Guest Contributor: The LAB Miami

Dealing with finding the right office space for your startup can be as stressful as finding a place to live. Technically speaking, your office might as well be your home since you will spend more time there than with those people you know that mooch and insist on spending time with you—some people may refer to these beings as family or relatives.

Once you do find the right office space it can feel as if the stars have aligned. Finding a space to do great work entails so much more than just the logistics. Office spaces have evolved into more than just boxes with cubicles inside, and sometimes the deciding factors can be a bit more emotional.

To help guide your decision, we have compiled some questions that will help guide your decision. Let’s start by saying that there is no right answer to any of these—they are all personal and/or strategic questions every business needs to consider:

• Culture – is it passionate? Is there a sense of community in the building? Does it feel inspirational?
• Atmosphere – does the design aesthetic suit your needs with regard to furniture and art? Are your neighbors and potential colleagues upbeat?
• Environment – are you comfortable with the neighborhood? Does it compliment the image you’re trying to cultivate?
• Layout – is the size of the space adequate? Is there room to grow? Do you have access to conference rooms so you can meet with your team and accommodate visitors? Is your actual working space used solely for the work you are doing?

Along these lines, it’s important to think through the following: Do the people already working in your desired office space have a culture you feel comfortable with? Is it so loud during certain parts of the day that it can be hard to focus? Do you feel comfortable working in an open space where anyone and anything can come into your workflow and distract you? Or would you like a private office?

While how you work can determine your output, whom you work around can also be a decisive factor. How about building a community? Is this a critical factor for you? Do the people working there excite you? Will you be in the right neighborhood? Will you be connected? Who´s working around you? Are their skills, services or expertise complementary to yours? Will you be exposed to a daily learning environment?

And we would remiss if we didn’t point out one other important consideration…

Cost – have you conducted a thorough and honest assessment of your budget? You’ll need to consider costs associated with your commute and parking, as well as office space amenities. Does the space offer AV? Internet and voice services? Printing? Mail service? IT support? Security? Transportation? Free coffee?

Let’s face it, when running a startup, cash is critical and money can contribute heavily to your decision making process. Running a startup requires you, at times, to be an all-in-one business on a very tight budget.

The bottom line

As entrepreneurs, our business plan does not exist in a vacuum. To be successful, we also need to consider what kind of working environment will provide the resources we require to help our business flourish. We strive to make that happen at the LAB Miami every day.

The LAB Miami is a creative campus for entrepreneurs and innovators. It operates out of a converted 10,000 square foot warehouse in the Wynwood Arts District and promotes an open, collaborative environment for learning and exchanging ideas. Subscribe to the NL and learn more on how to work at the LAB in thelabmiami.com.