The space that your business occupies plays a bigger part in your success than you might realize. While startups can get away with operating out of garages and shared environments, a company that has taken off requires ample room. When the time comes for you to select a new office space, you absolutely want to focus on a few key factors along the way. Simply renting any space because it is available or inexpensive can lead to far more frustrating issues and involve complications down the line.
Use these ideas to develop your own strategy for picking an office space. With a little help, you will know exactly what details to pay attention to when going through your options.
Focus on Growth
Perhaps the biggest point to pay attention to when looking at new offices is growth. Your business might be a certain size at this current juncture, but this is likely not going to remain the case for long. Most business owners have a plan for expansion down the line. When looking at various options, ask yourself whether or not there is enough space for your company to grow. If the office has only enough room for your current needs, then you will be on the hunt for a new office space before you even know it.
A space you can grow into does not have to be huge. The idea is that it is a space that can be worked with, where you are able to make adjustments to meet new demands without causing any major complications with your own operations. Moving several times in a short period is bad for morale and bad for business in general. Avoid this by taking the future into account whenever you need to move into a new office space.
The Convenience Factor
All of your employees and clients are likely to live in different areas. The last few decades have shown that people are willing to drive a certain distance to work a job that pays well or is beneficial in some other way. Still, it is probably that a cluster of your key employees lives within a certain distance to your current office space. When looking at a new building, you should definitely think about how convenient the location is for the majority of your most important workers and clients.
It is impossible to make everyone happy with a location, but you can totally appease a chunk of the crowd. Don’t let location be the deciding factor in the building you select, but definitely allow it to influence your choice when you’re down to your last few options. Playing into the convenience factor will also show your staff and customers that you care about how easy it is for them to get to your new location with ease.
Consider Property Pros and Cons
Some spaces are ready to move into and others will require a bit of work. This is especially true in big cities. It is common to see Philadelphia rigging companies working tirelessly in order to make structural adjustments to office buildings and other commercial properties. When looking at your options, you definitely want to weigh out the pros and cons. If you need to move into a space fast, you might not have the time to wait for certain construction projects to complete. When the move-in date doesn’t match your needs, you need to move to another option.
The Quality of the Area
Most office businesses don’t get a lot of foot traffic in the way that retail businesses do. You might have visitors or clients come to the space, but you don’t require a location that has appeal to passersby. Still, the overall quality of the neighborhood you’re moving to might be important to think over when selecting a new office space. If the property is cheap to rent and located in a region that is known for increased criminal activity, then your workers might not feel safe walking to their cars at night.
Conversely, finding a wonderful neighborhood to move into can help your business become a part of the local community. Take time to research regions before making your final decision based solely on the property.
Security of Rates
Finally, remember that a lease can and will change as time moves forward. The rates you’re seeing on your unit now might not be the same within the next few years. Though the future is always uncertain, you can work with renters to try and secure a fixed rate for a certain amount of time. If this is possible, definitely work with the person to make the contract appealing to both parties.
There are plenty of interesting options available to you when the time comes to find a new office space. As long as you weigh out all of the key factors that will play a role in your success, you’ll have no trouble making an informed decision on the matter.
