When you are looking for your first office space, or looking to change your current office, there are many things to consider. The main things you will need to think about are Price, Location, Transport Links and Office facilities.
1. Location
The location of the office is the likely to be one the first things you will need to consider when looking for a new office. Your office location is key, you want your office to be in a location that can attract new employment. You may also want to be near in close proximity to your clients. It could be important that the location of your new office is near a hub of similar companies, so you are able to form business partnerships with them.
Places to go out for lunch is an extra thing to consider, having a choice of Cafes, sandwich bars and restaurants will fantastic to have near your new office.
One great way to try and locate an office is to use an online comparison site such as Flexioffices, you can search across the UK and compare prices and facilities
2. Transport Links
Transport links will also be an important factor of where your new office will be. Ideally you want an office that has good transport links so customers and employees can get to it with ease. Having poor transport links will make it hard to attract new employees and also mean that current staff will have a longer & more uncomfortable commute, and no one wants that.
This does not mean that every transport link needs to reach your offices directly, but has easy access by at least one mode of public transport. Clear Cycle paths & routes to the office will be a great bonus as some employees would rather not be on a train every day, and prefer to cycle.
For example if you are looking for an office location in London, Victoria could be a great choice for you. Victoria is undergoing huge re-development and offers fantastic transport links across London and the UK.
3. Office Facilities
Office facilities such as meeting rooms, canteen or even a games room do not necessarily need to be provided by you. They could be provided by the building and office services company you are renting the serviced office space from.
Further more if you choose to go down the rout of serviced office space, utilities like internet access and a phone line will be managed by the office service company, as well as cleaning. These services are likely to be included in the cost of renting the office space.
4. Price
To have an office that is in the best location for your customers, business partners and employees, with good transport connections, along with fantastic facilities, is likely to come at a high cost.
If you find and office space that ticks all those boxes, and is at a affordable price, then you have struck gold.
Alternatively if you cannot afford, or do not want to spend all that money on rented office space, then you need to find a compromise.
The first option is maybe find an office that is not near the buzz of the city centre, but does have good transport links and facilities. Another option is to have an office that is close to the city centre and does not have great facilities, or the office space is slightly smaller than you would preferred.
Shared offices could also be a more a fordable way for you to start out. Shared office spaces provide you with a serviced co- working office that also allows you to network with other companies starting out, just like you.
To conclude, there are a number of key factors to consider when looking for a new office, depending on your budget and what you want to get from the office space will determine the choice you make.
