Starting a Business No 4 - Premises

Your business plan is hardly dry and you are asking about premises. Well...a surprisingly large number of businesses begin at home; they are usually a workshop in the garage or a desk and phone in the spare bedroom.  Yes... it is not immodest to think about premises and to include the topic in the business plan.

You ask   "What are my options?" At this stage I give a short list of ideas to mull over and include some pointers to consider. A few of the possibilities are:

1. Working from Home:   Might suit the likes of one of the following: a)  a small workshop in the garden shed / garage for developing an invention to pre-production phase;  b)  a small repair shop for say, sharpening blade, saws and the like;  c)  an office in the spare room may be sufficient  for on-line business or a tele-sales type operation. (See my http://jaefoo-blogcounciltax.blogspot.com/ for three posts on the issue of working at home and council tax and business rates.)
2. On-the Road:  If you are a) a gardener or event type business, eg gigs, you may need a mobile van, lorry, or caravan etc for the transport of equipment and perhaps, personnel; b) travelling to sell goods you will want not only transport but also a place for the storage of goods - here a self-storage facility will be handy - before you are big enough to need to rent / buy your own warehouse!
3. Franchise Business:  If you take on a franchise requiring premises, some franchisors will assist you with a)  a "specification" for your accommodation and facilities you should best try to find, ie an existing property;  b)  alternatively, the premises must be built from scratch - again the fracnhisor would probably have experience for the development.
4. Serviced Accommodation:   A start-up business may require a presentable office for a kind of "probationary" or "trial" period, say 3, 6 or 12 months, before taking the plunge on a longer-term basis with rented or bought accommodation.   The great advantage here is that the "marketing mix" of the promoters of serviced accommodation is laced with the ethos of flexibility. You will find several possibilities available. Just a (very) few examples:  a) a conference/ presentation  room or meeting room for the one-off event; b) an office(s) for one, two, three... persons on terms and conditions for a definite period or for an indefinite say, monthly term but terminable when you want; c) offices, packing accommodation with storage space.