The Top Three Critical Commercial Space Considerations

If your business is doing well and you're considering leasing a new space, here are the three critical things you must think about before you lease a new space for your business. 

First is location. For many businesses, this is very important. If you're a restaurant or retail business, you need to be where the people are or where they drive by. This isn't critical for every business though. Lawyers or accountants or even commercial real estate agents are destination businesses, meaning people travel to our buildings because they need to talk to us; we’re not drive-by traffic dependent. Think about your kind of business and that will help determine where you need to be located. Also think about who your neighbors will be. If you're a professional services company, you'll probably want other lawyers and accountants as neighbors.

 Second is space. How much space do you need? iI you're an office of one, you probably don't need a giant warehouse space, but if you're an Amazon drop shipper you won't be able to work out of a 500 square foot office with a desk and a coffee pot. When you start looking for a new space remember to think about your needs in terms of spatial needs. Think five years in the future also because you're going to be successful and you don't want to need more space in just a few months with a lease you cannot get out of.

 Think about the future now is third. How much are you willing to spend on your dream space now? When you're looking for new space commercial properties will mostly be priced by the square foot. That means you need to take the price per square foot, multiplied by the square footage of the space, then divide by 12 to get your monthly cost. That won't be the total cost though; you'll need to factor in utilities (unless they're included, which is a super bonus when those heating bills can be sky-high) maybe a portion of the common area maintenance, lawn mowing and snow removal, perhaps part of the insurance, and maybe even some of the property taxes. The price per square foot will be one of the most important decision factors, so take it seriously and shop around If you find a commercial space in a good part of town with good drive-by traffic with plenty of space at an affordable price, you might just have found the perfect new headquarters for your business.

 If you need help finding the perfect commercial building or you need help leasing or selling a building be sure to get in touch by calling 715.450.4990 or emailing chris@stokesherzog.com