6 Tips for Choosing Suitable Startup Office Space

Have you got an extraordinary business idea? That is an important prerequisite, but it doesn’t make your startup dream come true. To build a strong foundation for your new business, you need the same qualities every successful businessperson requires. Ability to research, analyze, plan, and act decisively and timely. These traits will help you study all the business and financial aspects of establishing your brand and developing the company culture. And eventually, the time will come for choosing a suitable startup office space. The whole process of preparation and positioning takes time, but in the end, it pays off in years on a job you created and love.

1. Explore your capacities and growth potential 

Finding an ideal place to call your HQ depends on your ability to objectively analyze your business at the moment and set reasonable goals for future development. What does it mean in practice?

• The size and type of your office space will be based on the number of workers you can afford to hire.
• Your company culture will have a lasting impression on your employees and customers alike, and it reflects in your choice of office space.
• The location and amenities you choose depend on the industry you’re working in and expected access to customers.
• Whether you rent or buy your office space depends on your budget and your short- and long-term goals.

In other words, as a fresh startup owner, you are advised to explore your business capacities and carefully set boundaries. The better you perform these tasks, the easier it will be to find an adequate workspace. It should fit you, your workers, and your clients. And it should allow your brand to grow and develop at a sustainable speed.

2. Limited budget is not a bad thing

All startups share the same trait in the beginning: limited resources. However, having a tight budget is not necessarily an impediment when looking for a workspace. Knowing exactly how much you can spend makes choosing suitable startup office space much easier. Once you know what you can afford, you can narrow down your options.

The ideal office space awaits you when you apply all other filters. Your search may be limited by finances, but it gives you a certain freedom of choice. You can step away from the expected, get creative, and get the best for your money in the process. After all, startups are based on imagination, innovation, and pragmatic reasoning.

For example, you can rent an office in a coworking space and share the services and amenities you wouldn’t be able to afford on your own. Such workspaces are suitable for startups as they offer the best conditions, layout, amenities, services, and equipment in the market at affordable prices. The savings you make in this early stage will come in handy when you stabilize your business growth and decide to spread your wings.

3. Where you work is who you are, and vice versa

The first impression of your office space is the first impression of your startup. While you may argue that first impressions are often false, in personal life and in business, the mental image others create on the first encounter is often a lasting one. To avoid damaging your brand image with a poor presentation, make sure your office space reflects your company culture, not the other way around.

4. Create a strong brand image

To achieve that, your brand needs to radiate a powerful presence, which you can accomplish through thoughtful logo design. Create a logo that stands out and makes your startup recognizable in a sea of others. Aside from the logo, through your branding efforts, try to make it obvious to your employees and visitors alike that

• there is enough space for work and break time, for private meetings and team gatherings,
• you deeply care about safety at work and healthy work conditions,
• you encourage respect for environmental protection and sustainability.

A startup that builds upon these tenets is easy to recognize. Its office space is its best advertisement.

5. Know your business, your competitors, and your customers

Your headquarters is not only a place where your employees keep their laptops and drink espresso. It is a strategically important place, in more ways than you might think. When thinking about your base location, first, look where your competitors have settled and analyze the pros and cons of their choice. It is very common for competing businesses to cluster and consequently amass clientele. But what if you don’t directly depend on access to your customers?

Some startups work remotely, either as consultancy firms, tech support, or e-stores. Hence, your office does not need to be in a zone of high foot traffic. Instead, you will greatly benefit from modern infrastructure, ample and affordable storage space, and parking. Every startup, be it tech or retail, needs to make these considerations independently as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

6. Where do you see your startup in three years?

It is very difficult to predict the course and speed of expansion of a business in an early phase. You may think that you have it all mapped out, but a plethora of unforeseen factors just wait around the corner to try and trip you. What you have in plan for your startup will come to fruition only if you allow yourself a great level of flexibility.

If your office space reflects the same trait, it will allow your startup to grow steadily and safely until it’s time to redefine your business goals again. Although it depends on the business, this type of consideration is often taken after several semi-annual performance reviews. If you have set up your company in a workspace that stifles your business operations and the productivity of your employees, the data you so heavily depend upon may point you in the wrong direction.

The lesson is simple.

Hence, choosing a suitable startup office space is not the first step in the process, but the one that makes the most prominent effect on the development of your business. So, research, analyze, plan, choose wisely, and take your time to do so.