Pic Credit: Pexles
Whether you want to buy an office or a shop, choosing the right premises is very important for your small business. It’s important to choose the right premises, as it’s going to be one of the biggest costs when you’re setting up or expanding, and it could play a big part in your future success. When you’re looking for business premises, take these important factors into account.
Location
If you’re buying a shop, a good location is essential, as high footfall can help you have a steady flow of customers through the door. If you aren’t in a busy area, you will need great marketing in place to encourage your customers to travel to where you are.
However, premises in more popular areas tend to come with a higher price, so you will need to find the right balance of location and price.
If you’re buying a warehouse, office, or other premises, its still important to choose the right location. Think about your location in relation to where your workers live and how accessible the it is for deliveries.
Size
How big do your premises need to be? This can be tough, as you don’t want to pay for space you aren’t using, but you also want to leave yourself some room for future growth and expansion, so you don’t outgrow your premises too quickly.
Keep in mind that health and safety regulations are in place to make sure that workers have enough space. Make sure there is enough room for everyone to work comfortably. You should also make sure you take into account how much room you will need for things like office furniture, stock, and any equipment. Make sure you also leave enough room for people to move around easily and use any equipment safely.
Facilities
Your business premises will usually need to be connected to basic services like power, plumbing, heating, phone, and internet. However, depending on what kind of business you are running, you might need access to some additional services too, such as more specialist power and ventilation options if you are running certain equipment, or access to deal with dangerous waste. It is vitally important not to overlook any necessary health and safety equipment you might need for your small business, companies like STOREMASTA can help with your needs for the storage and management of hazardous waste.
On simpler terms, consider how much parking you need. Do you need safe walkways around heavy equipment, blocked off with barriers from Armco Direct?
You will need to find premises with these facilities or where they can easily be added, with minimal hassle and expense.
Permissions
Keep in that for certain kinds of business activities, you may need some specialist permissions or licenses. It’s a good idea to look into this as soon as possible, so you know whether you can carry out your business at the site you’re looking out before you make a final decision.
If the premises you’re considering is currently being used for a different purpose, you will probably need planning permission to be able to change the use. You will also need planning permission if you want to make any alternations or extensions to the building.
Note: This is a collaborative post