When you first start your own company, you won’t always think about where you’re going to be in a years time. Or five years time. You’ll just get to work. You’ll be so fired up over what you’re doing, that you’ll just want to do the work. You’ll start to work hard and build up your dream business. You’ll create something that you love, and your perfect clients will start to be drawn to you too. And that’s exciting. But at the same time, when you’re doing good work, you may also find that you also then start to grow – which you don’t always foresee. But working hard and really giving your customers what they want DOES allow this to happen for you. And before long, you’re going to realize that you need to make some big improvements on what you’re doing.
One of the first things that you might realize you need, is an office space. Maybe you need to meet with clients and you can’t have them come into your living room, nor do you want to keep meeting in coffee shops. Or maybe you want to take on members of staff and you need to house them somewhere? Well then, it’s time to start looking for somewhere to call home. Let’s take a look at what some of your ideal options could be here.
A Rented Desk Space
First of all, you might want to simply rent a desk. This could be in a big office space or from a company that you now. It’s less professional than some of the other options below, but it can be a good starting point.
A Coworking Space
Next, you could look into being in a coworking space. For this, you’d be around other entrepreneurs or freelancers that are working from the same space. It can be like renting a desk, but the idea is that everyone there will be working on the same kind of thing that you are. The price can also be an advantage here, yet you may need to hot desk and some days could be busier than others.
A Managed Office
From here, you might then want to look at moving into a managed office space. You can lease your own office, but within a building that is managed for you. The size of the spaces usually vary. So you could have a room to yourself or something bigger to fit more staff in. You also usually get the benefit of a reception, meeting rooms to use, cleaning done of your behalf, and a range of facilities around the building too. But, there is a higher cost usually associated for this.
A Leased Office
If you don’t really like the idea of having staff around the place and you just want a space that is your own, renting an office space solely can work. You don’t have to be in a managed building. You could just get something in a walkup. For this, just consider the price difference, as this might save you money. But you will have more management to either do or arrange yourself.
Somewhere You Bought
And, of course, you could buy an office or a building. If you don’t want a landlord or you want to do this as an investment, you can. This can also be a good option for the longer term, if you have the budget there.
Somewhere You Built
But you don’t just have to buy an office space or building, you could actually create your own. Maybe you have an image in your mind of what you want? Or you can’t find a suitable office space but there is land available? Sure, you need to consider getting a contractor and machinery such as excavator dry hire as well as maybe a designer or project manager. But, this could work out as a better long-term investment for you. Especially if you want to create a space that you can grow into.
Something At Home
Taking that last point and flipping it, maybe you like the idea of creating something yourself, but at home? You don’t have to buy land and build a commercial space if it isn’t going to suit you. Instead, you can look to convert your garage or build an outbuilding or even add an extension onto your home to house the office in. Just think about what the perfect working set up for you would be, and if you want to be close to home. Here, location is important – especially for employees or visiting clients. But if you live somewhere that’s easy to access, this could be a cheaper alternative to building or buying.
- This post has been written by an outside source – See disclosure policy
