As time goes on, your business will slowly start to grow, your team will continue to expand and soon enough – you will need to rent office space.

But, searching for an office consumes a lot of time, and you will need direction on how to chart your activities.

Here’s a quick, but comprehensive guide on renting office space for start-ups.

1. Take care of the preliminaries

Before you think about moving your business from your home office and finding an office for rent, you need to be sure that you can afford the new overheads, and that the space you choose is suitable for your business needs.

2. Consider your current expenses

From the smallest and least significant aspects, such as postage costs, to the high expenditure tickets such as staff costs and supplies. In addition, include your payment and the peripheral or fringe expenses you’ll need such as marketing your new site.

Once you have described all your expenses, list down your income streams and the income.

With the costs and income listed, it is easy to figure out the average cash flow, taking into consideration peak and off-peak seasons. And after careful comparison of income versus expenditure, you can determine the budget to work with.

3. Determine the business needs

Start by writing down the number of staff you have, the nature of business and interaction you have with your clients. Generally, the rule of thumb is that you’ll need about 1,000 sq. feet for every four to six workers.

Also, if the nature of business requires frequent interaction and visits by clients, it will influence the location and other perks such as parking space.

4. Research the market

With your budget and business needs clearly defined, you can then research the market and find out the kinds of office space for rent that can match your description.

Take a tour around the neighbourhood and go beyond the “comfort zones.”

Two tips you can consider: consult others and ensure that you visit each potential office. Visiting the office helps you to visualise how it will be working there. 

5. Consider your expansion plans

As you narrow down on prospective office spaces to rent, consider your expansion plans for the next two to three years.

Many office spaces for lease in Singapore carry varying lease agreements. Therefore, be sure to pick a place that will accommodate your business needs even in the medium-term. Also, you may want to choose serviced office spaces that caters to both short and long-term lease periods, just in case your expansion plans changes. 

6. Choose an office

Once every other above factor has been considered you can finally pick out your office.

From the previous considerations, you should get a rough idea on which office space is ideal for you. And ultimately, which one will work for your business.

7. Sum up all the costs and seal the deal

Consider all the steps above and calculate the costs.

Sum them up with the comprehensive costs of the new site. If you get a financial green light, go ahead and seal the deal.

Naturally, your team will get bigger and bigger – and soon enough, it will be time for you to get more space. However, don’t fret. Just make sure you make a list of what you should look out for and follow it closely.