If you find an ideal office space at a great price that’s 20 miles from the area where you conduct most of your business, you’ll probably find that it’s not such a great deal after all. Ideally, you want your headquarters to be in a place where you can attract both clients and employees and in a location that offers amenities and networking possibilities.
If you’re a small business owner in the market for a new spot for your business, there are a number of important factors you should keep in mind before signing a lease.
Choose a location that’s convenient for staff members. If you’re too far away from a major urban center, you may not be able to attract the best employees for your business. Because of rising gas prices and traffic, most workers don’t want a long commute to work and employees may opt instead for a job that’s closer to home. Many professionals rely on public transportation to get to and from work and if you’re too far away from a bus route or transit line, getting to and from work on time can be difficult for these workers.
If you live in an area that’s subject to winter weather conditions, choose a location that your employees can get to easily in case of snow storms, such as shopping malls or business centers accessible via public transportation. Shopping malls, public buildings and business centers get quicker attention from public snow removal crews and sanding trucks, too. In addition, prepare a company-wide policy for poor weather, outlining exactly what is expected of staff members, like having the option to work from home on snow days. That way, you won’t end up experiencing a large number of employee no-shows during the winter season.
Choose a location that’s near your client base. If you’re working in the software tech industry, it helps to have your headquarters in an area that is heavily populated with software manufacturers and distributors. If your office offers upper management consulting services, try to locate it in an area that boasts several major corporate headquarters.
You’ll want to be close to your clients not only because of convenience, but also because of networking opportunities. By being in the same neighborhood, you’ll be considered part of the local business community, and you’ll be on hand to hear about networking events that you may want to participate in. Otherwise, if you’re too far away from your business core, you may be overlooked completely by your potential clients.
Choose the right building. The ideal office space will be in a building that is well-maintained and attractive, and is located in a safe and secure neighborhood. It should have adequate parking and bike storage for staff members and clients, and maybe even offer additional amenities such as security and after-hours access.
Most importantly, your ideal office space needs to be large enough for your business needs. A space that is too small can affect productivity, so it’s important to do a test fit by realistically calculating the space you’ll need for your staff members, furniture and equipment. After you’ve determined the square footage you need, create a layout with newspapers measured to scale and taped together to replicate your furnishings, and then try to fit it into the space you’ve chosen. If your layout fits with room to spare, then you should have adequate room for your needs.
No matter what kind of business you have, your office space needs to be a pleasant place for your employees to work in and an attractive place for your clients to visit. By combining this atmosphere with the right commercial neighborhood, you’ll create the ideal office space for your business needs.
Sean Hambrick is an interior designer with a penchant for office functionality. He enjoys sharing his stories and knowledge on design blogs. Learn more about serviced offices Warrington, visit the link.
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Thanks for the tip about getting an office space that is large enough for your business needs. It would make sense to find somewhere that will also accommodate a bit of growth if that is in your business's future. It may also be smart to employ the services of a qualified and experienced realtor so that you can find something in the right location for you.
I agree that you want to consider the building when getting an office. Finding somewhere with good amenities would help you out as well. You may also want to talk with different tenants to get a feel for how the building is.
I like that you mention how it's important to consider your staff members, furniture, and equipment when calculating the amount of office space you need. In order to do this, you'd probably want to figure out if you already have the necessary furnishings and devices. This could help you be able to measure them or go online to research the different office furniture and equipment to learn about the options and their sizes to figure out the measurements and other requirements to help you determine the space you require.
My sister wants to start her own business, and your article had some great tips she could use to rent our commercial space for it. I liked how you said to consider a place that's close to home as employees will find it easier to commute to their job.. Thanks; I'll share this with my sister to help her rent commercial space for her future business.
I like your suggestion to choose a location that's close to our client base. I want to find a good office space to lease for my small business. Keeping your tips in mind should help me better evaluate my options!
I liked that you mentioned you need to consider choosing an office space that your employees can get to easily in case of bad weather. My husband is thinking about moving his office to a bigger location, and we are looking for advice to help him choose the perfect spot. I will let him know about the benefits of considering his employee's needs to help him choose the right location for his office.
Choosing the right building is crucial when coming to an expansion. With a poor building design, the company may end up distributing on 2 separate floors and that is crazy. Btw, the article is really helpful.
Location and Yes, large space is also important which otherwise may impact productivity.
I like how you said to find a location that is populated with software manufacturers. My husband was telling me last night about how he needs to find a good location for his new business, and he was wondering how to do find the right place. He might have to look into hiring a consultant that can help him with finding a good location. I'll make sure to pass this information along to him so that he can know more about finding a location for his business.
My mother had always been into hairdressing since she was younger and pampering herself and her friends had been her longtime hobby. Now that we're all grownups, my siblings and I are thinking of putting up a salon for her where she can start pursuing her interests. Thank you for telling us to look out for buildings for sale that are well-maintained and are located in a good central business district for her office space.