Starting a new business is often a very uncertain time. This is the same whether you’re a brand new entrepreneur who has never run a business before or whether you’ve got multiple success stories behind you and you’re moving on to your next big venture. There will always be what feels like a million questions to ask and answer, and you might never be sure you’re making the right decisions.
In this article, we’re going to talk specifically about office space because, although there are indeed many other things to concern yourself with, this is something you’ll need to decide quite early on. After all, if you don’t know what kind of office you need or how much room you’re going to require, how will you ever get started on anything else? With that in mind, here are some ideas about working out how much office space you need.
Do You Need Any At All?
The first thing to think about is whether or not your business actually needs any office space at all. Could it be run remotely, where all your employees work from home, and all interactions are virtual and digital? For many, this has become the norm, even if it’s not what they first envisioned for their business. In fact, many employees prefer this method of working, as it allows them to have a better work-life balance and be less stressed, yet still productive. And since it can save a lot of money on rent and utilities for the business owner, it often seems to be the best way to work. If you don’t need any office space, it might be best not to get any.
However, some businesses need that space. One reason for this is that you might prefer to offer your employees a choice. Rather than dictating that they should work from home or work in an office, you can offer them the chance to do both. Hybrid working is popular, and having an office that people can use if they want to is a great way to make sure it can happen.
You might also need space for the work itself. If you manufacture things, for example, you’ll definitely need a workspace or warehouse, but how big that space needs to be will depend on the equipment you have to use and the number of people who have to use it. For example, if you use a desktop extruder like the ReDeTec ProtoCycler, you won’t need as much space as if you use a larger piece of equipment.
Room To Grow
Assuming you do need office space for your business, you’ll want to make sure you choose something that’s the right size. Once you have a business address, it’s better to stay where you are, especially if you have customers coming to you, perhaps because you’re a retail store or restaurant. Moving can be time-consuming, expensive, and disruptive, not to mention it could alienate some customers.
This is why it’s important to consider the size of the office space you rent or buy before you commit to anything. It will have to be suitable for you right now, but you’ll need to take into account your plans for the future. How big do you intend to grow? How many people do you think you’ll need to hire? What kind of office or manufacturing equipment is going to be best for you, and how much space will that take up?
Although it’s impossible to know for sure how many people you’ll have working for you in five years’ time, or how much the business might have grown or be making in profit, you do need to create a forecast that gives you an estimate. This is actually important for a number of reasons, not least planning, decision-making, and funding, but it also means you can find the right size office space and not have to move once you are established and a big part of the community.
Visit In Person
If you have a good idea about how much square footage you might need because you’ve done your forecast and calculations and you know how much space each potential employee should have, you still need to be careful.
Remember that a square or rectangular office is going to give you a lot more usable space than a round or oval room might have. So although you might think you’re getting a bigger office, if the shape is unusual or there are lots of different corners and angles to deal with, it might actually not be as useful as you think.
The best thing to do is to visit the potential office in person to get a good idea of exactly what it’s like. If you do that, you’ll find that you can be sure you’re not paying too much and that everyone (and everything) is going to fit comfortably.