Moving into an office space from a home office is really a crucial decision of yours as a business owner. You either have witnessed the business growth or you may have been in an effort to witness it. You have to be very careful and conscious while making this decision as a wrong move at a right time ends you up in an unwanted destination.
When your business seems to be picking up, your home office will no longer be enough for you to carry out your operations. You may also want to add a few more employees to the company, and you will not be able to accommodate all your employees. This is when you start to think of having a dedicated workplace for your employees. But before just leasing or renting an office space, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself.
Below mentioned are the 5 important questions you need to ask yourself:
1. Are you ready for the commitment?
Yes, leasing an office space is a kind of commitment you are making with the owner of your space. When you say leasing, it just means that the owner is handing over the property to you for a certain period, and you will have to take care of the property for so many years. Unlike residential leases, commercial properties are always leased for minimum of 2-3 years, and sometimes even more than 5 years.
So you just have to think if you are really ready to take up the commitment; if your answer is no, you have several other options like shared offices and co-working to try out. However, having an office space of your own is a better option if you can make up with your commitment.
2. Have you taken expert advice?
Whatever might be your level of knowledge, it’s always good to consider an expert in the field when you are going to take up something new. Their advice may give you a new dimension to think of which otherwise would not be thinking about. You need to understand that they are much more knowledgeable and will be able to give you much valuable insights about your decision to move into an office space.
Sometimes, you may feel that the advice is going against your wish, but it’s ultimately you who’s to decide on it. All you need to do is, make sure you choose a reputed firm having significant experience in the field, so that they will guide you through the right path.
3. What is your budget?
In fact, this is the first question you should be asking yourself when you decide to move out of your home office. This is where most of the business owners fail; they fail to analyse the budget properly, which ends them up in an office space that doesn’t actually fall within their budget. Ultimately they will have to cut down their other expenses to manage the costs associated with the office space. Sometimes they will also have to think about cutting down the number of employees to bear with the maintenance costs.
You must be very clear about the budget and the level up to which you can afford considering all your expenses.
4. Do you really understand the upfront costs?
Firstly, you need to know what upfront costs really mean; it’s nothing but the amount you need to pay once you have accepted the offer on any property. It may include the security deposit (depends on the landlord and economics of the transaction), attorney fee, furniture costs, infrastructure costs (telephone or internet costs), liability insurance and also the improvement costs (if you wish to make any).
Make sure you clearly understand the costs associated with the office space lease. If you have any confusion on any part, it’s advised contact your attorney to get your doubts cleared before moving ahead.
5. What is your location preference?
Location plays a very important in the growth of your business if not the success and failure of it. However, it has been one of the main reasons for the failure of many businesses. Choosing an ideal location to carry out your operations has got lots to do with your business. As the business owner, you’ll know your business and audience better than anyone else does.
So, you need to look for the space in a location that suits your business.
What’s the fun of having the space in a location that’s nowhere related to your field?
Doesn’t make sense right?
Choose your location wisely and operate efficiently. You also have to see if you are allowed to make any minor changes on the space if needed. Apart from these, there are lots of other factors to be considered but above mentioned are the mandatory questions that you owe an answer for.
Naveen John is a content Writer at FortuneProps,
an Corporate Real Estate brokerage firm providing specialized servicesin property management, corporate leasing, online property services, investment and transaction Management.