How Do You Decide Where to Move?
Our Requirements for Our New Office
Once we had decided that we needed to move the ICU IT offices, we had to draw up a “wish list” of requirements. We knew that we wanted our office to last at least 3-5 years to allow us to follow our business plan and continue to grow the business.
• We knew we needed greater office space, and estimated that this would need to be at least 1000sq ft.
• We needed an ample, professional space for meetings with clients.
• We also needed space for our employees to test and complete IT support and setups.
• We needed parking for employees and visiting clients.
• We didn’t want to have to waste time decorating or adding cosmetic touches to the building, so something new, or newly decorated would be ideal.
• We needed the office to be close to Derby City Centre, and easy to reach for various transport links.
How We Searched for Our New Office
Now that we had our initial list of requirements for our new offices, we began the search. We started with searching on Rightmove and Zoopla, as you would with a domestic property search however, we found that many commercial agents don’t list on these sites, so we started googling local agents. After a search around the commercial agents in Derby, we found 3 properties which we thought matched our initial requirements. We also thought that it would be a good idea to speak with our current landlord (Ann Bhatti for Connect Derby) to see if there were any larger office options available to us in our current location.
Viewing Potential Offices
Prior to viewing the 3 properties on our list, we had to ensure that we asked all the right questions upon our initial viewing and didn’t get carried away with the fantasy of moving. We made a checklist of our requirements and any questions that we had about the properties. This proved useful in making sure that we were comparing the properties fairly against the other. We completed our initial visit of the 3 properties was completed to look around the properties, and so that we could meet with the agents and ask our pre-prepared questions. We made sure that we took photos of the properties in case we had later queries. If you would find this list useful, then please contact us.
Choosing Our New Office
After we had completed our viewings and found the answers to our questions, we created a spreadsheet of everything our current office offers us, along with any associated costs. We made sure to use the spreadsheet so that we could remove any emotional fantasies of moving and concentrate on the practical elements of moving. This can be shared if anyone would like the template, simply contact us.
In the end, our spreadsheet had our current office, and the 3 options to consider. We had predicted the cost for the first year, and every year after that. As our current offices are managed this helped us to understand how much Friargate Studios do for us and enabled us to make sure that no service fell through the cracks. This helped us see the cost benefits in black and white and make an informed decision.
Note : Don’t forget to opt out of mailing lists after you have finished your search, as commercial agents will likely sign you up to them.
