How to choose an Office Space for your Startup

With countless startups emerging all over the world, it is crucial in this day and age to know everything there is to know about them. Did you know that about 69% of startup companies started as home businesses? You must have seen pictures of when tech giants like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg started.

With handwritten placards of their company names and just a regular old desk and bench in their basements and dorm rooms where they created the unicorns that their businesses are today.  

Luckily for entrepreneurs today, this need not be the case. Most people don’t realize the importance of having a proper and professional setting to work in.

But, having a proper office setting boosts productivity, increases motivation, gets rid of lackadaisical attitudes and is good for businesses overall, new startups in particular. Professional office spaces could make or break a startup.  

Investing in office spaces while starting out might be difficult due to various reasons like low funds, a lack of order, or even low employee count. It is to combat this very problem, that coworking spaces came into existence.

There are various other solutions to this problem as well, which we will cover further.  

Types of Office Settings

If you are fueled with passion, even your bedroom can turn into a workplace. But oftentimes, not having a proper office setting can become a setback and affect your motivation to work. An evident example can be found right at homes, with the COVID 19 pandemic bringing about a work-from-home culture.

People attend work meetings right out of their beds and are not fully present mentally. This brings about a need to have proper office spaces, so we are going to be looking at easy options in this section.  

Before getting into the different types of office settings, it’s important to analyze the factors that affect the choice of office spaces. They include -  

• The nature of your startup
• The stage of your startup
• Budget
• Contingency plans
  

Analyzing these factors and choosing the best-suited office spaces can immediately take your startup to the next level.

Co-shared Space

Being friends with people who are well established in the business sector is a great leeway to make use of some of their amenities.

Giving them some sort of compensation (monetary or in kind) for the same is also wise. While this is an easy resort for an office setting and probably the fastest, this might create unnecessary friction and end up affecting your friendship.

If you are opting for this solution, make sure it’s a temporary one.

In-house Offices / Remote Work

Make sure you arrange a workplace right at your home and do not use it for any other purpose. This is an easy solution to combat office setting problems during the initial stages of your startup. In-house offices don’t require much complex equipment and are extremely easy to arrange.

Just put together some furniture, all required equipment and make it aesthetic to improve your moods. You save time spent on the commute and can dress informally as well. Although, simply keeping dress code can give necessary push while working from home.

Space requirement is a constriction and if your startup comprises more than a few handfuls of employees, this solution might not be right for you. In-house office settings are also known to be a distraction to people as they live there too. Frequent breaks and low motivation are also some other devils that come along with this solution.  

Incubation Centre

Business incubators are organizations that were created to guide startups in all aspects of business management. Most startups have innovative ideas, but little clue in turning those ideas into reality.

This is where incubators come to your rescue, guiding you right from the start till your startup becomes a successful company.  

Most incubators offer working spaces for emerging startups. Making use of this facility is highly beneficial. The most noteworthy advantage of incubation spaces is that they arrange for all necessary equipment required for you to work smoothly.

Professional office settings like incubation spaces have turned out to be highly successful for startups, but one thing to note is that they are not that costly considering long term benefits of mentorship received.  

Hire Own Office  

One efficient old-school method to create an office setting is to hire your own office space. This nurtures your independent mindset and you will have the satisfaction of having done everything on your own right from scratch. With that being said, there are some downsides you need to bear in mind.  

Looking for places or brokers who take care of it can get highly taxing. Even if you hire your own office, in some cases, you might have to take care of all the furniture requirements on your own. All of this consumes a lot of time that you could invest in other more important aspects of your startup.  

Work from Cafes  

Almost all high-end cafes provide electrical plugs for you to work on your laptop. While you are in the idea-developing stage of your startup, you can make use of this facility and enjoy the benefits that cafes offer.

Frequent meetups with your team, brainstorming, and all the documentation work that don’t require the use of complex equipment can be done in cafes. Bear in mind that once the very initial stages of your startup are over, this idea ceases to be relevant.  

Coworking Spaces

Possibly one of the best solutions that work no matter the stage of your startup is opting for coworking spaces. They are professional office spaces provided by specialised companies where people from various startups/businesses come and work.

These are designed keeping in mind every possible aspect of a workplace - starting from lounges, refreshment areas, separate meeting and presentation rooms, and private cubicles among others.

There are countless advantages to coworking spaces, some of which include -  

• Exposure to other startups

Since coworking spaces include a cluster of people from various startups and businesses, this is an amazing opportunity for networking and exposure to other businesses.

Coworking spaces also promote the “productivity culture” wherein if you feel a little demotivated, engaging in conversations with people is sure to lift your mood and productivity.

• Mentorship opportunities

Coworking spaces frequently conduct workshops and networking events. If you are an expert in the field, there are chances that you might be approached to host or conduct such events. Becoming a mentor to beginners is always good.  

• Accelerator programs

A lot of coworking spaces have started to offer accelerator programs.

Accelerators basically provide services including seed investment and mentorship along with other resources or in exchange for a stake in your company (equity). This is sure to increase exposure and networking, while also being beneficial monetarily for your startup.

• Network with executives

Coworking spaces are the easiest way through which you can meet people making it big in their respective fields. Coworking spaces provide amazing networking opportunities with fellow executives.

In times where cold emails or LinkedIn are the only ways to network with people, coworking spaces stand out.  

• Talent Attraction

Coworking spaces are good for talent attraction. The culture is also maintained. While you also get to work with a wider talent pool from across the country when you have workspaces pan India.

With a such a diverse talent pool to access, it will also have innumerable benefits on work and culture as well.

Final Word

Considering all the factors to choose an office space for your startup and analyzing the options available based on your needs can go a long way in helping your business thrive.

With the aforementioned types of office settings, we believe you have all the information you need to choose the most appropriate office space for your startup.