Achieving business success will depend on many factors. Among which, your office is a big one. The importance of a good office shouldn’t go unrecognised. It can help boost your business in so many ways.
Today, I have a list of things to consider when searching for the best office possible. I’ve included reasons why they’re important, as well as a few tips. Read on to find out more:
Office Location
One of the first things to think about is where your office will be located. This can be a huge factor in influencing the success of your company. It’s surprising how few people realise the different ways an office location is important. For one, it can bring you closer to consumers and your target market. If you have a good office location, in the middle of a busy city, then there are endless opportunities for you. It’s close to people, meaning you can find more and more customers. Also, it’s close to loads of other offices with other businesses inside them. This means the door is open for you to do a bit of networking. I’m sure you will find other companies that can help you out and push your business forward towards success. For example, you may find a marketing agency nearby and network with them to get marketing help.
But wait, the benefits of a good location don’t stop there. It can make life a lot easier for you and your employees too. With an inner city office, you should be easily accessible. This means it’s easy for you and your staff to get to work every day. There should be many public transport links nearby making life easier for you. This means there’re fewer chances people turn up late for work and are frustrated because it’s difficult to get to the office. When everyone turns up on time, you can maximise the productive hours in your day.
Naturally, it’s difficult to find a great office location as competition is everywhere. Everyone wants the same office in the busy business district. As a result, landlords put the prices up, meaning you have to pay more. However, I always look at payments as business investments. Think about whether or not you will make more money by paying for an expensive office. For me, the answer is a clear yes. You stand a better chance at seeing success as your great location brings many benefits. So, it’s a worthy investment, rather than paying less for an office in a bad location. With a bad location, you spend less and get what you pay for. It’s likely the cheapest offices will be in the middle of nowhere, and not close to the public. They’ll be difficult to get to, and employees will have to drive to get there. You lose all of the benefits a good location brings you. So, is it really worth saving money? In the long run, you could end up losing cash.
Office Environment
Along with a good location, your office environment is a huge success influencer. The good thing is, creating your office environment can be fun. It’s a chance for you to get a bit creative, and make your office perfect for business. The main thing to think about is your brand. The brand image you’ve built will have a huge bearing on how your office looks. For example, take a look at the Google offices. They’re famous for being very different to almost any other office out there. They have slides and beanbag chairs and fun areas, etc. This is all done to reinforce the brand image created by Google. It would look weird if they had a super serious office. Likewise, if you run a business that’s created a serious image, sticking bean bag chairs in your office will look very strange.
So, your brand image will help dictate the overall look and feel of your office, helping to create the right environment. Then, you need to look at ways in which you can make your office environment fuel productivity. The last thing you want is an office that doesn’t inspire work. Simple things to consider are your equipment, and ensuring everything works well and is fast. Controlling noise and temperature levels is also something to consider. Slowly but surely, everything comes together to build a brilliant office environment. This will help everyone work better, and be good for building and promoting your brand too.
Office Health & Safety
Amongst all the fun parts of creating an office, you also have to focus on the boring bits. You know, the legal issues that can’t go unattended. Office health & safety is of the utmost importance to your business. I know many small businesses that got shut down within a year due to poor health & safety standards. The simple fact is, you’re legally obliged to provide a safe working environment, free from health hazards. Your office will face regular checks to ensure you’re meeting the required standards. Failure to do so results in penalty fees and the potential for your company to get closed down.
So, it’s crucial that everything is fit for purpose in your office. The easiest way to guarantee this is to understand what the required standards are. There are health and safety consultants that can assist you with this. As I mentioned, this isn’t going to be a fun thing to do. It will likely be boring and could cost some money. However, it will go a long way to ensuring your business avoids any issues. If accidents happen, and it’s proven your workplace was unsafe, then you are liable. You could get sued and pay out loads of cash in compensation. For a small business, this can be extremely damaging to your finances. Likewise, you don’t want to incur penalty fees for poor health & safety. By doing things properly, you avoid the potential for these financial issues. As such, your company is in a better place to enjoy success.
Wait! What About A Home Office?
Understandably, a lot of people may run businesses from home. In which case, all of the above points are irrelevant to you. And, you may wonder if this means you need an office to be successful. In truth, this depends on your business idea. A lot of ideas can be run from home and expanded without the need for an office.
However, your home office will still have a huge bearing on your success. Again, the location is important. This time, we’re thinking about the location within your home. You don’t want to set up an office in the living room where many people come and go. It makes it hard to create a good working environment. Find somewhere quiet, and do your best to create a productive workspace. This will help you get the most out of your home office, and use it to drive your business success. You can also use things like virtual addresses to give your home office more of a boost. A virtual address gives you a proper business address that people can send mail too. All this does is make your company look more professional while you continue to work from home. If you ever feel like you can no longer run your business from home, then you should start looking for a new office. In which case, refer to all the advice above!
I hope this article has helped you make sense of one of the best kept secrets in business. A good office can determine how successful your company is. Don’t take it for granted, and do your best to bring your business to the top.