The space you call your business serves as a daily reminder of your hard work, the success you have achieved, and your clients. Choosing your office space can be as challenging as a new home and it can have the impact to make or break your business.

If you are searching for a professional space to call home during working hours, coming up with a checklist can save the frustration of being overwhelmed by the selection and underwhelmed by the quality.

To get started, look at the bottom line: your budget. Affordability can narrow down the set of office properties to lease, sublease or share. Let your budget dictate a min and max figure that you can use whether your search starts online or through an agent.

Consider incentives offered to draw businesses into less desirable neighbourhoods. In real estate, the adage is location is everything. Narrowing down the neighbourhood, business park or even the zone within a municipality should be next on your list.

Parking and transportation can be a key selling point to your clientele as well as employees. Consider wheelchair accessibility and the distance to the nearest bus stop, subway or transit hub.

If your business relies on foot traffic, analyze the traffic patterns of the areas you are considering during core business hours and consider the demographics. Your current clientele should be pleased to do business in your new neighbourhood; likewise, your new neighbourhood should add to your clientele. Are businesses in the area flourishing or are many spaces vacant?

Always study the security factor. Look for panhandlers near the entrance and along the street. Check alleys and parkades for sleepers. Your community policing office will be able to provide a breakdown of crime statistics. Even if the statistics are not eye-popping, consider the visual evidence in terms of graffiti and vandalism.

If there is a business improvement association that operates in the area you are considering, pay a visit and ask about neighbourhood improvement initiatives as well as committees that merchants participate in. Attend the next meeting to find out key concerns. The anchor merchants and business owners for each BIA can be important sources of information and liaisons for you.

After you choose the area, space consideration is one of the key factors. Break down the total square footage you need in overall space into several subcategories of square footage: meeting rooms, private offices, workstations, storage and reception as well as specialty areas such as areas for servers, faxes and mail, bathrooms and retail dressing rooms.

Consider how easily the space accommodates your growing business.

If you are choosing a space that needs renovation or an interior design makeover, look at the total cost of moving in including the capital and labour costs.

Break down your IT and computing needs. Is WiFi a requirement? Do you need a server room?

Intangibles may set standards or requirements that are hard to quantify but make a difference in your success. If you need a specific type of ambience that a neighbourhood or architectural elements provide, analyze it and put it down in writing. Architectural elements, interior design and office furnishings can be included as part of a sublease.

Keeping up with the Joneses may not be on your radar, but your clients may have an eye on your competitors. Visit their premises and take notes about what they are doing right.

Before finalizing your shortlist, bring your employees and a few customers into the fold. Ask them to join you in a field trip.

As the saying goes, the first impression can be the last impression. Choose a space that makes a strong positive impact on your customers and it will make an impact on your bottom line.

Author Bio: Ingrid Schneller is an Levitra office space expert at Elite Business Centres. Elite specializes in providing Vancouver office space that is fully supported by trained, professional staff. You can learn more about their services by visiting their website at http://www.eliteoffices.com

Category: Business
Keywords: vancouver, office space, virtual office, solutions, professional, office services, work