There’s a lot of things to get right when you’re starting up your business – from your product or service details to the staff you need to get you off the ground through to a plan for how you’re going to market yourself. Your premises should be right near the top of the list, however.
It’s vital that you get a good base from which to operate. Why? Here’s our guide to the importance of choosing the right premises for your business…
It’s expensive
It’s not the case that you only get one shot to get this right, but failure to find the right premises will hit you in the pocket. Spending time looking for suitable premises takes time, while rent or purchase prices are high.
These costs do depend on where you’re looking, of course. In popular cities such as New York you can expect to pay more than $70 per sqft for office space – although the prices will be less than half this in most other cities and lower in smaller towns. Still, the point stands that signing up for a property involves a lot of time, money and effort and you really don’t want to have to go through the whole process again in quick succession.
Access to suppliers and customers
There are two aspects to selecting the right premises for your business – the building itself and the location. When it comes to the latter, it’s crucial to think about where your customers and suppliers are based.
While technology has broken down many of the geographical barriers to doing business, it’s still important to be able to be close to your customer base, especially if you need to deliver products to them (likewise if you’re going to be needing regular orders from suppliers.) Some areas are specialist hotspots for particular industries and setting up in them enables you to gain instant kudos. You might also want to think about the taxes and regulations that exist in the location as these will affect the running costs of your business on an ongoing basis.
Space to thrive and grow
The quality of the premises itself is also important – from the broadband speed to the air conditioning and layout – all of these factors can enhance your working environment or severely hold you back. You should draw up a list of must-have amenities for your premises and ensure your chosen location has all of these – otherwise you might have to spend time and money on upgrading this instead of getting your business off the ground.
Don’t forget the practical features either. Everything from parking through to available storage, or space to install your own storage, for your stock should be weighed up as it’ll be difficult to fix these things once you’ve moved in. Make sure you’ve got room to grow too. You don’t want the expansion of your business to be held back by a premises that doesn’t have the space you need to be able to capitalise on a growth opportunity.
Conclusion
Getting the right premises will ensure you’re in the right place with the right features to make a success of your business – and avoid you having to make a costly move to another location when you’d rather be focusing on growth.
Pick wisely.