Your business thrives based on how well you have set it up and organized it. A key element when setting up a business is location. Whether it is the prestige that comes with being based in a certain area or the plethora of amenities, customers or transport links within the vicinity, you should be on a mission of creating a workspace that empowers your workers and their daily tasks. Ensure that you have an idea of what you expect the workplace to look like and a thorough understanding of your business needs. Depending on the organizational structure and needs of your start-up, you can choose one of the following workplace styles.
1. Virtual Office Spaces
If you need a premium location for your start-up without being physically present, choose a virtual office space. This kind of solution is ideal for start-up owners who lack adequate funds to set up a brick and mortar office but require the appearance of a more established business. Looking for an appealing address for your new businesses is important, but don’t let a sought-after address lure you above your budget. Many businesses can fail in the early years by being over ambitious and foolishly paying out more than necessary. Remember the more you are paying out, the less you have to reinvest in your business. Important factors to consider are pricing, customer reviews and services provided.
Ensure that the services like courier management, dedicated landline management, and premium address number are offered.
2. Co-working Spaces
Co-working office spaces are basically designed for business owners who enjoy working in a lively and collaborative environment. These workspaces are continuing to grow in popularity, not just from a cost saving perspective, but also the networking opportunities that are available. New businesses can bounce ideas off each other and help each other to thrive and many business incubation centers have been set up for this very reason.
Your employees may enjoy the sociable work spirit and informal structure of co-working office spaces. As the business owner it is important that you implement your own work rules when operating from these spaces, as too much work place camaraderie can become a distraction.
A typical co-working hub comprises of storage units, desks, comfortable chairs and break out areas, so configurations can be changed on an ad hoc basis. Many of these hubs are also designed to offer modern free standing workstations, which are critically-acclaimed in the corporate world for their health benefits. They are ideal for start-ups with small teams, freelancers, or working students.
3. Serviced offices
Serviced offices are suited for businesses who want a more professional or formal physical space to accommodate their operations and employees. This is a great option for many reasons. If you are client facing, you will have a receptionist to greet your visitors, answer your calls and offer administrative support. This is dubbed “a plug and play” option, as all of your telecommunications infrastructure is already in place, the offices are fully decorated and furnished, you just literally turn up with your laptop and you are ready to go!
Serviced offices have amenities such as business lounges, reception services, catering services, and ergonomically comfy chairs. They are suited for start-ups since they have no long-term contracts or lease and zero capital investment. You can find commercial spaces for rent through a simple web search of local listings.
4. Home-working Space
You can opt to work from home if you are running your start-up single-handedly. In this case, the good thing about working from is that you will have no budget or expenses for an office. At home, the basic things you require to run your business include a computer with Internet connection, mobile phone… and a coffee machine! Since you handle all of the work involving your start-up by yourself, there is no need to break the bank and rent a physical office. Home working does require discipline though as it’s easy to stay in your pj’s or have multiple short breaks to complete tasks that have no relevance to your business.
Home-working also gives you the privilege of carrying out your business duties anytime and literally working from anywhere giving the ability to initiate conversations with anyone, every opportunity is a networking opportunity! A big plus is, you also have the freedom of spending time with your family and take breaks at a time that suits your personal needs.
Before you decide to operate your enterprise from your living room or home study, there are specific factors to consider. Create a model that you will guide you to serve clients efficiently from the comfort of your house. You must have clients who do not mind being served by a company that does not have a physical address.
Depending on the needs of your start-up, choosing an ideal workspace is a big deal. This is because the office will give your customers, partners or investors an impression of what your business activities entail. When choosing a home-working, serviced, co-working or virtual office space, you must be guided by your visions as a businessperson. These visions should be realistic enough to depict what and where you want to be in future.