A crucial priority of many businesses is being able to expand their operation over time. They achieve this by reinvesting profits and putting funding to good use. There are many incentives to grow, not only because doing so helps you generate further revenue, but also provides you some shielding from inevitable downturns or difficulties. Downsizing in a recession is much easier to do than closing completely, for example.
On top of that, an expanded enterprise allows you to spread your value further, and helps you gain more success. It’s nice to see that people appreciate what we put out into the world, and businesses have a chance to do real good with their platform. Part of expanding in this way requires expanding into new territories or areas, and with that comes adding commercial premises to our functional assets.
If you’ve been renting an office thus far, purchasing your own building or leasing a much larger building can seem quite intensive to do. Expanding your business premises requires a cohesive, robust and coherent plan in order to move forward capably. It also means making certain that every provision is accounted for.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how effective leaders plan for expanding their business premises.
Essential Working Provisions
In order to make use of the new space, a business leader must make certain that the provisions of a particular need are accounted for. For instance, making certain that the space has enough room for a studio area, or a waiting room, or enough private meeting rooms for clients is essential.
On top of that, making certain that room for large-scale managed IT networks and a server room is appropriate. You may also consider certain zoning laws and restrictions such as where other commercial property is located, and what noise you can make past a certain time. If purchasing a building for factory use, this is essential to consider.
You may also consider additional measures important to your business; such as the scope of the loading bays, how trucks will access your backstage area, and what HGV parking options are available. This can help you predict the entire practical planning workflow; ensuring that everything is possible.
Navigating Commercial Complexity
When it comes to investing in real estate, negotiating a lease, or agreeing upon essential terms; it’s essential to enjoy absolute clarity regarding the terms of your contract. With the best commercial property lawyers able to guide you at every stage of the process, the results are assured.
This way, even if you’re opting for a short-term tenancy or looking to purchase a building and its land outright, you’ll be able to “cross every T” and “dot every I”. On top of that, you’ll be able to understand the necessary provisions that make be unique in your case. Purchasing land for your commercial enterprise that may have power lines running through it, for instance, may mean even though this is private land, pubic surveyors and technicians may be required access with short notice.
On top of that, these services can help you get through any property-based disputes and contractual disagreements. This may also include debt recovery techniques if you’ve leased part of your commercial property to another business.
Staff Relocation & Management
The truth is that unless you move very close to your previous premises or rented offices, you’re going to need to consider which staff may be coming with you. Some may not be able to make the move. Offering a reasonable severance package in these circumstances is a nice gesture, as is giving staff a great deal of notice when the decision to claim a certain premises has been made.
If expanding abroad, you may offer some of your experienced staff the chance to come with you and help set up with favorable terms incentivizing that kind of move. It’s also important for you to keep your communication channels open so that you can answer any questions, resolve any complaints, and make sure the schedule of your move, perhaps department by department, is utterly understood.
Ensure All Necessary Provisions Are Accounted For
Functional restrooms, a perfectly operational and clean kitchen, a fire safety protocol that can easily be inspected, and furnishings appropriate to your business such as decorating the walls with your branding, is all crucial.
On top of that, resolving problems with the building such as reformatting the HVAC system will be necessary. Here you’ll be able to have time to curate the building to the extent that you’re permitted to. If you own the building, then working within essential regulations, designing the space how you wish to can be key.
This approach include the navigability of your offices with the terminals lined in rows, and assigning offices for certain department heads. Think about where necessary departments will be placed within the building; such as your human resources department, slowly growing, being given its own private space to work on confidential and sensitive staff matters in peace.
Exterior Provisions & Parking
Staff parking is crucial to consider. While you may be lucky enough to have your own parking space, in which case making sure this is well maintained and access is secured is key, sometimes you may have to work out deals with local parking garages or make sure you know which alternatives are available.
On top of that, consider how to properly format the space so that the flow of people in and out of the building is easy to manage. For instance, keeping smokers in a shelter away from the front door can prevent clients walking through a thick cloud when they come in for a meeting. On top of that, making certain that you have ample waiting room space in your reception area is worth considering. Over time, efforts like this really do make a profound difference.
Security Is Fundamental
So far, you may have rested on renting offices and using the inbuilt security as part of that building for convenience. Now, you may have to work out your own security strategy first and foremost. Installing a CCTV system and hiring security personnel to review this and protect your building and stock spaces could be worth your time.
Furthermore, think about how other rented offices approach security. Often, they implement a keycard system for access to certain businesses and buildings. Activating key guest passes may help those who come to visit have access to the whole building or certain departments. These can be designed so that if a fire alarm is rung, access is provided to the whole building by default so that people can move and evacuate on the shortest route possible.
With that in mind, consider your exits and signage that showcases how to get out of your building in the quickest and most effective manner. Accessibility measures will also ensure that your building doesn’t have to discriminate against any employee or client. You get to decide to what degree you’re going to implement these recommendations, but make sure to at least review them all and consider how appropriate they are to your given situation. They may just make all the difference.
Consider How The Move Influences Your Brand
It can be healthy to include your clients or audience in your story so that they feel connected to the move and understand why you’re doing it. Use it as a marketing tactic. Showcase just what provisions this will be able to help you with, such as how now you’ll be able to deliver for more clients, or the nice meeting room spaces you have for private guests.
Tie this to your brand philosophy and how well it will help you accomplish your mission. For instance, if a charity moves to a larger premises, they can show just how this platform allows them to achieve further good, run more expansive programs, and become the de facto advocates for a given message.
Utilize Temporary Stop-Gap Measures If Appropriate
Moving from building to building is not always as seamless as you hope for it to be. For instance, if your current lease expires before you’ve finished renovating a given department area in the new building, it may seem like you’re out of luck.
However, renting private mobile offices placed on your premises can be a great place to start. This gives your staff temporary and comfortable working space so they can keep up with their day to day productivity until the final fitting takes shape. In addition to this, remote work is one of those provisions that become so useful in a scenario like this. With a VPN connective suite and rented or purchased devices to grant your staff, they can work from home and collaborate using messaging apps like Slack and video conferencing apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
That kind of decision really can make a profound difference; because giving yourself some wriggle room to overcome the unexpected difficulties of moving is essential. After all, if this is an important consideration to make when moving residences, why wouldn’t that apply to commercial properties?
With this advice, we believe you’ll become an effective leader planning for expanding their business premises in the right way, through and through. We wish you the best of luck with your effforts.