Choosing A Successful Site For Your Offices
Every business owner and management team needs to work out exactly how the location of their offices can or maybe can’t contribute to the business’ success. Choosing the location for your offices is an essential part of your start-up and there are four main issues to keep in mind when searching for the perfect premises.
Does Location Matter?
For some businesses location really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if they’re 50 miles away from humanity or they’re in the finest office space London has to offer, either way they can continue their business activities at the same rate of success. For other companies the location is absolutely key. It can mean the difference between riches and ruin and can be integral to ensuring your clientele come through the doors and keep on coming. Think about your business and the importance of location to you.
What Type of Location do you Need?
The key to picking a potentially profitable location is working out what exact factors will increase the number of clients you can entice. You need to keep asking yourself key questions including:
Will the reputation of the area I choose matter? Will it deter clients from visiting?
Is it important to have a premises which is state of the art and appealing to the eye?
Will customers be commuting via public transport or driving?
Will more customers come if I place myself near my competitors?
Different types of business attract traffic in different ways. If you’re a web-based business then your offices don’t necessarily need to be slap bang in the middle of the City of London but if you’re a broker or underwriters it would certainly help matters if they were. Being in the same area as your competitors has shown itself to be beneficial in London’s case and there’s nothing to suggest bucking the trend would work in your favour.
within Budget
Like every aspect of your business you need to have a specific budget allocated for your office space. The majority of start-up companies will be looking to rent rather than buy as the capital needed for purchase is significant and then you also need to consider how much specifically can be spent on rent. Is it worth cutting other aspects of the business to afford more expensive premises? This is where understanding the value of location to your business comes in – if you can afford to cut marketing costs because you have a perfectly located office then that’s great but if it’s not worth it don’t force yourself into an uncomfortable and dangerous financial position.
Is your location appropriate?
So you’ve decided where you want to work from because of the facilities and the great quality of the office but have you stopped to think about purpose? Yes, it might have great views and be superbly connected for commuters but does it have the capacity for the networking facilities you need for example? All these questions are important to ensure you get the right deal.
Finding the right office for your business is key to its success and these factors should help you draw up a shortlist of suitable properties.