Every business needs to have suitable premises from which to operate. Whether you are choosing a property in which to set up your first branch or you are looking to expand into new territories, making the wrong choice can have serious repercussions.
Below are four tips for choosing the right property for your business every time.
Draw Up A List Of Requirements
Your search for the ideal business premises will be much easier if you know exactly what it is that you are looking for. Many businesses have specific requirements of the premises that they choose, which naturally narrows down the list of potential choices.
Regardless of the type of business you are running, you should think carefully about what your ideal business property would look like. There is nothing wrong with approaching your search with an open mind and being prepared to consider any possibilities that are put before you. However, it is a good idea to have already to find what you are looking for in terms of the size, layout, available facilities, and any other structural requirements that you have.
You should also consider whether you have any requirements for the future. Most businesses plan on growing and expanding at some point, and this may require you to either upgrade the property you are about to occupy or search for a new one. It is a good idea to work out which of these options you will be taking now, as it will affect your choice of property. If you want to stick with the same property in the long term, you will need something that you can upgrade.
Hone-In On Your Location
The best way of honing-in on the ideal location for your business is to start wide and then work your way in. That means that you should begin by defining the general area that you want to secure property in and then focus on smaller and smaller areas until you have identified exactly where you will be looking for your business property.
Choosing the right location for your business property will play a significant role in determining how successful your expansion is. Many a business, including some big and well-established businesses, have ultimately failed because they have invested in the wrong properties. If you try to open a new branch of your business somewhere completely unsuitable, it can end up being little more than a very expensive mistake.
The list of requirements you have drawn up will help you to avoid choosing somewhere that is entirely unsuitable. Sometimes you will find that there is a conflict between your list of requirements and available properties in your chosen location. When this occurs, you will need to make a judgement call as to what is more important, the location or the requirements you have for the property. Perhaps some of those requirements are optional things that you could live without if you had to.
Establish All Your Costs
The cost of setting up shop in a new property goes beyond just what you need to pay for your rent and for your initial take-up of the premises. Whichever location you settle on, you will always have some ongoing costs that you need to take into account. Buildings need to be cleaned and maintained, which costs money. When you are deciding whether a particular property represents good value or not, it is important that these hidden costs also factor into your decision making.
You should be able to establish most of these costs ahead of time by simply looking online. For example, you can use Utility Bidder to compare the prices for business utility rates and establish how much it will cost to set up electricity, phone lines, and other utilities.
Buy Or Rent?
One of the most important decisions you need to make before you can continue with your property search is whether you are going to be buying or renting. For most people, this decision will be made for them by the availability of funds. For example, if you simply cannot afford to buy a property outright, then renting will be your only option. Similarly, most businesses that can afford to purchase a property outright will take this option over renting because of the additional flexibility that it offers.
If you would like to alter the premises over time and have complete control over them, you are going to have to buy them. However, renting is more affordable and is usually the most realistic option for smaller businesses. You could even rent a property initially with a view to buying it outright later.
It is entirely up to you which of these options you take; either one can be made to work.
Choosing the right property for your business is a big decision. If you get it wrong, the repercussions can be fatal to your finances. Use the four tips above as a starting point for defining your ideal property, and then focus on actually finding it.
