Time to Set Up Shop
The signs telling you it’s time to move your business out of the garage and rent an office space for your business location
Image courtesy of Pixabay and StartupStockPhotos
Most great things start small and rise to greatness from humble beginnings. Many businesses follow that pattern: from the start-up phase in a make-do kitchen office, businesses grow and eventually reach the point of outgrowing the at-home office and need a designated office space outside the home. But the transition isn’t always clear. How do you know it’s time to rent office space? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- What are your growth goals? If you eventually want to add employees and see your business grow in that way, you should probably work to get out of your home office as soon as possible. However, if you’re content staying a one-person company, you may have less of a need for office space.
- How often do you meet with clients? Email, phones, and Skype make working remotely incredibly easy, but there comes a point when you simply need a face-to-face meeting. Coffee shops work, but aren’t always the best atmosphere to conduct business. If you’re frequently meeting with clients (and spending way too much at Starbucks!), renting office space is probably a very smart idea for you to portray your business as professional and competent.
- Are you able to productively work at home? If you don’t have a dedicated work space or if your home is simply too distracting for you, then renting a separate space for the sake of your productivity would be a smart move.
- Can you afford it? This is an obvious question, but it’s one you should look at very closely before making any commitments. Renting space should be a move that brings growth to your business, not something that ultimately takes away from your profitability.
If it’s time for you to find office space to rent, you have several options:
- Renting an office. Plain and simple, you find a space to rent at a business park or in a downtown area, and set up shop.
- Renting space. It’s also possible to rent space inside of another business, for example a law firm that has an unused office.
- Sharing space. Find one or two other business owners who also need space and share the rent of an office. This is especially smart if you don’t plan on using the space every day of the week.
- Co-working space. A growing trend is independent freelancers working together in a co-working space. This solves the office dilemma, and also helping solve the loneliness problem so many small business owners face.
If you’re seriously considering taking the next step for your business and renting office space, here are a few more resources to help you make the decision:
