Kickstart Gulberg Lahore

5 Mistakes to avoid when choosing an office space

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Coworking Spaces and Managed Offices are new entrants in the Pakistani office real-estate market where traditional long-term leases of unfurnished properties are commonplace. Be it Coworking or a traditional office, the office space that you choose has a direct impact on your employees, customers, and growth of your company. Get this decision wrong and you will not only be facing huge dent in finances, but you will also risk sabotaging your growth.

Picking an ideal office space for your business is a complex, time-consuming process. But if you avoid the following five mistakes, there is a good chance of finding an office space that suits you best.

Haste Makes Waste

In my experience, most people start searching for office space in the 11th hour. Especially for first-timers, who don’t know much about office space leasing, it’s easy to assume that there would be a lot of properties available for rent. But most of those properties are vacant for a reason and you can only find out the downsides after visiting the property. It takes some time and effort to understand that there are only a handful of properties that actually fit your needs., The uncertainty and panic at this stage can get very frustrating and you can make wrong decisions if you are short of time. 

In the local real estate market, hastiness invites exploitation. Estate brokers would rack up rentals to match demands of landlords and landlords might also come up with stricter lease terms.  If you don’t have enough time for lease negotiations, it’s highly likely that you won’t get the best deal. 

So next time, you need to plan ahead so that you have time for lease negotiations.

Signing a rigid office space lease contract without future planning

Traditional Leases are mostly inflexible. Once you sign it you are stuck in a specific building for fixed square footage for a predetermined time duration. 

Imagine if you were to increase your team size or add another board room for client meetings, you may very well need to wait until your lease ends. And, then find another office space, furnish it again and move your team. 

In today’s world, businesses have to stay competitive and fast-moving and hence their space needs to offer certain flexibility and help them with scale-up or scale-down. Don’t ever sign a rigid lease without considering your future needs.

A lot of coworking operators are offering flexible lease options where you can rent a desk or private office on month to month basis. If you are just starting your business and unsure about team size it’s always better to go with a flexible coworking membership. 

Only pivoting on rental price for making a lease decision

All business owners want the best price for their office. And, all building owners want the best return for their investment. 

But cheaper does not necessarily mean that it’s going to cost you less – particularly because setup costs and monthly operating expenses vary for each property. Cheaper properties tend to have higher buildout expenses. You might have to invest in plumbing and electrical works, replace old generator units, or even install new floor tiles and ceiling. All of this can increase your furnishing cost manifolds and if you are not planning to stay long term, your upfront investment in furnishing and fixtures will go to waste when you move out. 


Recurring monthly cost of cheaper properties can also turn out to be much more than expected because of high repairs and maintenance expenses. 

Only thinking about the working space 

Office experience is not just about your desk or office. Nobody wants to stick to their desk from 9-6. 

Reception, Cafeteria, Fitness Room, Lounges and Meeting Rooms serve different needs for your business and employees. 

We have seen that employees are much more productive after joining coworking space and they also tend to spend more time in office. Employees love the work and play vibe where they can work, relax and interact with other people. Happy employees result in better employee retention and more productivity. 

Underestimating the importance of design

“The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.”

A lot of business owners think of their office space in terms of size and amenities. They don’t value design as such, they think, that it does not have a direct impact on their business. However, this is not true. Having a good design and ambiance is important for your employees’ productivity. A good design helps establish a good impact for your brand. 

Clients, employees and your guests are influenced by design. If your office design is unwelcoming you risk hurting your brand image.

At Kickstart, we offer you an opportunity to escape all the time consuming and tedious tasks. Through our various membership plans, we offer the most hassle-free office experience, at 30% lower cost than the traditional office.