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Choosing a Successful Location for Your Business
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Is Your Proposed Location Appropriate for What You Plan to Do There?
When choosing business space, the biggest consideration is sometimes not where it is but what it is. The building facilities need to be appropriate for (or adaptable to) your business. For example, if you're planning to open a coffeehouse, you need a place with at least minimal kitchen facilities. Unless you can convince the landlord to put in the needed equipment -- plumbing, electrical work, and the rest -- it's highly unlikely that laying out the cash to do it yourself will be worth it. In short, if a building lacks something major that is essential to your business operation, you should probably look for something else.
Communications Wiring
Another consideration that's important for many businesses these days is having modern phone and other data lines available to the business. When you're considering a specific space, ask the agent or the landlord for information about communications wiring, such as whether the space is connected to a fiber optic network or is wired for DSL or a T1 line (high-volume Internet connections). Also, find out to whom the landlord has sold the rights to the risers (wire conduits) in the building. A commercial landlord cannot enter into exclusive contracts with a single telecommunications provider such as MCI or AT&T. However, to bring in another provider of your choosing could be expensive.
Electricity and Air Conditioning
Besides high-tech communications wiring, don't overlook plain-old electrical power as an important consideration in choosing a business space. Make sure that any space you're looking at has enough power for your needs, both in terms of the number of outlets in your space and the capacity of the circuits. If you'll be running machinery or other electricity-hungry equipment, find out from the landlord how much juice the circuits can handle and whether a generator is available during power outages. Also, if you'll keep sensitive computer equipment at your office, ask the landlord how many hours of air conditioning are included in the terms of your lease, and negotiate longer hours if necessary.
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