It is part of the first impression your company makes, it often determines the development of business relationships and is your starting point and embodiment of your company and brand: your company location. In this blog post, I’d like to reveal the seven most important factors in choosing the perfect business location.
Which address in Hamburg impresses at first sight? Seen from abroad, it’s the famous districts like HafenCity or the wickedly creative St. Pauli or the lively Schanze, for example. Within Germany, the districts of Hamburg that bring you business advance praise are also HafenCity, but also the city center, the university district and the addresses around the Alster. Each district has its own reputation and is particularly suitable for certain industries.
The image factor applies to any major city, and a company location outside a major city is not a good choice for any industry with office jobs, as companies in more rural regions are generally trusted with considerably less than those in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt or Cologne. Would you rather go to a lawyer in downtown Hamburg or in Pinneberg? Find out exactly which district brings the attributes that are important to your business.
Qualified applicants are also more likely to choose a company if it is in an optimal location, and the talent pool you can draw from is larger. The right business address is also essential for start-ups, as it conveys self-confidence and seriousness. It does not have to be a permanently rented physical office, as a business address in a business center in a prime location is sufficient for a start. If required, you can simply book conference rooms, offices or co-working spaces for hours or days on top.
Whether it’s your employees or customers, a good corporate location is centrally located, easily accessible by public transportation from the main train station and airport, and at best offers parking. If you have a business where you rely on walk-in customers, you should locate your sales and showrooms where your target audience travels.
When thinking about this, don’t forget about the time before and after work, and especially lunch breaks. As tempting as particularly inexpensive office space in a business park may be. Do you want your employees or yourself to have to walk there at lunchtime or get into the car because there is no restaurant or café nearby? Choose a business location in a neighborhood that has a good selection of restaurants and stores and appealing surroundings.
Whether it’s startups with co-working spaces, supplementing home offices, team offices, or whatever form of office is right for you and your business, the size of the location should be neither too large nor too cramped. As a tendency, we advise not to rent too big and not to enter into long-term, rigid leases, as rental costs can play a large part in the success or failure of a business. If your company situation changes and you need more space, projects or decentralized departments can still be moved in and out of a business center, for example, or parts of the workforce can work in a home office. Especially with modern combinations of home office and office presence, high-speed Internet should be possible at the location in any case.
Not only the district is decisive for the first impression, but also the exact address and the building that will be home to your new business location decides between dodgy and respectable. The business address should be visible on Google maps or Apple’s maps, the street should be easy to find and the house should look inviting. After all, the haptic office at your company’s location is your first impression on applicants, new partners and customers, and a place where you want your employees to be motivated to come to work. The possibilities for room layouts should also be available at the location so that you can adjust them if necessary. This flexibility is often not available outside of a business center.
It is not without reason that there are veritable nests of graphic designers, lawyers or IT specialists in certain districts and streets. Whether your company is a one-man start-up or an expanding established business: The opportunity to exchange ideas, network, inspire each other and create synergies with professionals from your own industry can open up new horizons.
You are not from Hamburg or the metropolis of your choice? Especially to be able to assess location factors number 1 and 6, you need the best local knowledge. Although you can clarify points such as accessibility, size, technical requirements, buildings, equipment, room layouts and green spaces in the surrounding area during a one-day reconnaissance with a tour. Broadly speaking, reading reviews is also a way to familiarize yourself with the restaurant situation. But for the image of the area and the overview of the industries and companies located there, you need an expert.
In order to get an overview of the characteristics of the city districts as a non-local and to find a business location that is ideal for your industry, it is also a good idea to first rent a room in a local business center in a top location at the pulse of the action. From here you have the optimal start to get a foothold on the new terrain and find local experts who can provide you with the necessary local knowledge.
If you’re wondering what makes me and my team at CS Business Center experts in choosing your business location, our business center locations are the answer. In order to be able to offer the best corporate addresses for our tenants, we have taken all relevant factors into account and selected three locations in Hamburg’s prime locations: HafenCity, Rotherbaum and Stadthöfe. Each location is ideally suited for certain business orientations and their desired associations. What they all have in common is that they convey success, prestige, self-confidence and respectability.
HafenCity is international, trendy, modern and yet traditionally maritime, and not least world-famous as the home of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Speicherstadt. When you choose your company location here, common associations are cosmopolitanism and trendiness. Rotherbaum is an upscale district with Tudor-style villas and lively university life, made famous worldwide by tennis. The NDR, various museums and the university are located here. This also benefits companies that have their corporate headquarters here and are automatically associated with culture, class and reliability. Hamburg’s Stadthöfe are right in the heart of the city center, are characterized by luxury labels and hotels and the Alster. As a business location, the Stadthöfe convey innovation and the highest standards.
As you can see, we already have the perfect business locations for you to use. The CS Business Centers there offer all office sizes, office services, are ready-to-work and have parking if desired. My team and I will be happy to advise you whether Stadthöfe, Rotherbaum or HafenCity is the right company location for you and your company. Even if none of our existing locations are relevant to you, we can help you find the ideal business location in Hamburg, as we can also provide larger spaces in your desired district as a new business center if the appropriate inquiries are received.
I wish you every success!
With warm regards
Your Christian Schmidt