Has your startup become established and is enjoying success and growth? You might be facing one of your biggest business challenges yet. Finding the right premises to grow into is never easy for a company. After all, many start ups start at home. You might already have moved once, but your hard work is paying off quicker than expected. Your business needs a new home, but finding the right premises is proving difficult.
Of course, not all businesses today fit neatly into a business center or industrial park. You might have a microbrewery or a manufacturing company that needs that little bit more than a standard warehouse can offer. You also want to attract more clients, and more talented employees so you can continue to enjoy this phenomenal growth. Are you ready to build the business you want from the ground up?
Unfortunately, there are always drawbacks to building a building for business. The first, and most obvious, is the cost. There will be building and architecture costs to cover up front. And then you’ll need to ensure the building is well maintained all the way to your choice of janitorial services. It’s a lot to manage while you’re still trying to woo the next big client. A new building needs more employees to run it. Are you ready for this?
Getting The Design Right
The first thing you need to do is make sure the design is right. By now you have a good idea how to make your products or develop the services your clients need. You know your market inside out, and you’re determined in your path to make it bigger and better for your business. Your building design needs to facilitate each of your business processes from admin to production and logistics.
It’s not easy to get the design right. It might be a good idea to sit down with each of your department heads to talk about what their needs might be going forward. After all, you don’t want to outgrow this new building too. You need to make sure there is enough space for your supplies in, your stock, your waste, and all of your employees.
You also need places to have meetings, places to work and places to rest. You might also need some creative spaces, and those all important client spaces where you can wow each visitor. Outside the premises, you’ll need good access and parking provision for your workforce and guests. Don’t forget security!
Getting The Quotes
Once you’ve figured out what you would like, it’s time to get some quotes together. As the quotes come in, you’ll start to see where you might need to make compromises for your design to fit a budget you have in mind. You’ll need someone to survey your plot and someone else to produce designs and plans for your building. You’ll likely need legal services to secure your land and assure the permissions to build what you want there.
Materials and labor to build your new premises will be a variable cost. Each quote will likely come in with different prices here. Remember, your choice of material for the building will affect energy efficiency and your carbon footprint too. Innovative and experimental building materials or techniques may be an attractive proposition. It might appeal to your local planning department too. This is worth exploring to help you get the permissions you need to build your premises.
Finding The Finance
Now you have a set of quotes, and you’ve made some final decisions about your building, it is time to find the money to pay for it. Sourcing finance isn’t always easy. You might need to approach business investors that may demand shares in your company. Consider what effect additional decision makers might have on your business. What is the risk to you as the owner?
Borrowing money for something as enormous as this can also be tricky. Most banks and lenders want to see that you are an established business with a proven track record. Most new companies and start ups simply don’t have that yet. Personal loans are not likely to cover the entire cost. It is also not always advisable to mix personal money with your company.
Building It Right
Once building begins, you need to keep on top of the project to make sure it is done right. Final fixes are the point where you start to wonder if you have enough space, or if maybe you have too much. By now, it’s too late to change much! You can, of course, reconfigure the interior spaces quite easily. Cubicles and interior walls to separate spaces for offices are not too tricky to arrange.
This is a really big project, and it’s bound to attract some attention. Why not develop some press releases and hype on your website? If you’re planning on hiring once the building is complete, this can be quite newsworthy for your local region. Make sure your company brand and livery is ‘unveiled’ ready for some press photos. If you’ve got the building right, it’s time to move in and set up.
Setting Up Home
Another expense to consider is the furniture. You need to make sure the desks, cabinets, and seating suit the decor. You can hire a professional designer, or invite a creative member of staff to take on the task. Don’t forget – you need to make sure all your services and utilities are up and running before trying to work there. You’ll need heat, cool air, drinking water, restroom provisions, and catering service.
Engaging a tech firm to manage your connectivity is important too. You might have a small in-house server, but your connection to the world using phones and computers may need a little more help. Make sure everything is running and fully secure before you start working from there. You can’t afford to lose any data or services.
Maintaining Your New Business Premises
Landscaping is a big part of building a new premises that seems to be forgotten most often. You should consider hiring a company that can take care of the outdoor spaces you have created. Any new building can be considered a blight on the landscape if you haven’t put in the work to settle it into its new surroundings. This means that trees, shrubs, lawns, and hard decorations all need to be tended.
Janitorial services are also essential. They make sure your most essential provisions are clean and healthy for workers and visitors. Most contracted janitorial services like those from AtkinsInc.com can work late in the afternoon or early in the morning. Without someone managing hygiene and waste services for you, the building and work spaces will soon be unpleasant. Some companies can tend to all your cleaning, landscaping and pest management requirements. This might be the best option for a new building.
Attracting Clients And Employees
Your new building should wow potential clients and make your business a desirable workplace for local people. After all, you have a big build bill to cover so new business from bigger clients is essential. To win those clients, you need the very best talent you can recruit. Make sure your recruitment drive includes images of your new premises. Describe the facilities you have installed. Try to detail the working environment to make it attractive and inspirational.
Ensure that your building is immaculate at all times by using a good quality janitorial service to keep it clean and tidy. Reception areas, in particular, see a high volume of traffic. Dirt and mud can be left on the floors. If it’s wet, this can even become quite hazardous. You might also need to ensure there is a good level of security in this area, especially when the company is still growing into the space.
Make sure your sales brochures and promotional literature have up to date photos and descriptions of your new premises. A new building like this suggests your business is successful and growing. This inspires confidence in potential clients and business partners. Why not hire a professional photographer to capture all of your corporate photographs? Employee pictures are important too, so use your new building as the backdrop.
Success
Your new premises should be the perfect HQ for showing off your successes. It should represent your company ethos and be the kind of place people love to work. Any company HQ should reflect your business persona too. Consider hiring a professional interior designer to help you achieve that. It is possible to custom order furniture to match your brand colors, or wall art to blend with your logo. Of course, all of these things can be set up later on. There is no rush to spend more money than you can afford right now.
It’s not easy to find the right premises to call home for your business. Sometimes you have to custom build the accommodation your company and employees need to give your business the boost it needs. Building takes time to design and build if you want to get it right. Don’t leave it too late!