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If and when you are in the market for an office space, what you settle for is important to your business overall objective, Bottom line of the business inclusive. Not only does it affect your day to day operations and your staff morale, but also your brand image. There are so many things that can impact which office you choose; however, there are five factors that are absolutely crucial to the process. Overlook one of these, and you could end up disappointed. 1. Location The importance of location can not be over emphasized, needless to say location is key. Hence the popular quote in real estate industry, “Location, location, location.” which drives home just how important location is when choosing an office space. Here are two really important questions to ask: Can my clients get there without a hassle? Can my employees get there easily? If you find an office that ticks these two boxes, then you’re well on your way to finding a good location. Think about the security of the neighborhood as well and what’s close to the office. The environment should be serene and pristine to avoid disturbance and allow for easy flow of work. 2. Cost Price ranks top of the list for most businesses and individuals when choosing a new office space. If you plan with a low budget, you will end up with a crappy office, and have to vacate after a few month. Spend too much, and you might struggle to maintain the rent or move again. Neither of the situation is suitable. Here are a few recommendation to this quagmire: Consider a Virtual Office for your business. By this you get to save cost and use an office when you need one. Engage a fully serviced office and allow your overhead cost and every other cost to become the problem of the facility managers. Always do a quick comparison with other offices spaces in the area to make sure you’re getting value for money. 3. Office Size Obviously both of the factors mentioned previously—location and cost—will influence the size of the commercial premises you choose, but it’s as important as the rest. As a very general rule, it’s normally recommended to have 70 square feet per person. However, you know your business best. If your office requirements need bigger desk or more storage space, then increase the space accordingly. There’s also the issue of meeting and rest space. You’ll need an area to meet with clients, and your colleagues need somewhere to eat their lunch just like the Savvy Instant Offices’ facility in Abuja, Nigeria. Here are a couple of simple questions that’ll help you work out if the offices you’re looking at are the right size: Will I have at least 70 square feet of floor space per person? Do I have room to grow staffing levels in line with growth projections? Do I have a dedicated space for meetings with clients? Are my employees going to be happy with their social/recreation areas? There’s no doubt that a cramped office reduces productivity, so don’t skimp on floor space. 4. Facilities This is a more important feature for some businesses than others. Nowadays however, there aren’t many businesses that can function efficiently without a reliable Internet connection. Some offices, particularly managed or serviced offices, generally include Internet access as part of their rent. If you’re leasing somewhere privately though, you’ll need to factor in the cost of getting a line connected and the monthly payments for access. The quality and reliability of the service matters too. There’s no point paying for a service that is being interrupted constantly or cracks under the strain of a particularly busy day. Internet is key but other facilities to be considered includes but no limited to; correspondence, mail handling services and phone line answering service. Here are factors to consider before signing your license agreement: Contact other businesses to share their experiences of the facility, Internet as key priority. Does the office handle mails? Ask facility managers for a speed test to ensure the ISP is providing efficient and effective service Factor in the cost of any Internet access into the price if you are providing this service yourself. The speed test is a really simple thing you can do to try and get real data that answers your question. If the service is good, the owner won’t think twice about providing it.   What are your experiences in your current office space? What influenced your decision in taking up office space? Do you have any question about finding the right office for your business? Tell us in the comment box below.

There are two ways for your company to make more money. First, you could increase your sales and revenue. Second, you could reduce your expenses. Increasing sales requires a lot of planning, strategy and moving pieces to fall in line, but reducing your company’s expenses is something you can do very easily – all it takes is a little bit of time. Here are eight ways to reduce your expenses, resulting in a larger bottom line. 1. Relocate your office to a more affordable area. Thanks to the power of the Internet, not every business needs to rely on locations with highway access or high-foot traffic in order to be successful. Consider signing up to a virtual office package to reduce your monthly rent. Savvy Instant Offices is a great website to get everything flexible office solutions, from; serviced offices, virtual offices to affordable workstations. Often times, especially in larger cities, the further away from the action you are, the lower the cost for commercial rent. While this won’t apply to every business, it’s something to consider if you don’t have walk-in customers, and service a customer base who isn’t local. 2. Convert your phones to a cloud-based system. This is a tip geared more toward freelancers and solopreneurs, rather than larger businesses, but it’s something that smaller teams can consider as well. You can eliminate the cost of desk phones and high monthly plans by switching to a cloud-based system that routes calls through your mobile phone. Most consumers would rather communicate through email, social media, live chat and web-forms, rather than pick up a phone. Take a look at your current phone usage, and if it’s minimal consider moving over to a cloud-based option. 3. Audit your monthly subscription billing. Most businesses are subscribed to many SAAS software applications, yet never use them. You might sign up for a free trial and then forget about it, while it continues to hit your credit card month-after-month. If it’s a small ticket item, the amount might slip by undetected for a long period of time before you realize you have been wasting money. It’s a good idea to audit your business bank statements often, at least quarterly, to see if you can spot any unnecessary spending. Cancelling unused subscription products or services can end up saving several thousands of dollars annually. 4. Turn unused office space into a co-working space. Do you have some unused office space that’s just collecting dust? Consider subleasing it or turning it into a co-working space. Not only can this help to absorb some of your lease expense, but having more companies in the same space can help spark creativity and can lead to new partnerships and business opportunities. You will have to check your current lease to see if subleasing is allowed, and you would most likely have to run a co-working proposal by the current landlord to see if it’s even a possibility. 5. Take advantage of travel reward credit cards. You might be thinking, “Credit cards? Are you crazy? I want to save money, not accumulate more debt.” But there is a big difference between intelligent credit card usage and irresponsible and dangerous use. Funneling all of your business expenses through one or two cards, and then paying off the balance in full every month is an easy way to accumulate enough points to save you a tremendous amount of money on airfare and hotels for your business travel needs. Even if you don’t travel, there are plenty of cash back opportunities that can lead to less overall spending. 6. Always seek out multiple bids. Whenever you are working with a vendor, manufacturer or supplier, it’s a good idea to seek out additional bids. Yes, it takes more time, but in the end the savings can have a huge impact on your bottom line. I’ll give you a real-life example. A startup I’m involved with in the health and beauty space found a manufacturer and was set to move forward with a large production order. They only contacted two companies and then picked the supplier that they though was the best fit. It took a day of hammering the phones and sending hundreds of emails, but in the end I was able to lock in a manufacturer that was 45 cents less expensive per unit. Now, at 10,000 units per order, that’s a savings of $4,500. Don’t be lazy. The extra work you put in can drastically reduce your expenses. 7. Constantly review, measure and optimize your ad spend. If you have a set it and forget it mentality when it comes to paid media, such as social media, pay-per-click (PPC) and media buying, you will end up with a lot of wasted ad spend. Through my company, I consult with a lot of brands, and nine out of 10 times I find wasted ad spend simply because nobody was spending enough time on the review, measurement and optimization of the campaigns. Split-test multiple copy and image variations of your ads, clip the non-performers, and constantly work to improve the performance of the ads that are generating a positive ROI. Reducing your cost-per-click (CPC) while increasing your conversions helps grow sales and lower your ad spend. 8. Negotiate a lower fee with your credit card processor. If you have been with your current credit card processing company for a long time or if you are pushing a high dollar amount through them monthly, asking for a lower rate won’t hurt. If anything, it can help you reduce your processing fees, and your company retaining more of your revenue. Most processing companies charge 2.9 percent and 30 cents per transaction, but if you have high dollar volume or longevity with them, it gives you leverage to negotiate a lower rate.

Incorporate these five important website elements into your site to build an online presence that brings customers directly to your business, no matter where they are located. Your business may be small, but a business website is no longer optional — even if you serve a local customer base, and have no intentions of selling your products or services online. Here are five essentials every small business website should include: 1. A powerful home page Your website’s home page is the first impression you give the online world about your business: It should clearly communicate your business’s brand image through appealing visuals and copy, along with: What your business does Who it serves Why it exists Why a customer should care There are many creative ways to approach your home page, but it should include (at minimum): your logo, a brief description of your business and a navigation menu that directs users to other important pages on your site. Now that at least 68 percent of Americans own smart phones, according to Pew Research Center, and over 56 percent of Nigerians have smart phones and 64 percent of Nigerians can surf the Internet, your website should also include responsive design features that ensure it’s as easy to view and navigate on smaller screens as traditional desktop computer orientations. 2. User-friendly navigation Whether your navigation menu expands across the top of your site or in a sidebar, it must be easy for site visitors to locate, and should include logical categories that make it simple for site users to find the information they seek. According to an infographic, poor navigation is the No. 1 reason people abandon a website they have visited. Consider how you can best structure your navigation menu and the categories (and possibly, subcategories) it will contain based on common questions a new customer to your business might ask. For example: What broad categories of items or services do you sell? What do those products or services cost? Where is your business located; what are its hours of operation? How do customers purchase items or services, and what forms of payment do you accept? Ideally, a clean navigation should use logical sequencing and titles that help customers easily identify the section of your website they need to visit. 3. Search features Include a search box feature in addition to your site navigation menu so customers can type keywords or phrases to find the information they need when the navigation menu doesn’t meet their needs. When customers type content into the search box, they’ll be presented with relevant pages to visit, so they don’t have to handle their search manually. (The more content you have on your site that addresses all possible keywords, the more beneficial the search box feature becomes.) 4. Access to help Despite the marketing benefits that a website offers small businesses and online customers, there are times when customers want to connect with a human. Your website should include the option to connect via phone, email and at your physical location, if you have one. Amazingly, Social Media Today reports that 93 percent of small businesses do not publish an email address that customers can use to contact them. 5. FAQ page The more you engage with customers online and off, the more you’ll sense patterns in the types of information customers seek, and the questions that arise in regards to your products or services. Offer a page of frequently asked questions and their answers on your site to make it easier for customers to find the detailed information they need. A small business website is an affordable and effective way to expand your online reach and potential to market to prospects and customers. Yet it needs a few critical elements to make a positive impression. Incorporate these five important website elements into your site to build an online presence that brings customers directly to your business, no matter where they’re located.