Choosing an office location was never an easy task. In digital age, location is little bit less important, since large part of business is being done online. In spite of that, entrepreneurs need to be very careful when choosing the place from which they will run their business, since inaccessible location can make them loose large part of their customer and employee base. In this article we listed some of the most important criteria for making the right decision on this matter.
State
States can be more or less friendly towards entrepreneurs in different industries. Authorities are defining business conditions by regulating income and sales taxes, and supporting business growth in certain niches with issuing grants and subsidies. Before entrepreneurs decide in which state to incorporate, they should always check several states and choose the one that is the most accessible and affordable for running a small business in their niche.
City or Town
City and county authorities are also offering incentives to businesses in certain niches, and charge different taxes. Cities should also be ranked depending on their transportation system, regulations, average income of their citizens, and availability of labor. Depending on their size different settlements also come with variety of advantages and disadvantages. It is much easier and less expensive to run business from small town, but these places also offer very narrow customer base. Small city with good broadband would be the perfect place for internet based startup, which is how towns like Menlo Park and Paolo Alto became the most desirable places for tech businesses. Big cities come with much higher lease prices, but also the bigger customer base that is why they are much better option for location based businesses.
Part of Town
Company office should be easy accessible to both clients and employees. It should be well connected with all other city areas. Location should also depend on company’s business. Offices that are regularly visited by clients are located in Downtown areas, which are usually the best looking, centrally located parts of town with great connections to whole metro area. Problem with Downtown offices is that their leas is usually much more expensive, which is why many companies choose to move to other less business-like areas. Entrepreneurs should know that if their office is not well connected with transportation and easy accessible for their employees they might need to pay their travel expenses or (which is even worse) fully organize employee’s transportation from home to work and back.
Startups and small businesses that want to move their office to another area sometimes have additional criteria for choosing new office location. Moving company to faraway places can be very expensive, so entrepreneurs are advised to negotiate good price with firms dealing with office relocation or to move their office closer to their initial location.
Office
When it comes to company office itself, it is advisable to always choose premises that have enough space for future business growth. Building should have nice and functional infrastructure, fast broadband, CCTV or maybe even a security guard at the door or reception. Of entrepreneurs chooser older or historical building for their office location, they would spend more money and be limited when it comes to office branding, but these buildings can be very good promotional tools. When leasing office space, property owner is one of the key figures, entrepreneurs need to communicate with. They should have good communication and lease conditions should be favorable and transparent. Another important criterion is the amount of parking space offered, since it is important for employees, customers and suppliers.
Depending on the type of business the company is running it is also advisable to check local competition before choosing an office, since for local-based businesses it is sometimes hard to succeed in neighborhoods where there are several well established rivals from the same niche.
These guidelines will help entrepreneurs to choose the best possible office space, and after that, the only thing they need to focus on is their company’s business growth.
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