Running a successful business requires owners and managers to effectively deploy every resource at their disposal to ensure every last cent is wisely allocated. A company’s physical space can be one aspect of operations that can often go overlooked or be improperly utilized.
Much like the old saying goes, time is money, so too is space also money. There’s no such thing as free space, and how much room a company has requires careful consideration to ensure there’s a perfect balance between available space and having sufficient room to operate.
Too much room, and the company’s wasting money. Yet, not enough space can lead to a host of problems, including, but not limited to:
- Cramped working conditions
- Lost or misplaced documents, files or other important data
- Ineffective or impeded workflows
- Increased potential for personal injury if piled-up boxes tumble over or someone trips over office clutter
- Higher stress and tension among workers who don’t have their own personal space to work in
In an effort to combat the lack of room in their workspace, business owners and managers have several options they can use. However, one of these options, using a storage unit, is a much more cost-effective choice than splurging on renting or buying more office space.
A cluttered office can create tension among coworkers cramped into a tight space.Rising cost of office space
As business booms across the country, it’s spilling over to a rise in office space. Business conditions have been on the upswing as of late, and the most recent economic data suggests this upward trajectory will continue. The gross domestic product increased 2.9 percent between the second and third quarters of 2016, a rate much higher than in previous quarters.
However, buying or renting another floor in your complex or building out the current space to add more room can be a costly project, with no guarantee that the company will make up the difference.
“Building out the current office space to add more room can be a costly project.”
It can be tricky to discern whether additional office space will be a profitable upgrade from your current office conditions. While there are many problems associated with cramped office space, simply pouring money into renting more room or expanding the space you’re already using might not necessarily be enough to offset the lack of productivity arising from a cramped work area.
Further, the CBRE Group, Inc., noted that even in light of the risk factors arising from the current political and economic climate, office-using job growth should continue to grow at a steady rate. This will drive up demand for office space, which will therefore push up the price of square footage.
For instance, despite a decline in other office metrics, the average asking lease rates in the Denver metro jumped 3.9 percent over the past year, The Denver Post reported. Despite the big bump in office prices, Denver didn’t even rank in the top 20 most expensive cities for commercial rent. However, New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston all landed in the top 20 list of The JLL Group’s Premium Office Rent Tracker of the world’s most expensive cities for commercial rent, Forbes reported.
A corollary to the rise in demand for office space also means that businesses are hiring and need the extra space to house these additional workers. This isn’t an isolated trend either, as the unemployment rate has steadily declined for months now, reaching 4.9 percent, a level not seen in nearly a decade.
With companies all across the country poised for more growth, many of these businesses will need to hire more employees to keep up with this expansion. More often than not, bringing in more workers is going to require more space for these individuals to operate within.
Solving the office space problem with a storage unit
Instead of rushing to a real estate agent to find additional office space with the potential for ever-rising costs, business owners and managers should consider utilizing a storage unit to eliminate the office clutter and open some space for more streamlined workflows. If you don’t believe us, check out this article in the Denver Post about how small business owners are using SecurCare Self Storage!
Whether it’s boxes full of old but important financial records, or desks and office furniture that isn’t currently useful but which will potentially be needed in the future, there’s plenty of ways businesses can take advantage of a storage unit. Contact SecurCare Self Storage for more information on rates for a storage unit at locations across the country.