First impressions are everything and one of the biggest impressions a business can have on potential clients is the inside and outside of the business office itself. Not every business needs to be located in a modern skyscraper downtown where the inside of the office is decorated extravagantly, but few businesses want to be located in the middle of nowhere where the inside of the office has only a few chairs and a lamp. Most companies are looking for a happy balance in the middle and trying to find a good deal at the same time to keep costs down. Leasing or owning office space should be a well-planned and extremely informed decision though because it is generally one of the biggest business expenses. This article hopes to provide information to make that decision easier.
Choosing an office building means taking into account a few key variables such as: number of employees, type of clients, and business realities. These variables will sometimes conflict with each other so specific effort is needed to balance them out. For example, the more employees a company has the larger an office space they would be tempted to look for but they have to balance that with not getting an office space too large because of business realities of limited funds available for office space budget. Making detailed lists and proposals on what the priorities for each key variable are and the strategies for meeting those priorities is a big part of balancing them. These lists and proposals typically also contain raw details about the needed features of the office space such as: cubicles or open floor plan? Big or small waiting room? How many conference rooms? Desired size of each room?
The cost of how expensive office space will be is typically computed as cost per square foot. The cost per square foot can be affected by such things as real estate market in the area, amenities in the building such as the view or the size of the lobby, and the type of contract. For the last item, longer contracts are typically less expensive in terms of cost per square foot. Places such as incubators offer spaces that come with decorations and furniture, which can be perfect for small companies that do not have a lot of money to spare. For other businesses planning on a more traditional office spaces, the cost of furniture/decorations is one of the other line items to add to the office space budget; along with utilities. Similar to personal rental situations, breaking a lease early will typically come with some hefty fees along with potentially causing damage to the company’s credit profile.
Choosing an office building means taking into account a few key variables such as: number of employees, type of clients, and business realities. These variables will sometimes conflict with each other so specific effort is needed to balance them out. For example, the more employees a company has the larger an office space they would be tempted to look for but they have to balance that with not getting an office space too large because of business realities of limited funds available for office space budget. Making detailed lists and proposals on what the priorities for each key variable are and the strategies for meeting those priorities is a big part of balancing them. These lists and proposals typically also contain raw details about the needed features of the office space such as: cubicles or open floor plan? Big or small waiting room? How many conference rooms? Desired size of each room?
The cost of how expensive office space will be is typically computed as cost per square foot. The cost per square foot can be affected by such things as real estate market in the area, amenities in the building such as the view or the size of the lobby, and the type of contract. For the last item, longer contracts are typically less expensive in terms of cost per square foot. Places such as incubators offer spaces that come with decorations and furniture, which can be perfect for small companies that do not have a lot of money to spare. For other businesses planning on a more traditional office spaces, the cost of furniture/decorations is one of the other line items to add to the office space budget; along with utilities. Similar to personal rental situations, breaking a lease early will typically come with some hefty fees along with potentially causing damage to the company’s credit profile.
