Your First Week in the Office… What to Do and What Not to Do

So, you’ve taken the plunge and moved your start-up business into an actual, real-life office space. You’ve upped sticks from your living room and found a swanky little space in the city from where you can build your empire. However, in this ‘honeymoon’ period between your business and its new home, you have to make sure you lay the foundations for a long relationship between the two, instead of jumping the gun and doing some things you may live to regret. Here are a few things you should, and shouldn't do.
You survived your first week as a business, so you can survive your first week in an office, if you don’t annoy the person or company that are renting you the office, that is. In this initial period you should comply by all the procedures that they lay out to you. Once you’ve signed the deeds and documents and officially moved your business into its new workplace, you should get to work in making sure it is up to the standards demanded of it by seeking out commercial cleaning. This should be sought as soon as possible to make sure that the environment not only looks clean, but is also free of harmful bacteria before any potential employees you may be bringing in with you even step foot on the premises. And when they do, it is your job to write office procedures manuals to ensure that they all clearly understand the guidelines expected in the office. This includes making them aware of all fire escape routes, and making them aware that they should always be clearly accessible. You should also keep in constant contact with those who are renting the space to you. If you are going to have a cleaning service coming in for the first few days to get everything spick and span, for example, then they should be made aware of the presence of those carrying out the service. Also, if you’re undertaking any fire escape training, then they should be made aware that this is what is happening when they see all of your staff converge upon on a meeting point so as to make sure they don’t worry.
It’s not all boring, however. You should definitely seek to make the office feel as homely as possible in order to recreate the atmosphere that obviously made the business such a success when it was home-based. This could mean bringing any ornaments or posters that remind you of your home. You should, however, not pin-up posters as they may leave walls in the holes (they’re not your walls, remember). Some tips in sprucing up your office space include filling it with bright colours, decorations, ornaments, flowers, a fish tank and some funky stationary; creating a welcoming feel for everyone, regardless of gender, would result in a more widespread chance of catching a customer’s attention if you invite any over for meetings.
Importantly, you need to remember you are no longer in your home. If you treat your new space as an extension of your home, rather than as if it were your actual home, then you’ll be on the right track to creating a long-lasting relationship with those you are renting the space off.