Running your own business can be a lot of fun, but let’s face it: if you’ve taken the plunge, you could find yourself regularly blighted by distractions. Whether it’s your spouse, the kids or even that new Amazon parcel that’s tempting you, you could soon see sense in renting an external office.
However, settling on the right office space can be tricky, especially if this is still the first time you’ve ever run a business. Here are a few things to tick off the list of crucial criteria as you start searching.
Consider how much you can afford to pay
If you’re still running the business from home, you’re probably fairly cash-strapped and, as a result, might have ruled out the prospect of reaching for an office on account of this alone. However, an office is more financially practical to hire than you might have realised.
That’s down to short-term office leases. With serviced offices, you can pay monthly, says Start Up Donut, and get amenities like water, electricity and internet already set up as part of the package.
Look closely at the space’s layout and amenities
What equipment and furniture do your routine business activities require you to use? The particular office you’re considering might not quite have enough space to accommodate all of those essentials. Even if it seemingly does, the best layout could prevent some furniture and equipment from fitting.
Consider what amenities will be provided with the office itself, too. For example, if you aim to meet most of your clients here, make sure the office includes a reception area, Information Age advises.Furthermore, what about the other areas of the office like the bathroom? You might require help from experts like onepointpartitions.com if the bathroom is not sufficiently equipped for your type of business.
Take into account your plans for future expansion
In the early days of your business, its size could be prone to changing in a somewhat volatile manner as market forces take their toll on the company. All the same, though, you can’t entirely rule out the possibility that your company’s growth soars beyond initial expectations.
Your company’s trajectory could veer onto an unpredictable path, basically – but, with a serviced office, you could find that you can easily scale your workplace’s size up and down as necessary.
Strategically choose the right location
How will your workers get to the office and back every day? You don’t want to leave them with unnecessary commuting difficulties, which is why you ought to consider the strength of the transport connections near any particular office that you seriously consider.
A good choice of office location can also feed positively into your company’s brand image and identity, and so help prevent you from starting on the back foot with your publicity efforts.
The ideal office could be closer than you think
Resist too quickly assuming that landing the right office would require you to relocate to London. Of course, the capital has an appealing supply of serviced offices, but the right office could be surprisingly close to your home.
For example, office rental in Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone could give your workers convenient physical proximity to the city’s Temple Meads train station.
Cover Image credits: Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
