Are you one of many entrepreneurs working from home on your start-up business? Are you beginning to find that your project is outgrowing your bedroom walls? If so, it could be time to take your home business out of the home.

One of the main reasons why entrepreneurs take the plunge is so as they can enjoy the freedom of working from home. No more set working hours, no superior constantly looking over their shoulder, and free to watch as many cat videos on YouTube as they like! Perhaps not the last reason, at least not in the case of successful entrepreneurs, but freedom is the reason for most wannabee business owners.

So, what do you do when your start-up outgrows the foundation of your bedroom or home office?

Moving Upwards, Not Moving Out

Don’t think of the move as so much moving your business out of your home, but more of moving the business upwards. When you have reached the point that, in order to meet demands, you have to look at investing commercial space then it is a sign that you are doing something right. Consult with local agents of commercial property about making the step and detail what you are looking for.

Do you even know what you are looking for?

Have you thought about what your business needs?

If not, then before you do anything else, stop! Grab a pencil, grab the nearest sheet of paper and make a list of everything that you, as the owner of the business, believe that you will need to prosper. This includes:

• Equipment (computers, printers etc…)
• Furniture (desks, cabinets, other storage)
• Employees (how many and where are they going to sit?)
• Location (do you need to be based in the city centre?)
• Transport links (roads and public transport)
• Room for growth (can your business expand further before moving on?)

Once the above has been listed, with realistic figures noted alongside, then you will be in a position to start looking at space to let.

What is the Limit?

Once you have outgrown your original setting, and know that you are onto a profitable business model, how far can you go? Is the sky the limit? It is still early days, so it is best to keep your feet firmly on the ground, but what is life without ambition?

When you started your business you will have undoubtedly had a vision of your idea growing into a success. If you are at the point that you are looking for space to let for an office or shop, then it is likely that you are working on a project that you are passionate about. Why? Because if you weren’t passionate you wouldn’t have started your business in the first place, much less enjoyed any kind of success.

Form a five-year plan starting from the moment you move into your new premises. Give yourself two different targets, one ambitious and another more realistic to give you a baseline of where you believe your business should be. This will form part of any business plan that you can use should you look to bring in potential business partners and investors as, now, your expenses and overheads will increase.

Making the Call

Only you as the business owner can make the call when the time is right to make the move. If you feel as though you have reached the glass ceiling, with space the one thing that is prohibiting you from breaking through onto the next step, and you have the overriding passion to do so, it is time you moved out of the spare room.

It is understandable wanting to keep costs down to a minimum, but it is also true that, sometimes, you have to speculate to accumulate.