When you have taken the decision to establish your business outside of your home, the first step is to make sure you select the correct location for your new office. There are several important factors to consider when finding the right office space and location for your business. Unfortunately, given the very differing requirements that individual companies can have, there is never a simple formula to selecting the right office location. But by evaluating the criteria listed below, it is possible to decide which is the most important for any business, particularly at its earliest fledgling stages.
Setting up an office – 4 Considerations
1. What will it cost to establish a new office?
As is often said in the residential property market, there are three main criteria for determining price: location, location and location and the same can be said for office space. For most, if not all, new and fledgling companies, money and cash flow is the most important issue. Consequently, the actual cost of setting up an office will always be the most important factor to consider.
Typically, the more ‘central’ office space is to major metropolitan areas. For example, the office space Monument has to offer can be quite expensive, and you may find it to be more cost effective to find a location further out. However, if the significant majority of a company’s main clients are also centrally located – for example a firm of solicitor’s clients – then a significant chuck of potential business could be lost by not being in ‘the thick of it.’
2. Where are your suppliers located?
If your company is in a business sector specifically related to the supply of a physical product, it might be more advantageous to find a location for your office that is near to either your warehouse, main supplier or, if possible, both. This obviously becomes vitally important if your product is either perishable – food, flowers, confectionery, etc, or you operate in a particularly time sensitive arena. The very last thing you want is a competitor to steal your business while you’re waiting for product to arrive from a warehouse many miles away.
3. Where are your customers?
As previously mentioned, it may be your company’s best option to place your office or workplace as close to your customer base as possible. Specific business sectors that benefit from enjoying a close proximity to their customer base are:
Retail – Setting up a shop away from other shops is a sure fire recipe for disaster. Very few retailers, unless they are extremely specialised, can survive without a regular passing footfall for a majority of their profitable trade.
Industrial – The majority of businesses typically dependent on factors such as logistics and distribution need to be located close to or within industrial centres.
Service – Companies within the service industry will also naturally need to be located as close as possible to the customers they wish to attract.
4. Which area will your workforce come from?
As companies grow, they naturally need to employ staff. If, for example your company requires a highly skilled workforce, you should consider a location perhaps close to a relevant university or affluent suburb. If, however, your business draws to a larger degree on a relatively unskilled workforce, then it might be more advantageous to find a location within a more urban environment
We hope this information has been useful to you. If you’d like to talk to us about marketing your business or you’d like further advice on setting up an office give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.
Best regards,
Marketing Fundamentals Team
Photography – The image featured is of Monument Place and is included with permission.
This is blog post number 197. This is a sponsored post.
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