Moving from a home based business to an office is a huge step for any business, but it needs to be considered carefully. After all why pay out costs on running an office if your business runs equally as well from home? Having commercial premises does give a more professional impression, more space to expand and the opportunity to take on permanent staff, but have you really considered all the options and impact it could have on your business?When it comes to staff, if you are looking to take on employees then you will probably need office space. However, think about whether you could utilise freelance staff who could work from home themselves. Also, some people do have employees working from home, especially if there's, say, a converted work space in the garden or garage. Still on the subject of other people, do you deal with clients? If you need somewhere to have meetings then an office could well be the answer, but remember there are cheaper alternatives such as hiring meeting rooms as and when you need them. If, however, you have daily client visits you would need a more permanent base from which to work.
The financial side of running a business can be very scary to those just starting out. Entrepreneurs coming from the security of an employer who sorted all the tax and national insurance are often daunted by the prospect of taking on these tasks. This is an important topic, which any business owner must take very seriously.