Planning Your Office Space

Office space is one of the important factors you have to pay careful consideration in setting up a business, be it home-based or otherwise. Although most businesses can get by with minimum space requirements, not all businesses can go on this way indefinitely. Eventually, you office will get cramped and productivity will surely take a penalty hit – sure signs that your present office space is getting smaller due to business success or lack of planning. However, once you hit the need for a bigger office space it can only mean one thing – your business is growing.

When you reach a point where the need for a bigger space becomes imperative, consider the following factors before you go decide to transfer to a new location.

Evaluate your business’s growth potential, plans for expansion and projected number of employees in the next five years before you begin looking for new office locations. Most commercial spaces are available for lease at a minimum period of five years which is you’re your planning and projections should cover the said period. According to the type of business that you have, be sure to consider the following variables in planning your extension or expansion such as number of employees, office furniture, factory or production space, office equipment, storage space of inventory, supplies and files.

Some experts estimate that each employee needs approximately from 150 to 200 square feet for maximum productivity plus a 10 percent for traffic flow. Extra space may further be necessary if your business has a large amount of inventory since expansion will obviously increase the storage space requirement.

There are two options in acquiring a larger business space facility, to lease or to buy. Leasing makes it easier to move if your business grows and you are not saddled with the maintenance of the facility. On the other hand, you may want to buy the property if the location is perfect for your business; a high-traffic area for your retail operation and you want the building to reflect your business style in its design.

Business owners have a difficulty in making a decision as to whether to buy, rent, or lease office space. Keep in mind that each business is unique unto itself. It has its own subjective concerns, which only the owner(s) can answer objectively.

There are advantages to owning property for your business. Aside from asset appreciation the property can be considered a long-term investment the building and land it is appreciates in market value; if your owned building is too big for your business requirements, you have the option to sublet parts of it that can generate additional income.

Planning for expansion or moving to a bigger office space however requires that you will have the money to pay for the rent now and in the future. Make sure that your cash flow and projections has this in consideration before you decide. Also, evaluate how long you plan to stay in the new building: if you plan to stay in the location for only a short period of time (three to five years) then renting or leasing is the perfect option. However, if you are seriously considering to buy the property make sure to take into consideration factors such as real estate values in the area, local zoning regulations. Owning the property also means that you have to be responsible for the maintenance, security, remodeling, and other management issues.