Choosing the right office space for your business can be a difficult process because you want to find the perfect place. Here are 5 steps you should take if you are looking into renting or purchasing office space:
Establish Your Needs
Before making any serious commitments, you want to make sure the office space you are considering accommodates all of your needs. Will you have access to copying and printing facilities? Is there a cafeteria? Is the space big enough for you business? Will there be room for more employees if you need to hire any? Whether you are purchasing or renting office space, you are making a large investment, and you want to make sure you are paying for what you need.
Find a Killer Location
The inside of your office could be PERFECT, but if the location is wrong, you’re screwed. Think about your customers and how the location will affect them. Is there parking available? Is the building easy to find? Is the area safe? You want to keep these kinds of things in mind because you want to be able to drive traffic to your business.
Evaluate the Building
OK. So you’ve established your needs and found a killer location, so the next step is to evaluate the building itself. You want to look into the kind of flexibility you have with the space. Can you put up new walls for offices? Are there any recurring problems with the space? Are there going to be any renovations during the lease? You don’t want to rent or purchase office space and then find out that 2 months into the lease there are going to be renovations to the entire building and you won’t be able to use your space for an extended period of time. Or even worse, you don’t want to find out that the building was built buried on some ancient Indian burial ground!
Utilize Professional Help
Consider hiring a real estate professional who will be familiar with office spaces in the areas you are looking to rent out space. A professional will know the best and worst areas and will most likely be able to direct in the right direction.
Review The Lease
Lastly, read the lease. CAREFULLY. You want to know exactly what you are responsible for as a tenant, and what the landlord is responsible for as the property owner. Once you sign the lease you are stuck with whatever you get, so be careful. Consider hiring a lawyer to be present for the signing.
Utilize these 5 steps and you will be much more successful in choosing the right office space for your business.