Choosing the ideal working environment can often be challenging. You have a bunch of concerns like budget, infrastructure and working environment which need to be meticulously checked before you take a decision. Today, we will bring you a guide to take a wise decision in this regard. Let’s get started
What are the Key Questions?
To start with your choice-evaluation phase, you must have a list of 6 key questions that you have to answer:
Is yours a startup?
The sad thing about startups is that many fails. If they are successful, their success is often rapid. This merits the need to revise their requirements frequently.
In such a dynamic scenario, going for a traditional lease may not be the best choice. You already have a tough time administrating various critical aspects of your business.
The least you can do at this point is to outsource the nitty-gritty, so you can focus on the biggies. This mostly makes serviced offices a favorable choice.
What are your plans to expand?
As explained earlier, if your growth is rapid, you would want easy portability. That is something a leased office can’t provide. You don’t want to have a surplus of space, and you also want to avoid running out of space every so often, due to recurrent hiring.
What is your current employee strength?
If yours is, say, a team of 10 people, you may make it work with a small leased office with consolidated teamwork. However, if you have more than 15 employees, consider working in a spacious accommodation for more productivity.
What is the desired lease duration?
This depends on your establishment. If you have been in the game for long, chances are that you know the minimum time you would take to change your location, if need be.
For new players, however, the climate is ever-changing. This drops their ability to stick to traditional lease agreements for long.
How urgent is the switching?
New conventional leases usually take at least 2 months to materialize. So you must figure out how much time you have before you move, or say, your current lease ends.
If it is less than a couple of weeks, immediately switching to a serviced space will be preferable, which will give you more time to make a well-thought decision later on.
What is your budget?
Traditional leases are priced per square foot, as opposed to serviced offices which are priced per head/desk. This makes the latter appear more expensive.
However, traditional offices put a huge burden of administrative responsibilities on you, the cost which you have to bear. Serviced offices, on the other hand, offer you the facility to focus on your priority tasks and revenue generation, while the host handles a huge chunk of your daily office administration. Find that optimum money-time balance to make an apt decision.
How to decide?
Now, you are probably clearer about which direction you must go. So here’s a simple abridged guide for you:
Choose a Leased Office if
- You want an office for a longer period, say, more than 5 years
- You haven’t planned to expand for the said period of time
- You can afford to spend much time in the acquiring phase
- You can afford lawyers and real estate agents
- You want complete freedom to customize all parameters of your workspace
Choose a Serviced Office if
- You desire flexibility in contract tenures
- Your current growth rate is high and rapid
- You can’t predict the number of employees you may need in near future
- Your switching is urgent and you can’t afford to waste time in the acquisition process
Serviced offices are mostly offered in the form of shared spaces. But an even cooler version of shared office is a coworking hub. There, you can not only cut down your administrative costs in an aesthetically pleasing workspace but also derive the great benefits of giving your business the networking impetus it needs.
We hope this guide helped you decide which office setup suits your needs. If you are interested in a serviced office, we would happy to help you get the best of our services at our coworking space. Feel free to take a trial anytime, any day of the week!
