Marcus Richards
The office is more than comfortable desks and free parking. The right workplace should stimulate creative, productive work using all possible innovations. Despite interior trends, startup founders want their offices to look as natural as possible. And if earlier startups occupied the cheapest and useless premises, today they can compete with top-notch brands.
How to choose a perfect office where brilliant ideas will be born, we will tell below.
Highlight your priorities
Depending on the role of the startup premises, think about whether you need a front office or back office. Are you going to serve clients in the office? How many of them are anticipated each day? It makes sense for the front office to be situated in a walk-through spot close to the subway if there are many clients. But if, for instance, the main communication with your clients happens online, then almost any space will suit you.
So decide how you will interact with clients first, and only then should you start looking for an office.
Choose an office for people
A common mistake made by business owners is to rent a space close to their houses or “in a luxury area”. However, in this situation, it is difficult to locate employees and draw in clients. Not everyone is willing to spend $50 on a business lunch or drive to a far-off industrial location. Consider how common employees would commute, where they would have lunch, etc. Determine how many parking places your customers and staff require right away.
Well, if you are looking for office rent in New York city, take a look at Garment District, Midtown, Chelsea, and FiDi – all viable, central options for growing businesses.
Pick the right layout
Over the past few years, more and more companies have opted for open spaces. This allows colleagues to interact with each other. Perhaps the concept of an open space has become so popular that many designers consider it the key to success in creating the perfect office. However, we must not forget that it is important to provide personal space for each employee, and even open-space is better to be zoned – with sliding or transparent partitions. If you decide to go further and build a smart office, you will also need to perform indoor mapping because it’s crucial for facilitating efficient space utilization and optimized navigation (something that Cisco Spaces can help you achieve).
Combine formats
Despite the price changes, prices in prestigious business areas are still exorbitant. At the same time, modern communication tech allows you to work with the whole world online – use this opportunity. For example, you can rent a small front office in the city center, and place service units in the suburbs. Some team members can be hired to work remotely with weekly/monthly meetings in the office.
Consider subleasing
Sublease is a common business practice. If the office you found is too spacious for you, you may sublet the “extra” space, earning some extra money per month. A sublease should ideally cover the majority of your office costs.
Many companies rent or buy slightly larger space than they need and temporarily allocate spare space for one or two compact offices that can be rented out and, if necessary, expanded their own space.
In this situation, make sure to request a formal statement from the landlord confirming the owner’s approval.
Think about office creativity
Creative offices are a must. An inspiring office doesn’t have to be expensive. Experiments in the interior are definitely a challenge. But the result is worth it. Your startup team will be thrilled to brag to friends or acquaintances about what a cool company they work for, because there is golf, table tennis, a gym and an inspired lounge area. The interior is part of the company’s corporate culture. It is in such places that promising ideas are born.
Final words
The concept of an ideal office should be based on the principles of corporate culture. If you care about corporate culture and care about the future of your company, try to do everything possible to equip your office as comfortably as possible. The well-being of your employees, for whom work is of great importance, depends on this. The most important thing is to reflect the lifestyle of the brand in the space allocation and interior, with the values of the company and its features.
