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 would like to reveal the seven most important factors for choosing the perfect company location.
Which address in Hamburg impresses at first glance? 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 earn you business advance praise are also HafenCity, but also the city centre, the university quarter and the addresses around the Alster. Each district has its own reputation and is particularly suitable for certain industries.
The image factor applies to every major city and a company location outside a major city is not a good choice for any sector with office jobs, as companies in more rural regions are generally trusted much less than those in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt or Cologne. Would you rather go to a lawyer in the centre of Hamburg or in Pinneberg? Find out exactly which district has the attributes that are important for your company.
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 doesn’t even have to be a permanently rented physical office, as a business address in a business centre in a prime location is sufficient for a start-up. If necessary, you can simply book conference rooms, offices or co-working spaces for hours or days at a time.
Whether it’s your employees or clients, a good business location is centrally located, easily accessible by public transport from the main train station and airport, and at best offers parking. If you have a business that relies on walk-in customers, you should locate your sales and showrooms where your target group is on the move.
In your considerations, don’t forget the time before and after work and especially the lunch breaks. As tempting as particularly cheap office space in a business park may be. Do you want your employees or yourself to have to go for a walk there at lunchtime or get into the car because there is no restaurant or café nearby? Choose a business location in a neighbourhood that has a good selection of restaurants and shops and appealing surroundings.
Whether you are a start-up with co-working spaces, a supplement to a home office, team offices or whatever form of office suits you and your company, the size of the location should neither be too large nor too cramped. As a tendency, we advise not to rent too large 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 decentralised departments can still be moved in and out of a business centre, for example, or parts of the staff 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 will decide 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 building should look inviting. After all, the haptic office at the company 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 options for room layouts should also be available at the location so that you can adapt them as needed. It is often not possible to have this flexibility outside a business centre.
There is a reason why 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 synergise 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. You can clarify points such as accessibility, size, technical requirements, buildings, furnishings, room layouts and green spaces in the surrounding area during a one-day exploration with a tour. Roughly, reading reviews is also a way to familiarise yourself with the restaurant situation. But for the image of the area and an overview of the industries and businesses located there, you need an expert.
In order to get an overview of the characteristics of the 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 an office in a local business centre in a prime location at the pulse of the action. From here, you have the optimal start to gain a foothold in 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 Centre experts in choosing your business location, our business centre locations are the answer. To be able to offer the best corporate addresses for our tenants, we have taken all relevant factors into account and chosen three locations in Hamburg’s prime locations, HafenCity, Rotherbaum and Stadthöfe. Each location is ideally suited to certain corporate 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 upmarket 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, which have their headquarters here and are automatically associated with culture, class and reliability. Hamburg’s Stadthöfe are right in the heart of the city centre and are characterised by luxury labels and hotels as well as the Alster lake. As a business location, the Stadthöfe convey innovation and the highest standards.
As you can see, we already have the perfect corporate locations for you to use. The CS Business Centres there offer all office sizes, office services, are ready-to-work and have parking spaces on request. My team and I will be happy to advise you whether Stadthöfe, Rotherbaum or HafenCity is the right business location for you and your company. Even if none of our existing locations is relevant to you, we can help you find the ideal business location in Hamburg, as we can also make larger spaces available in your preferred district as a new business centre if you make the appropriate enquiries.
I wish you every success!
With best regards
Your Christian Schmidt
