For business owners, there are many interesting milestones, and the most daunting, yet exciting one is renting an office space. Probably your startup venture has led you to work from cafes, communal areas, and homes until now. This will be the first time you will have your own office, yeah?
Tips for Renting an Office Space
We all know how tedious and frustrating it is to find space for your office. With all the excitement and thrill you’re feeling, it’s so easy to make mistakes. To help you make the process easy and simple, read our tips.
Focus on location
When you’re looking for an office space, you have to make sure it’s near your target audience and area of operations. This also means the office must be near your team members to easily commute to work.
In case you don’t have any employees yet, make sure to locate your business within your constituents. You’ll gain more sales, attract new talents, and engage well with prospects.
Weigh the pros and cons of having one
Before you start looking for an office space, you must ask yourself whether you really need one. The majority of businesses believed that they need an office to survive and succeed in the industry.
More recently, a business can grow even if you work from co-working spaces or home. If you can run your business efficiently from any of these places, you can save money and time by not renting a huge one.
Consider the size, design, and layout of the office
How much space do you need? An important thing to keep in mind is that you should get enough space to accommodate all the employees that you will have until the end of the lease.
If you rent a space that’s not conducive to your business, you might not be able to change it easily because of the lease. However, there are other options flexible enough for employees to work at home. Ask yourself if you need the following rooms or not:
- A break room
- Meeting rooms
- Kitchen
- Storage rooms
- Other dedicated rooms
Follow your budget
Not surprised to see this as a top tip for renting an office. Your budget plays a huge role when looking for a business space to see whether you can return much of your ROI. Decide for a budget and stick with it. It’s not a wise decision to choose an office space that will jeopardize the growth of your business or put you far into debt.
By having a budget, you ensure your business to run comfortably.
Don’t sign a multi-lease if you’re not ready
You have to keep in mind that the landlord wants to make money, just like you. This means they will try to bind you into a contract for a long time. You will have to keep certain things in your mind such as your business might not go as planned or expected, or your business might grow faster than you thought.
Think before signing a multi-lease if you’re not ready. Having a lease for several years might create a problem for your business.
Think the importance of a parking lot
For businesses, especially startups, parking lots can be a heavy investment to take. If you’re a small business person you might be able to make that decision instantly. Small businesses do not have to invest RIGHT AWAY (let alone you’re a digital marketer). It can eat up your budget, but it can let people take advantage of your parking lot that costs you a lot far more than complaints from customers.
One way to know if you need parking lots is to conduct research around your businesses and see whether the streets and location is accessible.
Weigh in the possibility of having an empty office space
Does your new office come up with basic furniture? Most businesses often opt this out of their leasing agreement thinking they can cut their costs for less. If you have any of these capabilities, then, why not go for it?
When starting a business, you might want to purchase the best furniture, equipment, pieces of machinery, and more. However, expensive items don’t necessarily equate to productivity, talent, skill, or grit of company personas. So, think carefully before making a huge splash on your savings.
To have one or not?
Home-based business owners will have the advantage of paying lower costs to put up their online store. Service-oriented companies might do fine without a physical address – but, they still have to work hard for the public to trust them. This includes amplifying their website activities, customer service, social media strategies, and more.
