mount Tam to the north and San Francisco's skyline to the south - an old boat floating 500 yards out in the water isn't exactly a reliable spot for client meetings.

Weissleder conceded that he will have to refrain from working at his floating office during bad weather, but said the general rocking just takes getting used to. The bigger issue is that the fixer-upper boat is in desperate need of redecorating, but he hopes to make it more comfortable and modern by changing the windows, bringing in cushions and setting up a whiteboard.

Allowing for creativity

So far, Weissleder's clients have been supportive. Jake Saxbe, founder of Toobla.com, which provides a visual social bookmarking service, said he couldn't wait to have a meeting on the boat.

"No office allows for more creativity," he said. "We've worked with big firms that have offices in buildings, but a guy on a houseboat is more our style. I think that it would be great for our business, too - he mentioned flying a Toobla flag outside the boat."

But not all clients are so easy to please, argued Gary Marshall of the U.S. Small Business Administration's San Francisco office.

"The location of your business definitely affects the perception of your client base," he said. "Before making a decision of where to locate your office, you should think really strongly about how it's going to affect your customers. If you rely on your business to be easily accessible, you need to think about that."

While he hasn't brought any of his clients there yet, Weissleder said his boat-office can only help with marketing his business. After all, his company is most likely the only tech firm actually based in San Francisco Bay.

But Marshall warned other small businesses about using their office location for marketing.

"I think looking at your location as a marketing tool should be one of the last considerations," he said. "If your location works out as a marketing tool, more power to you, but making a decision based on that is questionable."

So far, Weissleder has no regrets.

"I hope it will help me focus more," he said as he waved to a couple of kayakers passing by. "Because if you drill down and get comfortable out here, the sky is the limit."