If your business has a physical office, you’ll have to consider the possibility that one day, the space will no longer suit your needs. Moving offices, however, is a complicated and costly endeavor, so it’s important to think ahead, so you’re not caught by surprises at the last moment. To help highlight what you need to know, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members the following:
“As your organization grows, you may find that the office space you’ve been working out of no longer fits the size or needs of your team. What was a key moment you remember from when you outgrew your first site and what lesson did you take away from the experience?”
Office Move Tips
Here’s what YEC community members had to say:
1. Prepare for the Unexpected
“We outgrew our first location fairly quickly. When we moved, I thought the spot we picked would work for years to come. We signed a three-year lease and outgrew it in the first year. Breaking a lease is expensive. Be cautious of long-term contracts and always try to prepare for the unexpected future — whether it’s positive or negative.” ~ Frank B. Mengert, ebenefit Marketplace (ebm)
2. Take Your Time and Consider All Company Needs (Not Just Staff Growth)
“You don’t want to move that often. The more factors you account for, including your rate of growth, when you make your big move, the better off you will be. I plan for the next piece of big equipment I’m going to buy. I think about storage, and how many new staff members I want to add. I visit the same place multiple times until I’ve really felt out its idiosyncrasies and potential issues.” ~ Chris Quiocho, Offland Media
3. Do What’s Best for Your Team
“Understand what your team needs and do that. Don’t just follow the trends. Open offices may be popular, but are they right for you? If not, look for a different kind of space. Plan for the short term and long term. How do you see your company growing? How can your current set up accommodate that growth, and what changes do you need to make to create the best environment for your team?” ~ Yaniv Masjedi, Nextiva
4. Look for an Office That Allows for Privacy
“In our office, there were no quiet or private spaces for anyone should they need those to make phone calls or do conferences in teams. We knew we needed spaces that allowed for private work rather than being crammed in one space. The next step was co-working spaces that allowed us to access those private spaces when necessary.” ~ Angela Ruth, Calendar
5. Ask for Help
“When I first expanded my massage studio from one suite in our building to the second (and then third!) I tried to manage as much of it as I could by myself. I learned that asking for help, delegating and allowing others to be supportive made things so much easier as we’ve continued to grow and expand. You can’t do it alone!” ~ Rachel Beider, Massage Outpost
6. Don’t Spring for an Expensive Lease Just Because You’re Growing
“When my business experienced its first big swell in profits and clients, I brought on new employees and moved to a larger office with a much more expensive lease. Unfortunately, business died down for a while and I had to continue paying out the nose for a huge office despite laying people off. The lesson I learned from this was to avoid being trapped in a pricey space during lean months.” ~ Bryce Welker, Accounting Institute for Success
7. Plan Your Move Long Before You Need To
“Inadequate office space can damage productivity and morale, so it’s a good idea to move before it becomes a pressing issue. Start planning well in advance of the move, so that you can organize the transition to a new location on your schedule, rather than facing the disruption of a rushed move.” ~ Vik Patel, Future Hosting
8. Always Have Extra Space
“We started off in a coworking space, but we hadn’t thought about expansion needs in advance and ended up bartering on a sort of startup black market to occupy surplus desks from startups that were contracting or pivoting. The hassle and distraction of needing to find space as we grew taught us the value of always having extra room (which you can always sublet until your team is big enough).” ~ Ryan D Matzner, Fueled
9. Move When You’re Starting to Deal with Clutter and Distractions
“Growing a business can be fun and scary. The fun part is the ideas and concepts of where it might be headed. While the scary parts can be finding a location and the added costs involved. Some of the best triggers to know when it’s time to scale and grow your office is when the clutter just keeps building up and you can’t find anything, or when it’s no longer a productive place to work.” ~ Zac Johnson, Blogger
10. Ask Your Stakeholders What They Need
“Our main concern when looking to move to a larger office was how we would utilize the space. Involving all stakeholders is crucial because people who work in your office will have different ideas and requirements. For instance, while a creative team might request for a private room, human resources may need increased space to accommodate more desks for new employees in the operations team.” ~ Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns
11. Build a Team and Culture That Can Thrive in Any Environment
“My first office was one big room that we all worked out of. This allowed for impromptu brainstorming, collaboration and little privacy. Our next space was segregated into different rooms and I remember being nervous about how we would keep the collaboration and productive brainstorming through the walls. I learned space isn’t what makes the team work — it’s the team that makes the team work.” ~ Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR
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