If you are reading this blog and think “oh, another self-promotion blog” you would be wrong! Yes, Telsec rents office space to entrepreneurs and small business, but our office solutions are not perfect for every business. Every small business has its own unique needs and requirements. They are not the same for one business as they are for another.
The first step in finding office space that works for your business is to establish what your needs are, especially in terms of how you need to work to get your jobs done efficiently. Yes, you are reading this and perhaps saying “oh, that’s easy – I just need a place to put a desk and my computer on top of it.” Maybe you are thinking that any place will do. Well, you would be wrong! There are many factors you need to take into consideration.
When looking for office space, the first thing to ask is how important are your location needs? Yes location, location, location is an important choice. The location needs and options are different from business to business. For some businesses, the importance of a prestigious address is crucial. For some others, the proximity to where their clients are is paramount. Then there are others whose address must be near their home or where their employees live.
One big factor in finding office space that works for your business is knowing your infrastructure needs – and if the office for rent you are considering will meet those demands. If your business relies on high-speed internet, you have to make sure that the office space you are looking at is capable of the speeds and bandwidth you require. If the infrastructure meets your needs, you then have to find out how much it will cost. More importantly, if you do need to make improvements and make changes to the infrastructure of the property, can those costs be deducted from the rent as “lease-hold improvements”?
So, you have found the right office location, you have the right infrastructure (or a plan/agreement to make upgrades), but what are your technology needs? Are you planning to buy or lease a telephone system, photo copiers and network printers? Maybe you should factor those costs into your overall monthly office requirements, or consider renting office space in a serviced office at an office business centre.
The most important part of finding an office space that works for your business, is finding one that fills your needs and meets your budget. You may find that your needs for a prestigious address cannot be filled with your existing budget. So what are your options? One option in this case is to have your physical offices in one space and utilize a virtual office solution as your public address. You can have a mail service at an upscale physical business address, and work from your home or another space – while having your potential customers and clients think that you are actually working from somewhere else.