Your small business has been thriving, so you’re able to hire employees and delegate your tasks. But you’re squeezing yourselves in your home office, and it’s starting to get cramped from too much work material and personal belongings. Since your profit is already skyrocketing, you’ve started looking for office spaces to rent.
Moving from your home office to a real office space is a milestone, but the preparation it would take can be tedious. With a new office space comes new and higher expenses, so unless your small business isn’t financially capable yet, then you’re definitely ready to move out of your home office
Here are the things you should consider and decide on before renting your first office space:
1. Dedicated or Coworking Space?
A typical company operates in a dedicated office. This means the space and all its equipment are solely for your company’s use. But if you’re a startup company, you’ve perhaps heard of coworking spaces. As its name suggests, this means one large office space shared by multiple startups. It has facilities and equipment akin to a dedicated space, plus some amenities like a coffee and snacks bar. If your the nature of your work promotes collaboration, then you might want to consider a coworking space.
2. Buying or Renting?
Let’s say you omitted a coworking space because it isn’t suitable for your business. In that case, should you rent or buy? For startups, buying is likely unrealistic, since it would involve a huge amount of expense. This leaves you with one, but most feasible choice: renting. Look for a nice, accessible and functional space that offers the best deal for your startup.
3. Your Office’s Location
As mentioned, you need to look for a nice, accessible space. Sounds exactly like the city, but rental rates in there are hefty. In a rural area, on the other hand, available office spaces might not be as plentiful. Therefore, picking a suburban location — like the suburbs of Salt Lake City, for example — could be the best choice. It’s convenient enough for your employees and your clients. Make sure parking spaces are available, including those for bicycles for anyone who prefers to travel green.
4. Furniture and Equipment
You want your first dedicated office space to look appealing, inspiring, and fun. To achieve this, you need to invest in high-quality office furniture that you can find in Salt Lake City. Since you’re only starting out, only purchase the most necessary furniture, and gradually fill in the space with more decor and other items. As for equipment, you can actually rent some essentials, like a high-volume copier. The equipment you’ve been using in your home office might still do as well, so don’t rush on buying new ones, unless absolutely necessary.
5. Size and Layout of the Space
A smaller space might be cheaper, but not always practical. If your startup needs a meeting room, a break room, a phone booth, and other dedicated rooms such as a lactation area, you might need a larger space to accommodate all of those.
6. Lease Length and Exit Strategy
Signing a longer lease agreement may allow your company to save more money, as landlords may charge you less every month. But before agreeing to a certain duration, determine whether the space will really be useful for that length of time, or longer. Study the exit terms if they’re reasonable.
Make a plan on how you’re going to legally break the contract if your company outgrows the space before the lease expires. Always review your contract first before jumping to any decisions, so that you won’t encounter legal issues and disputes with your landlord.
Transitioning from a home office to a real office space is no easy feat, but exciting all the same. It’s a reward for your business success, which you should share with your employees by giving them a good space to work on.