An Advantage of Moving to a Traditional Office

There are plenty of great reasons to set up a home office. One of the perks of working from home is being able to take breaks when you want to, spend time with family, etc. However, this can quickly eat up your day without you realizing it. There’s nothing worse than picking up the phone with an important client and having a knock on your door or your child ask for something. 


But as your business expands, you might begin to feel a little cramped in your home office. If, for instance, your “office” is little more than a desk packed into one corner of your living room, then it won’t be long before your freelance life—printers, paperwork, contracts, and file cabinets—begins to invade your personal space.


That's when you know it's time to go out and look for a small office space for lease. Establishing an office that runs efficiently requires accurate calculations of the space needed and what is affordable.


There is credibility that comes from an office with a business sounding address.  For example, you nothing about two consulting firms.  You only know that  one consulting firm everybody worked out of their homes and the other firm had an office in the building next to the courthouse, you were a serious buyer of consulting services, from which consulting firm would you purchase consulting services?

5 Signs Your Business Needs an Office

Need more space?

Here are some signs that your business may be ready to move out of your home:

• You have frequent face-to-face meetings with clients, but no place to hold them. Not having an actual office can get in the way of creating a well recognized business image if you need to meet with clients frequently. Always asking them to head to Starbucks may not send the right message. Noise (like your kids asking for something) during conference calls can also convey a less-than-professional image.
• You outgrew the space that was dedicated to work only.  If your inventory, equipment or other aspects of your business are spilling out onto your kitchen table, overflowing the garage or otherwise invading your personal space, it may be time to look for an office. Have you taken over your children’s closets? If you have evicted your children from their closets to make room for your products, you need to find a better place to store your merchandise.
• Your home is too noisy or has too many distractions for you to get your work accomplished.  Many home-based business owners struggle to resist the siren call of the fridge, the TV or the phone. Kids or overly friendly neighbors can hurt your focus and cut into your productivity.
• You don’t have a dedicated work space at home.  When company comes over you have to move boxes off chairs in order for them to have a place to sit.   This is a sign that your space problems are becoming critical.
• Your business’s blooming rapidly and you can afford the added expense of an office.

5 Mistakes People do When Renting Their First Office

Renting office space can be complicated because it’s difficult to tell what needs your business will have a year, or five years, into the future. If you’re considering renting office space for your business, it’s necessary for you to understand how the process works. Renting the proper amount of space, in a location that suits the business, sometimes involves making a gamble. Remember, though, that the property owner doesn’t share in this risk-taking, and it won’t be his or her problem if the office turns out not to suit your needs. Below are 5 mistakes that can often be made when renting a new office space, and can be easily prevented:

• Make Sure Premises look Professional: Don't underestimate the value of appearance. Depending on how your office looks is how your customers will see your business. If your office doesn't look professional than chances are your customers won't take your business so seriously. Look for something nice and not expensive. Check out an office from Van Nuys Offices, they have a variety of offices available for any type of business use and their offices have a professional atmosphere.

• Negotiate the Price: Offices in places hard to find offer lower rent prices than those within easy reach of amenities and transportation. Yes maybe this is how much you can pay and all the other offices are off your budget. But will your customers be able to find you. Negotiate the price on an office easy to find. It won't hurt by asking.

• Signing a lease: Signing a lease for renting office space isn’t something to be taken lightly, and it can have serious consequences on the success of your business. Before you sign a lease or agree to rent, make sure you have an attorney in your area look it over to ensure your rights are protected fully and that you understand all clauses and obligations contained within the lease. Van Nuys Offices has a set flexible agreement, so you are never tied into a long term agreement and can change your office space as your business requires.

• Not Verifying Building Mobile Phone Reception: In today’s environment, data, power, networking, and HVAC capacity and availability are crucial. We all experience weak signals on our mobile phones at some times in particular places as we go about our daily lives, but it's a major issue if each and every member of staff has issues making use of cellular devices and smart phones from the work environment. You should ensure that the building you intend on occupying is capable of providing the network connectivity and other building systems necessary for a your business operation before signing any lease.

• Not Designing the New Space Prior to Lease: Many companies fail to consider their future business requirements when looking for office space and they end up outgrowing the office space before the lease is even up. Ensure you have enough space for additional employees or equipment when calculating how much office space you will need.