It’s been a great run in the old office, it did a great service, but your lease is up and it’s time to make some serious decisions for your small business.
Looking forward to what’s next can be stressful and scary, but you’ll never know what your business might be if you don’t take it in a direction that’s best for its current growth.
Time to Grow or to Shrink?
Running a small business can be an exercise in stretching a shoestring budget and juggling bills from month to month, so your lease being up might be as much of a relief as anything.
Only your books and profit forecasts can really determine if it’s best to continue plowing head with an attempt to grow or to simplify and shrink into a smaller, more affordable office space.
Consider these tips when deciding what’s next for your business:
- Think about downsizing. A strategic retreat isn’t the same as a business defeat, but if you decide that your current office space is too much to handle financially, consider an appointment with your local SBA office. They can help you with your business books, including taking a look at your current budget for places where you might be able to shave expenses.
- Maintaining the status quo is ok, too. When things are going ok in your leased space, there’s no reason that you have to go looking for an office for rent.If it’s a good fit, your employees are productive, your clients can find you easily and everybody’s happy, by all means sign on for another term. You may eventually outgrow the space, but another lease term will give you time to put back more money toward a mortgage down payment or a new business lease.
- Move on up. Small businesses that have managed to become well established during their current lease might consider purchasing their own piece of commercial real estate. This way, they can establish a permanent base of operations with a set cost and maybe even rent out some extra space without having to check with their landlord first.An owned space tells the community that you’re ready to invest in it and many times the community will respond in kind. Just check the zoning before you purchase commercial real estate so you know you can run your business in that location.
The end of your current lease might just be the beginning of the next chapter of your business story. Whether it’s time to take a step back and regroup, spread your wings and expand or stick with the status quo, now is the time for deep reflection and a hard look at your books to make the best call for your business’s future.