You can’t be Digital Nomad forever. At some point, you’ll hire your first employees. Those who start directly with their own offices, warehouse or shop space must of course immediately decide on a location. Finding the right property for your business premises will take a lot of time. From viewing various real estate advertisements to hiring a real estate agent to viewing the individual properties. Sometimes it happens that the location is changed shortly after the start of business. In the business plan you have to think about these questions everywhere and provide the right answers.
advantages and disadvantages: From rental conditions to rental commitment
The location depends on two decisive factors. On the one hand the rental conditions, around the rental price but also around the rental commitment, on the other hand the proximity to important traffic routes, suppliers or customers. The choice of location takes up a relatively small part of the business plan. But it’s essential to your business.
- Where do you offer your offer?
- Why did you choose this location?
- What disadvantages does the location have?
- How can you compensate these disadvantages?
- How will the location develop in the future?
Expensive or many square meters?
Here are a few tips for your choice of location. Especially at the beginning, as an entrepreneur you don’t really know where to start. But there are great alternatives to the lonely single office, especially for young entrepreneurs. Have you ever heard of coworking? Coworking is a meeting place for many founders of new businesses. The big advantage is that you can benefit from the know-how of others. They help each other. While you may have special knowledge of InDesign, someone else is familiar with WordPress. Yet another has a hunch about search engine optimization and another about Facebook and Instagram Marketing. Mutually you can help each other, give inspiration and support. You learn a lot from your own experience.
Great city or quiet country?
Once you have opened your location, it is difficult to change it again. Especially if you want to go to another city. Therefore, you should think about where your location should be beforehand. Hotspots such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne naturally offer you excellent opportunities for growth if your peers don’t have to be too big at the beginning. If you can do without this luxury, then it is worth opening a location in the rural region. Because here the prices are extremely more favorable but also frequently steer of the individual municipalities. In addition, the danger of skilled personnel migrating is lower due to sparsely populated competition.
Enlargement over the years?
The third point you need to keep in mind is growth. If you have already set yourself up in your first office for such a long time that a later move will be complicated, then you will have extreme space problems from the 6 or 7 employees, with only 50 or 60 square meters, at the latest. Two offices? It’s no use. Accordingly, the first office must be furnished in such a way that nothing stands in the way of future expansion. The expansion of the company must therefore be taken into account in advance and factors such as the rental period and the furnishing planned accordingly. Accordingly, you should not make any major alterations to your first office. The fewest startups stay here after the start phase. Usually you will change your premises two or three times until you have found the perfect location with ideal space conditions.
Long-term binding?
Always keep in mind that tenancy agreements involve a long-term commitment, as well as the obligation to pay the rent punctually every month. Calculated over a whole year, a large amount quickly adds up. However, it is not only the costs that are important, but also the obligation to pay, because unlike private rents, there is hardly any protection against eviction. If you do not pay the rent, you will receive a reminder within 14 days, a reminder 7 days later and with a bit of bad luck another 7 days later a request for eviction. Of course, this is the worst case, but it is possible, e.g. if you are not a long-term tenant and just new. Especially in the case of start-ups and young companies, landlords naturally don’t take any pleasure in dealing with rent arrears. If you then have to weigh at the end of the month whether you pay wages or rent, you have exactly 30 days left.
You have to consider all this when choosing a location. As already mentioned, this topic hardly plays a role in the business plan. But for yourself, it’s extremely important.
Location choice: 5 facts
Here once again summarized, all tips for your location choice:
- Search hotspots
A&O → where does your business make sense - For starters: Coworking
Other founders
exchange of experience
Input of unknown species - Top location or outskirts
- Own office space → Rental ends and growth
- effect → Furnishings and ambience
Coworking – Savings Tip
Coworking – the perfect start for founders. If you want to start your own business, Coworking Spaces offers excellent opportunities to train yourself and qualify for new challenges. With a lot of know-how from people in the environment and through lectures. Especially entrepreneurial and media skills (social advertising to search engine optimization) can be found here at every corner. On the one hand, interesting conversations develop at the coffee machine, at the foosball table or on the large balcony. Every week there are also interesting workshops such as “Online evaluation portals – the sales turbo for sales”.
- Large office areas and meeting rooms instead of small individual offices
- Mediapark view with lake and green areas, in the middle of the city
- Community of young entrepreneurs
- Perfect also to combine professional and private interests
- All-round service: cleaning lady, janitor, etc.
- Media Services: Laser printer, beamer, etc.
- Friendly personnel
The personal and entrepreneurial, personal development is enormous due to the positive environment. I came as a designer, media manager, just moved to Cologne and was looking for my first projects. In coworking I quickly found a connection, first small projects and many interesting conversations. This year we did many entrepreneurial but also crazy things – like 30 online shops in one month, with 30.000 articles. Besides, just out of an idea. Why not!
From the all-round service, i.e. cleaning woman, laser printer, coffee machine and meeting rooms to the atmosphere. For me the way into a coworking space was probably the best decision. By the sharing principle a desk costs between 200 – 400 euro, depending upon offerer. With the extra services, however, this pays off very well. Likewise, you save time because you never have to worry about repairs, cleaning or other time wasters such as insurance, heating or even electricity. With a good environment, good ideas and good entrepreneurship. Coworking, the place-to-be for young entrepreneurs.
Coworking Office – Recommendations
Source: Lukinski Coworking List.
Berlin
- Agora Collective
Kopfstrasse 48, 12053 Berlin - Ahoy!
Windscheidstrasse 18, 10627 Berlin - Launch/CO
Rudolfstrasse 14, 10245 Berlin - space station
Stendalerstrasse, 10559 Berlin - Aunt Renate
Waldemarstrasse 37a, 10999 Berlin
Hamburg
- betahaus
Eifflerstrasse 43, 22769 Hamburg - Lilienhof
Lilienstraße 11, 20095 Hamburg - Places
Schopenstehl 15, 20095 hamburg - Werkheim
Planckstrasse 13, 22765 Hamburg, Germany
and at Schützenstraße 9, 22761 Hamburg
Munich
- Allynet
Bayerstraße 85, 80335 Munich - Combinat 56
Adams-Lehmann-Str. 56, 80797 Munich - Idea Kitchen
Hansastraße 181, 81373 Munich - Nutrion
Rosa-Bavarese-Strasse 3, 80639 Munich - The Founders Hub
Schopenhauerstrasse 71, 80807 Munich - Plant1
Grafinger Str. 6 81671 Munich
Guideline: Setting up your own business & business plan
You want to start your own business as a real estate agent or with another business idea? We support you with tips on your business plan and concept. Whether self-employed full-time or part-time self-employed: If you want to set up your own company, you have to think about a lot, in advance and in the operative business. From the right idea to health insurance – what needs to be considered if you want to become self-employed?
There is no training or further education for entrepreneurs. Managing director is you or not. Your own ambition is always important, because this is the only way to improve, every day.
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