Getting your business off the ground has been a difficult journey; you’ve lost so much and gained even more, but the time has finally come to pack up and start playing with the big boys. The company has slowly flourished from a one-man operation to a substantial startup with more business than we’ve ever hoped to achieve. Now, the time has come to consider our options and move business out of the garage, the time has come to seek out and obtain office space to let our business continue to grow. Keeping this in mind, we need to keep a clear head and make sure we’ve taken the optimal route.
Plan head
One of the most important things to do in these situations is to plan ahead as much as you can. The absolute minimum game plan we’re looking at here has to be six months, nothing below that can compete with the amount of trouble we’ll be in if we’re left with our proverbial pants down. A good plan will map out of financial standing as well as any future personnel needs, project status and contractual obligations aka deadlines. If at all possible, plan as far as you can, optimally ending up with a rough five-year plan, refining it as we go along.
Consider expansion
With the move, we’re obviously going to be in need of more personnel. This will range from cleaning staff and general maintenance to workers within the firm’s area of business. When finally given the option to hire, do not make the mistake of lowering your standards in order to help someone out, fledgling businesses need quality people to survive, especially during the first migration. This does not mean that inexperienced workers aren’t welcome, on the contrary; just make sure that the people you hire can get the job they’re hired to do done – regardless of their educational or professional background.
Taking advantage of the market
When moving, there’s always the golden rule of business: location, location, location. Now, besides being more than a little annoying if said more than once in a conversation, the meaning of the obnoxious phrase is that location is essentially everything. Choosing where to go and strategically placing our business in the midst of potential clientele is crucial if we want to see it grow. This goes for IT businesses as well as other areas of industry, despite all of your traffic being online, a good office location will help pull in more employees than in you opted for a building in the industrial area of town. Thus, you’ll need careful planning and research before you move to a new site. Once you’ve done your research and have gathered enough relevant data, you can use geographic heat map generators like the one in Maptive.com to help you quickly visualize the level of competition around a specific area. That should help you make a more informed decision if whether an area is an excellent location for your business or not.
Zoning and code compliance
Well, one of the reasons we had to move might have been the state zoning committees or any issues with the city’s codes. Simply put, the government tends to want to separate the residential and business areas due to taxation schemes and fuel costs. Although a nifty way to run a business as it’s still taking shape, running a business out of your garage is technically illegal. It’s all fine and dandy while it’s a small endeavor and simply isn’t making enough money to support itself, but once the wheels start turning – it’s time to get the hell out of dodge, lest we incur our states legal wrath.
Clean out your garage
With everything getting ready for the big move, it’s time to clean out the ol’ garage. Take everything you’ll need at the new office, box it and send it over. As for the rest of any unwanted stuff, do not make the mistake of selling it, it might come in handy later on. If you need the space, compare different self storage costs in your area and opt for the most convenient one. Keep the gear on standby should you need that extra desk or server case etc. Make sure to leave no proverbial stone unturned and carry over everything you might need into the office, the sooner you complete the change, the sooner you’ll get your business going again and have to soar to new heights.
Good luck
Well, when it comes down to it, it’s all up to us. By creating a good plan and sticking to it, we’ll be able to avoid a vast majority of pitfalls along our way. As we dodge one problem after another, we can take the time to screen potential employees while consulting current ones about potential locations. With a location set, the only thing left to do is to check if everything is in order, give it a fresh coat of paint and welcome your employees to their new base of operations for days to come – good luck.
