Most entrepreneurs run their small businesses by working from home. This cost effective method has helped thousands of startups test their models, determine customer acquisition routes, identify key revenue generation channels, and know how to cut their expenses; all before renting an office space.
While working from home may be a great way to build your business from the ground up, sooner or later, it would outgrow its current environment.
How then do you know the right time to move your business from a home office to a more professional environment?
If you’re unsure or still need more reasons to move your business, here are 5 signs your small business is ready to rent an office space:
1). There’s An Increased Need To Meet With Clients:
Businesses in the service sector need to constantly meet up with their various clients. Whether in their offices or at select locations, their clients need to be able to talk to them directly, so they can outline their goals and what it would take for you to deliver a product or service that’d suit their needs.
While small clients especially startups, may be comfortable with you meeting them in their offices or in serene public environments, large clients would usually want to see what your office and workforce looks like.
As your client list grows and the demand to meet at your work environment skyrockets, the need to rent an office space would be too critical to the continued growth of your business.
2). You Need To Build A Resident Workforce:
When a business’s client list grows, its revenues grow, the tasks to be completed grows, and subsequently does the urgent need for a workforce grow.
As your business expands in its operations, you’d need to hire more people, and it would be highly unprofessional to get them working from your home. While you may find no problem with the business been home-based, people you interview would feel highly awkward about it, and so will clients.
To appear like you’re running a real business and not a Ponzi Scheme, you need to rent an office space when there’s a pressing need to increase your workforce.
3). Your Revenue Goals & Customer Base Numbers Are Impressive:
As your revenue and customer base grows, you need to make not just you the business owner, but your employees and clients, feel they’re working and patronizing a business many other businesses trust enough to deliver great value to them. One important thing to do in this situation is to move from your home to rent a professional office space.
Doing this not only makes existing and new clients trust you more, but also makes your employees know that they are working for a company that has a future.
4). The Distractions At Home Are Becoming Unbearable:
Working from home can be roughly distracting. From kids running around and breaking things, the television set in the living room being too loud, people in the vicinity making a hell of noise, and many more home wrenching distractions, working from home can be a major slow-down for your business.
If you get constantly distracted and have an increased need to find solace in a more serene environment, so you can think straight, have a better focus, and stay fully committed to the day’s work, then it may just be the right time for you to rent an office space in a professional environment.
5). You’ve Crossed The Limit Local Laws Permits A Business To Be Run From Home:
Some local laws permit businesses of a certain size, both in staff strength and revenue, to work from home. While this differs per country, state, and even local governments, when your business has crossed the size required for it to keep running from home, you’re mandated to move to a more corporate environment.
Asides the country setting its laws, some residential environments have their own rules and regulations. Some would never allow offices to be run from a resident’s home, because of various reasons, while others would.
Based on where ever you may be living, the local community law could determine to a great extent when the time has come for you to move your business from your home to a more professional office space.
What are your thoughts on these 5 signs your business is ready to rent an office space? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
