Expanding your business is a natural part of experiencing growth. When it comes time to meet these new demands, you might be finding yourself looking for a new office space. Or else, you may want to relocate the office to a new place due to a variety of reasons including cutting costs.
Before you know it, you’ll be connecting with Utah movers to have everything shipped over and set up.
To start, however, you have a few decisions to weigh out in order to determine the perfect place to set up camp.
1- Needs Versus Wants
First off, you have to determine the bare minimum: space.
Figuring out how much space your business will need is based off of how many bodies and machines you want to fill it with.
You might already have explored the option to turn your extra rooms into a productive office space, and it can save tens of thousands of dollars on rent. But it might not be a long term solution in most of the cases.
While you want everyone to be comfortable, you also must consider your budget. This is where you will have to go out and visit a few spaces and get a feel for how other companies fit their employees into a certain square footage. This will help you visualize how much space you should be on the lookout for.
Also keep in mind whether you plan to hire more people in the near future. If you plan to expand further but don’t factor this into choosing a new office, you’ll find yourselves moving again soon.
2- Use Your Contacts
When it comes to finding a great place to live, we all know that friendly recommendations have always worked out best. Well, the same goes for office spaces.
Starting a conversation with friends, family, and other business owners will set you on the right track to finding the best office spaces in your area.
Be sure to ask others what
they were paying and what they liked or did not like about their space, such as
how they got on with the landlord.
Asking questions will give you useful insight into what to look for in an office space. And you never know who might have a good contact or know a great place, so ask away!
3- What to Consider
There’s a lot that goes into figuring out if an office space is right for your company or not. But it all goes back to what you want.
Whether it is windows for natural lighting, a printing/coffee office, or even a conference room. You will have to decide on these things while touring around.
The way your employees will be organized is important too. If your business is based on collaboration and creativity,maybe you want a more open-plan space. If a lot of computer work and phone conversations will be occurring, maybe you will need enough room for cubicles.
4- All About Location
Now, it’s time to think of where you want the building to be located; which will narrow down a lot of searches.
First off, try to think of the time your employees will be driving to and from work.
Making sure that traffic congestion isn’t going to force them to drive extra hours will show them that you care about their time and commitment.
Also, think about the surroundings. Do you want to be amidst the hustle and bustle? Will you need to be in a location where clients can gain easy access? For example, if your business was located in London and you had a lot of international clients flying in and out then it would be smart to relocate your office close to Heathrow airport! If not, maybe you’re better of finding a spot a little more out of the way.
5- Judge Its Looks
The ambiance of your building will mean a lot, as this will become your second home!
At your first glance, try to absorb how you really feel about the exterior facade as well as the interior lighting, design, and infrastructure.
These things will set the mood for you and your employees throughout the day and will also help you capture the attention of new employees for the future.
If you view a dingy space without much natural light and old, decaying décor, it might be worth paying a little extra for the happiness of all your workers.
When You Find the Perfect Place…
Make sure to sign the lease for at least six months. There is nothing worse than getting comfortable in a space and then having to pick up and move; which costs time, money and effort.
Good luck finding your new HQ!