A lot of small businesses start out with humble beginnings, operating out of your home office while you package up orders in your living room. But if you have proven that the demand is there, then you may be ready to take that next step and open up a location of your own. You may also be thinking about giving your remote working team a centralised location to work in by providing them with office space. This is a great step for any business owner, but you need to tread carefully. Here are some things that you need to know.
Check The Property Market
You do not need to be a real estate guru to know that the property market has been somewhat chaotic, to say the least, over the last couple of years. There has been a massive and sustained inflation in prices which has only recently started to subside. It is always worth doing your research to check that you are not going to be paying far more than you should be for your professional space.
Get Your Health And Safety Check Ready
If you are going to be opening a business location, then you must remember that you are going to be responsible for the health and safety of everyone in that location. It’s not just about making sure that you have a fire extinguisher and that everyone knows where the nearest emergency exit is. You will need to make a comprehensive list of all of the potential hazards in the property with a risk assessment form. But you will also need to create a plan for how you can address or minimise those risks with a method statement. If you’re not sure where to start, use this method statement template. HS Direct has helped over 8000 customers nationwide with accreditations, eLearning, and free resources.
Get The Word Out
If you are opening a new location for your store, then you cannot be shy about it. You need to think about the best ways to get the word out there. Use your social media platforms to talk about what having a brick-and-mortar location offers and show everyone how great it looks! Set up reward schemes for returning and new customers and think about hosting special one-off events to help promote the new location.
Look At Business Insurance
The last thing you want to be thinking about when you open a new location is the idea of anything not going according to plan. But the best way to ensure that you are moving forward is to make sure that you are covered for the worst-case scenario. With so many people struggling to deal with rising prices everywhere, from supermarket shelves to their energy bills, you can’t afford to take a massive hit as the result of not having the right insurance. Look at what business insurance policies are out here which could help you to get through incidents like workplace injuries, accidents, or damage to the property.
