Finding the “perfect” office for you and your small business is a journey, but these tips will help.
It can be a challenge when looking to find that perfect office space for your small business to work out of. You want all the amenities you need to function plus the benefits that will need to accelerate growth, but what you don’t need is a sky-high lease payment to go with it.
Keeping your expenses down can make the difference in whether or not your business reaches its full potential or struggles to get off the ground. However, finding everything you need in an office space without skimping is a fine line to tread.
These 5 tips will help you find the best office situation no matter if you’re a solo entrepreneur or part of a small or large business.
1. Stop Looking For “Perfect”
I hate to break it to you, the “perfect” office space doesn’t exist! Be practical and don’t waste a lot of time trying to find the perfect space. Especially during the early stages of your small business’s life. Many entrepreneurs choose to start with a virtual office, coworking plan, or work from home when first getting started and then grow into the best office situations as their reach grows too.
2. Go Where Your Clients Are
This is a vital step because the odds are that people who are looking to purchase your business’s services will almost always prefer to work with someone who’s local. However, if you have aspirations to grow your business, then you’re going to need a way to essentially be in several places at once, without spending a small fortune. This is where coworking spaces come into play.
For a much lower cost, you can expand your geographical reach by using virtual office packages or renting conference rooms at several different coworking spaces in many different locations, giving you a local presence in many different areas, without having to hire a massive staff or rent 10 different offices that you’ll never use!
3. Consider Shared Spaces
Most businesses are more successfully practiced in collaboration with other entrepreneurs. This is where you gain the ability to brainstorm and get advice about the common issues that plague almost every business, such as tech issues, marketing tips and other administrative suggestions.
This is one of the largest reasons why so many entrepreneurs flock towards shared office spaces.
In a typical Flalger Beach office rental, you may find all kinds of businesses that are open to collaboration. Meaning not only will you find people who want to provide advice, but also want to work together and exchange referrals and business with each other. This is a very common thread amongst the community members here at Ripple Coworking!
4. Identify Your Top Priorities
Often, you can’t have it all, so it’s critical to determine what’s most important to you and your business.
Once you know your budget, think about all the services your firm needs (internet, phone service, copy machines, reception services, HVAC, cleaning, kitchen pantry, etc.). It’s best to group these services into three categories:
- Absolutely require.
- Nice to have.
- Can live without.
When looking at different office options, in order to compare “apples to apples” you need to really understand what is included as part of the deal. If the services you absolutely require are not included (or are inadequate), then you will have to pay for these things on your own. One or two of these items can significantly increase the cost of your small business’s office rental.
5. You Need Flexibility
Look for a space with flexibility, both in terms of flexible leases and flexible growth options. When you’re just starting out, the future is unknown, and you also don’t know what office situation is going to be best for your work style and business. You hope to grow quickly but if that doesn’t pan out, you don’t want to be locked into a costly, long-term lease.
That’s another reason why virtual offices and coworking has become so popular among small business owners. Both enable entrepreneurs to work from anywhere at any time. Providing everyone with increased opportunities both for growing revenue and maintaining a less stressful work/life balance.
