5 Things to Consider before Expanding Your San Diego Office
By necessity, a lot of consideration goes into managing office space. The office is the beating heart of your business. And although the pandemic had briefly threatened its place in the work culture of a lot of companies, the importance of office life remains significant. Working together in such an environment allows employees to boost their productivity and efficiency. And teams can never work together online quite as well as they can in person. So, it should be evident that businesses still do their best to secure fitting properties to serve as their offices. Still, sometimes, a company will outgrow its current accommodations. In this case, expanding your office becomes a necessity. To help people facing this challenge, here are 5 things to consider before expanding your San Diego office!
How Much Space Do You Need?
One of the most important things to consider before expanding your San Diego office is just how much space you need. This step should be self-explanatory since planning is always necessary for business. Yet, plenty of people tend to rush into things anyway. They go looking for a new office with no real idea of what they would need to make things work, let alone the factors to consider when choosing an office space. This doesn’t exactly result in tragedy, but it does result in plenty of inconveniences. The best possible result, although one that wastes plenty of resources, is renting out an office that is too big for you. You would be paying extra when you don’t need to. That isn’t very pleasant, but there’s always a chance your business would expand again and use the space. Worse is if you end up somewhere that’s still too small. Unfortunately, if you find an office space that turns out to be lacking, you might be forced to search for a new venue again soon after moving in.
Can your organization improve?
Sometimes, solving your problems does not have to be a move. Many people look at a cramped, stuffy office and conclude it is time to move. However, this would necessitate spending resources, learning about moving office equipment so you can pack it with care, and a lot of expanded effort. Yet, it is possible that you could have fixed the whole issue through some reorganization and some judicious decluttering. Many offices, for example, do not use their vertical space very well. Shelving would move a lot of office equipment away from the floor and somewhere both out of the way and more accessible. Another possible way of saving space is decluttering. Many businesses still cling to keeping physical copies of all their old documents. Going fully digital can free up your space by a staggering amount once all the old files are gone!
Can you afford the increase in cost?
Among the things to consider before expanding your San Diego office, the matter of cost deserves much consideration. Thankfully, San Diego isn’t atrociously expensive, and it’s possible to find affordable office space. There are plenty of more expensive cities out there. And the cost of renting or even buying an office is nowhere near what it would be in a city like New York. California as a whole is rather middle-of-the-road when it comes to property prices. Still, a large office is by no means cheap. And the bigger a space is, the more often it comes at a premium. When you factor in other conveniences, such as trying to ensure stellar local amenities for the sake of your employees, the costs can quickly ramp up. Finding your ideal commercial property is by no means an easy task without much work and consideration!
Should you rent or purchase your office?
Next on the list of things to consider before expanding your San Diego office is whether you want to purchase or rent your space. Now, this is admittedly a tricky question. Like most United States housing markets, San Diego is experiencing a bit of a boom. This means that all property costs are climbing. Thankfully, the prices are still reasonable since it took a while to catch up to what they were before the pandemic. That whole debacle had left prices lower than they’d been in decades and sent rent prices, particularly, hitting rock bottom due to lack of interest. Now, the situation has reversed. This, coupled with the costs of a commercial move such as hiring movers so you can team up with experts, forces most to rent. Buying has appeal, so carefully plan your budget and look for an affordable space.
Should you prioritize cost or location?
The final item on our list of things to consider before expanding your San Diego office is what you wish to prioritize. Namely, do you want to aim for the best possible location or chase after the best possible price? The two are, currently, definitely mutually exclusive. The prices of prime location real estate in the city are unfortunately inflated. Admittedly for pretty good reasons, since the amenities and prestige they pull are helpful for the daily running of a business and as a point of appeal to important clients. Still, does that mean that an office in a ‘less desirable’ location is bad? No, you can make it work! Mainly if your business doesn’t necessitate lots of in-person meetings with clients. In that case, try to look for a cheaper location, and improve your office your own way. Perhaps by looking into the best plants for your San Diego office!
Final comment
Keeping the 5 things to consider before expanding your San Diego office firmly in mind, you should be able to successfully chart your path to securing enough space for your business. Still, let us reiterate a warning: before committing to getting new and bigger office space, make sure you need it! Reorganization is a much cheaper solution than renting another office ever will be. And even if it can’t solve all your troubles, it can at least buy you some time until you can get your hands on a more spacious office.