Picture this, you have outgrown your space so much so you have a couple of people rotating a desk space, using your conference room as their semi-permanent desk, and asking employees to work from home. You have a task on your hands now to figure out for the new year where to go and how can you plan your new space well.

The decisions on how to move offices, what location to pick, and the office space planning to go along with the move are some of the questions facing business owners every day. No matter what country or region you are from the ultimate decision comes down to you the business owner, you want to make an educated decision, but sometimes if you are a first time mover this is a big step and because it is unprecedented you don’t know where to start. Here are some of the points others have found important when doing a move.

Adjacent Space

First of all, consider an adjacent space. This is apparently one of the easiest moves of all, and seems this idea could be easily missed in the stress of decision making and the urgency to move and get on. Incorporating an adjacent space means that you won’t necessarily have to change your address, which means your clients will still be able to easily find you. It also means less moving around of both your staff and all of your extras from furniture to technology. You also don’t lose that down time of the switch from one building to another, any small shutdown of business means you could lose potential sales depending on your type of business.

Splitting Sectors

The other part of this also is that you may be able depending on your business model be able to just open a separate section of your business at a new location instead of shifting all your employees. In other words, say you are a small tools manufacturer, you may be able to split out your manufacturing and warehousing sectors and not have to move your original location. This also would cause less upset as you aren’t trying to move all your employees around and you should be able to continue business as normal pretty much the whole way through.

Location

Location, location, location, for those of you who have done business studies and studied demographics and the positives and negatives of business locations in CBD’s…ok let me get off of my deja vu. We all know location is important but sometimes don’t realize how important. So how do you pick the perfect location? It’s not an easy question but there are some points to consider when moving according to Entreprenuer :labor and workforce issues, the desire to reach new markets, the need to upgrade facilities and equipment, the desire to lower costs or increase cash flow, and considerations of the quality of life.

The Breakdown

Let’s break this down more simply: is the location where there are enough skilled workforce for what you need? Is the market pool in that location you are considering one which will want and need your products? Does this location have the right type of space and equipment for your needs. Does the location economically make sense for you? If you buy an oversized, state-of-the-art building for just a few employees are you going to see any return on investment? Does it fit your long term goals? On the quality of life: commute times, the crime rate of the area, the proximity to educational facilities, are all to be considered.

All in all, let’s suppose you’ve evaluated all of these points and are ready to make your move. When you make your move, if you’ve covered these in your original evaluation, you will be most likely pleasantly surprised. Now you can look onto the positives that a move can bring. Some businesses that the employees have been working from home have seen great gains bringing everyone into an office space where positive vibes can be experienced together. You may also find that a refreshed bigger space will bring new energy and collaboration to your business increasing your gains.