9 things to consider before moving your home office to a commercial space
Running a business from home can be an absolute dream come true.
There’s no commuting time, which means you can sleep until seconds before you’re supposed to be at your desk. You have no colleagues who will waste your time with pointless meetings, your fridge is metres away from where you work and you can wear tracksuit pants and no one will ever know.
The downside is that as your business grows, you’ll probably need to upgrade your space to save your sanity. If you’ve got boxes of work stuff stacked in the corner of your living room and your small team of three are all squashed in your tiny spare room, it might be time to relocate your home office to a commercial space.
Here’s a few things you should consider before you take the plunge.
1. Review your finances
Obviously the biggest obstacle with renting a commercial space is the cost, so you need to make sure that the move is affordable. It might even be worth it to have a chat to financial advisor who can help you make income predictions to make sure that you can cover the costs of a commercial space over a long period of time and during months when business is slow.
2. Weigh up your options
The move from a home office to a professional space doesn’t have to be a huge leap. You can hire a hot desk at a local co-working space; most major cities have them and you can hire a casual or permanent desk in an open working space for as little as about $50 per day.
Lots of co-working spaces also have offices and studios, which can also be an excellent option if you have a few employees but you’re still on a budget. Don’t discount the possibility of renting a room or even an inexpensive shop front. There are lots of different options for commercial spaces, so be creative and think outside the box.
Read more: 4 steps to help find your first office space
3. Choose your location wisely
You don’t want to have your office so close that it barely feels like you leave your home in the morning, but you also don’t want to create a commuting nightmare for yourself. If possible 20 minutes away by car or foot (whichever you prefer) is the best of both worlds.
4. Don’t over commit
It’s better to take small steps rather than lock yourself into an expensive ten-person warehouse conversion office in a trendy part of town. There’s nothing wrong with upgrading slowly, so take your time and stay within your budget.
Read more: Renting an office for rookies
5. Block out time to actually make the move
Most business owners will know it’s almost impossible to give up a full day of work and still have everything running smoothly. It might be a good idea to do the move on a weekend so you don’t lose any work time. If you don’t have a choice and you have to do it during the week, make sure all your employees are organised and ready to go so you don’t waste time and money with people running around at the last minute.
6. Hire help
When it comes to the heavy lifting it’s best to call in the trained professionals. Not only will it likely take half the time, it also protects you and your employees from potential injury. Plus you’ll be free to focus on some of the smaller tasks that often get overlooked.
7. Maintain your home office
At least in the beginning. If you really hate or can’t afford your commercial space, at least you have the option to move back to your home office. If you have employees, your home office can also act as an excellent place to escape to get your work done.
Read more: Home office or traditional office: Weighing up the options
8. Update your contact information before you move
Do this the very moment you sign the lease on your new place and also update your address with any online payment services. People tend to do a lot of online shopping with a location change and you don’t want your lovely new shelving and couch to accidentally be sent to the wrong address.
9. Transfer your internet connection before you move
It’s impossible to run a business without the internet these days, so make your internet transferral you top priority. You really don’t want to be sitting around for a week watching your employees twiddle their thumbs because you didn’t organise the internet transferral in time.
