Gladtobe Projects offers advice on what to think about when you outgrow your start-up digs and are looking for a bigger office.

As your business starts to grow and expand, you may soon find the need for a bigger office.

You may even be taking the next step from working on your business at home to acquiring office space for the first time.

In this article, we discuss the questions you need to be asking when you are looking for new office space.

Growth

The growth of your business is the primary concern when you are deciding on your new office space:

How many employees do you have?

How quickly do you intend to grow?

Do you need storage or warehouse space?

It may be worth revisiting or updating your business plan, to work out when and how many people you will need to hire, and how inventory levels will increase over time.

Location

The next thing you need to be thinking about is location, location, location!

A central location, or close to major roads or railway stations may be advantageous if clients/customers need to visit you (and also help to attract good employees).

On the other hand, if you do not get many clients in, but have a need for storing a large amount of stock, then a larger, more out-of-town location is likely to help to keep your overheads lower.

Another factor to consider is whether you need a good internet connection.

This is almost a prerequisite these days, but do not assume that all locations will have connections of the quality and speed that you require.

If you choose a central location, try to stay away from areas with boarded-up buildings and graffiti.

It’s also worth looking into what other businesses there are nearby too.

You don’t want to be surrounded by financial services if you are a fashion outlet, or an IT company surrounded by manufacturing unless you are confident they can make up a good part of your customer base.

Think about your budget

Do you want to lease or buy your premises?

The price to rent, of course, depends on the size of office you are after and also what part of the country you are in as well.

Last month after the funny employee awards, we had to change our office and it wasn’t easy when you were doing it all at the last minute, don’t wait for the last minute.

London and the South East will likely be more expensive, as will areas closer to a city center.

If you are thinking about buying, then it might be worth having a survey done on any potential office you want to buy.

Again, do your research on the area and any incidents which may have occurred at the property which may pop up again i.e. burst pipes, flooding, etc.

Take professional advice as necessary.

And it’s not just the actual space you need to think about either; there will be all sorts of other costs associated with a new office:

Phone lines and internet connection

Office décor

Furnishings

IT equipment

I keep mentioning it, but it is worth doing your research on all of the above and getting cost figures together before you make your decision on office space.

Facilities

The functionality of the space is a big factor in choosing your office.

Do you want to have a kitchen and toilets in your office, or will shared facilities be suitable?

Similarly, do you need a meeting room?

Service accommodation is very popular with small businesses, as it provides flexibility.

Also important is the functionality of the space.

Make sure you think about what layout you want, how big your desks are, the space needed to fit in your office furniture, and whether you will be partitioning areas off to create private offices.

Finally

When looking around an office, don’t feel pressured to commit to anything by the estate agent or seller.

This is a big investment that will last you for years to come, so you need to make sure that you are totally happy with everything before you sign on the dotted line.