Original Harley Davidson Headquarters

Unless you are running a business that must have a high street store, many Start-ups begin in a bedroom or garage and as they grow expand into larger more business specific accommodation.

However can you really engage with customers if you are working from home?

It depends on the type of business, much can be done on-line, by telephone and if you need to meet up face to face, there are hotel lobbies. These can be extremely helpful to a young business and are used to business meetings taking place, with coffee and tea easily available.

Yet there is a feeling that being taken seriously requires “real” offices. Certainly there is a hierarchy of premises that come with a business’ success.  When I worked for various large computer companies they grew from small beginnings to marble stair-cased headquarters:

Is it absolutely needed to take on the expense of a rented office when you are just starting out, or are still relatively small? No, sometimes money can be used better to grow the business and some home businesses may never need a separate office.

But there’s the rub, you get categorised as a small, perhaps part-time business.

Taking the plunge as a young business in moving into dedicated office space can have significant advantages, instantly a foot-up on image perception, room for assistants/colleagues to work with you, a place to invite customers or business partners and an ability to concentrate on only work while there.

We all make value judgements every day and when thinking about joining, working with or buying from a business it is natural to look at the trappings of success that surround that business.

Ideally, get your own dedicated office space as soon as possible, but only you can judge when the time is right, or if it is appropriate to expand into more lavish surroundings.