Small Biz/Entrepreneurs - Estimating The Right Amount of Office Space For Your Company

Whether your company is looking for its very first office space or your current lease is ending and you are looking for some new digs, it is very important that you first carefully assess your office space requirements both from a short and long term perspective.

While a small and cozy space might cost a little less initially, if there is a strong possibility your company will need to expand its staff within your lease term, choosing this less expensive space can result in some very tight quarters and severly hinder productivity in your workplace. (#7 on our list of the Top 10 Leasing Misaktes)

Conversely, while it might be fun to have a football catch across the office, taking on too much space can result in a big drain on your company’s bottom line and a potential blow to morale.

Estimating how much office space you will need is not an exact science. The nature of your business, corporate culture, workflow and even your individual preferences might vary significantly from other company’s. These variations make it virtually impossible to standardize a specific guideline that will work for every company.  

As you contemplate the amount of space your company actually needs, it is helpful to understand the difference between rentable and usable space.

Landlords charge tenants based on the number of rentable square footage leased. The rentable square footage is calculated by adding the usable square footage (the amount of square footage to be used exclusively by you, the tenant) to a portion of the common area (areas shared by all tenants such as the lobby, restrooms, shared hallways, etc.).

The distinction between the two is especially important as you estimate the amount of usable space that will best suit your company.

As many leases will lock you into your space for at least 2 years, it is vital to carefully consider your company’s future growth before making a final decision on how much space you need.

Terminating your lease early because your company outgrew its space will cost your company money, time and probably serve as a major distraction from your normal course of business.

OK, good advice but how exactly are we supposed to estimate the right amount of space for our company?

Good question.

Open Office space recently launched Office Space For Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: An Evolving Guide to Leasing. The guide breaks down the entire leasing process and offers several strategies to ensure you accurately estimate the amount of office space that is right for your company. 

The guide includes an indepth look at the Top 10 Leasing Mistakes, a breakdown of The 4 Steps involved with the leasing process and also includes 50+ ways to streamline office expenses.  

In addition to valuable content, the guide also features two powerful (and FREE) tools to help you estimate and plan the right amount of space for your company:

1) The space planner/floor plan tool allows a user to layout their entire office space including furniture...before the moving van arrives. The extremely easy to use interface features an ability to drag and drop furniture directly onto a floor plan. Finished plans can be saved, printed and shared.

2) A space estimation tool  which will give you a head start with regards to estimating the right amount of office space based on your company's needs.

As an entrepreneur or small business it is very likely that a large portion of your time/overhead will be devoted to your office. With stakes so high, it is mission critical that you take the time to plan accordingly.  

If you do find yourself in a situation where you are left with unused office space, consider posting it on our site and we will do our best to promote it for you.  

 

 

 

Comments

[Mark]

This is a helpful post, thanks. I've read a lot of articles on different types of office space and their impact on productivity, but not as many that have incorporated leasing. Your readers might be interested in the difference workspace configurations our nonprofit profiles here based on companies that have won our top small company workplaces award: http://bit.ly/79OyAn Thanks again for shedding light on this important topic.

[David]

Thanks for your comment. Would love to hear more about your nonprofit organization. Sounds like something our audience would be interested in.

[short term offices]

Of course the very first (always) thing to do before anything else, planning! I think there are references that shows the limit space base on the number of employees.

-jed

[Serviced Offices Melbourne]

If you are a small scale business owner or are starting a business, avoid commercial building with businesses similar to yours. Even if you are very confident in the services or products you offer, you might want to check and opt for space that will help you build your business brand name. When out hunting for an office for rent, go with a list of the office needs you are looking for. So, start by going to a location that will uphold the growth of your business. The office should be easy to access, in a safe environment and with enough parking slots. Aside from your clients being able to access you with ease, remember that you will have staff that will need to come to work everyday.

[New York Office Space]

office space for small business:
Data Entry (125 sq. ft.)
Clerks (125 sq. ft.)
Temporary Employees (100 sq. ft.)