5 Things Startups Need to Consider Before Looking for Office Space
Choosing an ideal location as a base for your startup business is not an easy task. There are many different factors that you need to consider which can ultimately affect your business success.
If you are looking for a serviced office or a virtual office in Bangkok, Mint Worklounge can help you. Just contact us and let us know of your needs and we can customize them for you.
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To help you get started, we’ve put together five things that matter the most when picking your startup location:
1) Location and Accessibility
Location is key when choosing your startup location. It needs to be easily accessible by your clients and employees. If your office is difficult to locate or in an area with difficult transportation, this could directly affect client relationships and employee retention.
Moreover, you may also consider checking if your chosen location is close to amenities such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. If coffee runs, office lunches and after-work social events are part of your work culture, it’s a big plus if there are multiple options available within a few minutes’ walking distances.
Additionally, it’s also important to choose a location where other similar businesses in your industry are located. It can open up many networking, partnership and business opportunities.
When it comes to accessibility, parking spaces also matter, not just for your clients but for your employees as well. If your building has limited parking spaces, check if there are nearby parking facilities to handle your needs.
2) Size of the office
Once you have identified the perfect location, it’s time to check if the size of the office fits your needs.
You don’t want to rent an office that is too large for what you actually need. It’s a waste of resources. At the same time, you would also need to take into account your future growth. If you can foresee your number of employees growing fast in a matter of months, it’s a good idea to find an office that can offer flexibility in terms of available space.
When deciding how much space you should get, you first need to decide how dense you want your office to be and how much space each person should have.
For low-density setups which are common in professional service groups and high-end private offices, the ideal density is between 250 and 500 square feet per employee.
If you want to get a mix of desk spaces, cubicles and private offices, you could go between 150 and 250 square feet per person. This is a traditional office space layout for most types of businesses.
For the sales, technology and customer support industry, high density offices consisting of up to 150 square feet of office space per person is very common. More often, these offices have small desks, a few small private offices and huddle rooms.
To simplify the process, simply multiply your number of employees with the amount of space for each person. From there, you will get your total square footage, and give or take for some allowance.
Startups generally have rapid growth projections especially in the first few years of operation. And this is something you need to take into account when deciding for an office space. You can either secure extra space to cover your growth in the next few months, or you negotiate for expansion rights or flexibility in your lease term.
3) Office amenities
It’s no fun if your office just has tables, computers, and other work-related equipment. It’s more fun if your office also has exciting facilities such as a cafe, bar, lounge and breakout areas among others.
Well-designed amenities are a critical component of a successful workspace. They create a way for employees and employers to immerse themselves in a unique culture where everyone can thrive. More importantly, these amenities help attract, retain and stimulate the most sought-after employees.
Some of the most common office amenities nowadays include:
- Fitness Center – This is a must-have for your office if you want to promote workplace wellness. Having a gym or fitness center within your building makes it more convenient for your employees to exercise and do their regular routine. This in turn helps promote a healthier workforce. Additionally, driven and motivated people like to take care of their health so this amenity can help attract and retain top-notch employees.
- Outdoor Space – Spacious green outdoor spaces with seating areas are also essential for the overall well-being of your workforce. These spaces can provide quick breaks from screen time for your employees. They also offer a relaxing ambiance where they can gather their thoughts or simply relax when needed.
- Dining options – Canteen, pantry, cafe and bars are now becoming a common thing especially for businesses that employ hundreds of employees. Employees don’t need to leave your premises just to get their lunch or to access good coffee.
- Meeting rooms and conference facilities – Dedicated spaces where teams could do discussions help them effectively collaborate and plan. These meeting rooms are fully equipped with a projector, microphone and other similar equipment.
- Fast and efficient WiFi – In this modern world, every office is expected to have a reliable Internet connection. This keeps everyone connected with clients and their colleagues.
4) Price
As they say, when the price is right, get it! Obviously, the location, size and amenities play a role in determining the cost of your office space. So before you even begin your search, you should already have an idea of how much you are willing to pay for it.
Aside from the obvious cost which is the monthly rental, you should also check your contract for any hidden fees. Look for things that may not be covered in your contract but are something you have access to such as Internet connection, phone service, office maintenance and so on.
5) Lease type
If you have already started your search, you might have already come across different types of leases. But generally, they can be classified as short-term lease and long-term lease.
One of the things you need to avoid is to get locked into a contract for a long period of time. This allows for limited movement, changes and growth within your organization.
As a growing business, the best lease type is one that allows for flexible licensing agreements that let you rent the space for as long as you need it. This type of flexible contract is commonly offered by shared or serviced offices.
There are many great locations for office space in Bangkok, and one of them is Thonglor. This place is considered a “new rich area” with a thriving business district. It is very accessible through public transportation.
If you are considering getting an office in Thonglor, you may consider checking Mint Worklounge. Mint has a full office suite in Thonglor 13 with 1.600sqm of serviced office space that is fully furnished and customizable to your business needs. This office space has exciting amenities such as the Mint Cafe & Beer Bar, two meeting rooms, a podcasting room, a VDO filming studio and a photography studio.
Employees also get access to reliable Wi-Fi and a cozy common area.
Get in touch with us today!
