Starting up a business: Tips in looking for an office location

An entrepreneur has to make a lot of choices and decisions most especially during the start-up phase of his business. There are so many concerns, items, and scenarios that needs his direct involvement and supervision.

One of the first choices that he has to make is in choosing a location for his office. This is one of the more crucial decisions because an office is not only the headquarters for your whole business operations, it is also a big investment. A bad decision would also mean a useless drain on your start-up capital and expenditure.

Here are some tips and reminders that you can follow that will help you make that crucial decision in choosing an office location:

Check the rent. Calculate if the rent you are going to pay for the office space is just right for the space and location. A lot of start-up businesses usually overlook this simple fact and end up paying premium rentals for an office space that could have been rented at a lower rate. Also a bad decision on rent can create cash-flow problems for your business further down the line.

Ask about the anchor tenants. All office buildings have what are called anchor tenants. These are tenants that collectively give the good or prestigious image of the office building to the public and thus could generate the initial customer interest and traffic for your company. Their presence in the building can sometimes be factored in the quotation for rent. It is crucial that you ask about them to the building management and find out when their lease will end. There’s no use getting a prestigious office building and pay premium rates only to find out that one of the most important anchor tenants in the building will leave a few months after.

Ask about office supplies providers in the building. Ask if there are tenants in the building can supply your office with office supplies that you need for daily operations. This can include printer cartridges, general office stationary and paper. An in-house tenant that can provide these supplies will mean savings for you because it can save you company time in making runs outside the office to replenish resources. You can even leave your company fliers in these tenants’ offices as a cross-advertising effort.

Consider any office renovations the should be made. A number of buildings would refuse if any significant changes are done because it can run contrary to the uniformity of a building’s looks and image. Ask yourself if the building’s image is one that you want to associate your business with.

Take care of client needs. If your business is the type where a lot of your clients would have to frequently visit your company then factor their needs. Make sure that the building has adequate parking spaces and is near stations for public transportation

Look for a bank. Find out if there is a bank located in the office building or in the vicinity. A bank that is near your office is extremely helpful especially in terms of the daily banking activities that you have to do.