Why You Should Start Looking Sooner Than You Think
Getting your first office space can often be a big step for your business. It may feel as though an office space can suit the needs of your business over several years when you sign a lease. With the pace that many businesses scale today, there are many businesses, especially in the tech industry that are scaling with new employees every day. If you are starting to ask yourself do I need more work space? You may already be in a reactionary stage for finding a new office space.
Exploring your options early on a new workspace before you run out of room could be crucial to steering your business in a controlled manner. Here are some of the top reasons to look at more workspace before you absolutely need it:
Finding The Right Office Space Will Take Time
Finding office space isn’t as simple as just browsing through online listings and picking out the perfect location. Many businesses end up searching for months before they are able to rent a workspace that works for them. Finding an office space only gets more complicated as your business grows. Renting a workspace needs to be a significant decision as any commercial space for rent will have to suit the needs of your business.
One of the biggest challenges that you may face in seeking a new office space is that you will have to tour the office spaces extensively before you sign a lease. Many commercial properties pre-build the units that they have available to rent. Most office spaces in this prebuilt format will only list the square footage that is available in each unit. In order to determine if the space is right for your company, you might have to tour dozens of these locations to find an office space that works.
Negotiating A Lease Will Add Extra Time To Your Search
Even after you have selected an office space that’s going to work for you, the negotiation process for business can come with hurdles as well. Each company lease will have to detail the full use of the space. Your commercial lease will include the total amount of rent that you will have to pay, what services you will be responsible for paying for, the amount of utility bills that you’ll be responsible for, maintenance bills that you will have to pay, auxiliary costs like parking and more.
The full negotiation process for your lease could take several weeks of contract revisions until you and the building manager are on the same page. Being in negotiations also doesn’t dictate that you will get the space. If you are competing for an office space in a desirable area, there’s always a chance that another business could come in with less requirements and win the office space before you have a contract completely drafted.
One of the final stages of negotiating your lease includes the process of buildout for your office. This is where you and the landlord will determine roughly what your office will look like and any work that may have to be done within the space to get it ready for your business.
The Buildout Phase
After you’ve negotiated a lease, the landlord or building manager will have to outfit the office to suit the needs of your company. It could take months to get a space ready for your company to move in. Most extensive build outs after you sign a lease will take about three months. This time period doesn’t take into account any extra need for holidays, construction delays and more.
When it comes to preparing for new office space one of the best rules of thumb is to begin looking roughly 6 months before you will need access to the extra office space for your company. If your business has been hiring at a steady rate and you calculated that you will run out of desk space within the next 6 to 8 months, it is the perfect time to give us a call and schedule a free consultation. Speaking with a broker or doing some homework on local office spaces can be the perfect measure that your business can take to make sure that your business operations are not impeded by the size of your offices. Waiting too long or nor in the problem could lead to massive inefficiencies as your business tries to muddle through for months at a time without a space solution for your employees. Don’t make the mistake of scaling without a plan, start looking for work space as soon as you identify that there will be a need within the next 6 months.
As you continue to narrow down results, you can start to find a new space that works well for your employees as well as the business that you created. Contact Signature Workspace today for a free tour of one of our several office spaces!