How to align your workspace strategy with your growth goals
- Seed
- Series A
- Series B
How to align your workspace strategy with your growth goals
The world of workspace has undergone a big shift in the last few years. New breeds of workspace like managed offices have established themselves and the ‘flight to quality’ has seen many companies move to better spaces they can use more efficiently.
But how are you meant to navigate that process as an occupier? How can you take into account all the changes in the sector and the demands of employees in the modern world?
Office space is one of the most significant costs for any business, so it makes sense to align your workspace with your growth plans and turn that expense into a driver of productivity.
Here’s some tips to help you do just that.
Only pay for what you need
One of the best ways to save money is ensuring that you aren’t wasting space or paying for amenities and features that you don’t use.
Some sample questions to help determine what you need include:
- How many desks do I need now? Do I need one desk per person with hybrid working patterns?
- Will I need more desks in the next 18 months?
- What amenities do we actually use every day? For instance, if you only use your meeting room twice a month, do you need a permanent one?
- Do you want to be in a space with similar businesses, such as a tech incubator space?
- Do my staff need any special features or amenities?
- Is a custom fit out important? Or do you need to brand the space?
For example, if you have a small headcount now but plan to expand in the next year, a flexible space where you pay for the desks you need now and add more when necessary in the future could be ideal.
That space could also be fitted out in advance and give you the option to rent amenities when required. All of that cuts expenditure while still providing your business and employees with exactly what they need to drive growth.
There are also specific strategies that can help start-ups and scale-ups at different points in the growth process:
Series A raise
If you’re at the Series A raise you can look for the following types of office rental contract terms to make the most of your funds and reinvest the rest into growth:
Option agreements
Take a smaller space and agree an option for first right of refusal on a larger space. That obligates the landlord to come to you first with additional growth options and means that you can always take space that comes up when you need to grow.
Space utilisation deals
Otherwise called ‘pay as you grow’, these deals see you take a larger space on a three-year term but only pay for what you utilise rather than the whole lot. It guarantees space for growth while ensuring you don’t pay for space you don’t need immediately.
Finding a landlord who understands how scale-ups grow and knows how to help can make all the difference in the early stages.
Seed funding
Do you even need to rent a full office? That’s a question that you should be asking at the seed funding stage.
In the modern workspace world you could very easily get all the benefits of a rented office while only taking a few desks – and save yourself a lot of money in the process.
For example, Chatloop came to us when they were looking for a new space. They had a headcount of five and were looking at offices priced at £2,000 a month. But did they need that space really?
Only a maximum of three people were ever in the office, so we advised them to look at co-working spaces instead. They ended up choosing a pay-by-desk option where they could also rent meeting rooms when required.
The total saving was £1,500 a month – and all because they were able to use the flexibility available in the market to their advantage.
Understand your negotiating power
Reducing costs and keeping an eye on cash flow are important for any fast-growth firm, but it’s not the only consideration. You can also negotiate with potential landlords to make sure every pound goes as far as possible.
Examples of areas which can be negotiated include:
- Initial rent-free periods
- Who pays for the fit out of the space
- Council business support funding where available
- Whether repairs and maintenance are included in the rent
- Service charge caps
- Whether utility bills are included in the rent
- Corporate discounts for nearby gyms, restaurants etc
- What amenities are included in the rent
If you can negotiate with the landlords in those areas – while making sure you don’t accidentally alienate them and miss out on your perfect workspace – it is possible to save hundreds or thousands of pounds which can then be reinvested into your business.
Look for early bird opportunities
There are new and exciting workspaces launching all the time, and landlords want those spaces filled.
Building owners and operators are known to do early bird deals to ensure that their new workspaces are full and thriving. If you can secure one, you can enjoy a premium office space at a cut price cost.
Tip
Keeping your ear to the ground and acting straight away when opportunity strikes is a surefire way to succeed in today’s office market and align your workspace with your company growth plan.
Use a professional office search firm
You can do all the above alone, but it’s a lot of work and will require extensive research. You will need to plan the move, learn the local market, build relationships with potential landlords and get a good grasp of the different areas you can negotiate over – then actually go and make the deal.
That is time consuming and difficult to do, not to mention a lot of effort for a single office move. Realistically, it’s not the best use of resources for the majority of business. Taking that much time out over weeks and months has a very real cost attached to it.
Instead, you can use a professional office search firm to take all that off your hands and let you spend your time, money and effort growing your business.
An office expert like Level Workspace will know all the local offices that are available and be able to find one that suits you perfectly – including spaces that are not currently on the open market. Then, they will have the knowledge and relationships to negotiate you the best deal possible that suits your unique requirements.
Hiring a professional is the best way to find and secure a workspace that aligns with your company growth plans.
Make sure you use the available tools and resources
The big thing to remember is you’re not on your own out there! We have put together a whole list of tools and resources that can help you find the perfect workspace in a market that is evolving all the time.
Manchester Map
Our Manchester Innovation Map shows you exactly what’s in every area of Manchester – restaurants, bars, landmarks, coffee shops, parks, retail spots and more. Everything you need to make an informed decision about where in the city would be a good fit for your business and team.
Need somewhere close to transport links and night spots? Want somewhere with a good restaurant and coffee shop scene nearby for meetings? Our map will help you pinpoint exactly where you should look.
See our map and learn everything you need to know about finding the perfect office location.
Office cost calculator
Moving office can be a big expense – but exactly how much should you be budgeting for? It depends on a range of factors including headcount, office type, location and more.
Use our Office Cost Calculator to get a head start and a good estimate of what your costs might be in your specific circumstances.
E-book resources
Finally, we have put together an e-book that contain everything you need to know about positioning your workspace in the modern workspace market:
- How fast-growth firms entice people back into the office – Discover the workspace features that are winning right now and driving collaboration, culture and growth.
