overland park office space | Southcreek

Six Suggestions for Negotiating the Renewal of Your Office Space Lease in Overland Park

If the end of your lease term is approaching and you are thinking about renewing your lease, you will want to have a game plan for negotiations. Here are some things to consider when going into negotiations, as suggested in the article, Eight Tips for Negotiating an Office Lease Renewal:

# 1 Begin Negotiations Early

It is important to begin this process early to give yourself time to research, negotiate, and move if necessary. Plan to give yourself 9-12 months, which will allow time for looking into other spaces and entering negotiations with a few potential landlords. If you start this early, you will still allow yourself a comfortable 2-4 months to move if need be.

#2 Develop Good Relationships with Your Landlord

This goes along with starting early: be conscious throughout your tenancy of your relationship with your landlord. It is a basic good business practice, but it is worth reiterating. Addressing any issues that come up respectfully and cordially will ultimately contribute to your landlord’s impression of you as a tenant as he or she is considering your renewal proposition.

Be aware throughout your lease term of the possibility of renewal so that you can lay the groundwork for negotiations early!

If you are considering leasing an Overland Park office space, give a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available spaces!

5 Ways to Improve Your Overland Park Office Space: Part II

If your New Year’s resolutions are waning, here are a few ideas from the article 5 Resolutions to Make Your Work Life Better Next Year to kick start your motivation again:

3.      Get Organized…and stay that way. Everyone’s to do list covers getting and staying organized. Help yourself stay accountable to this resolution this year by designating an “organizing buddy”—someone who will also resolve to get organized and will check in with you. Organizing an office space will both help you work better and clear out some mental clutter for the New Year.
4.      Be a more considerate coworker. Try to make 2014 a great year for everyone in the office by making an extra effort to keep your fellow workers in mind during your workday.
5.      Be “Work Happy.” The most important resolution is to choose to try to be happy with your job. You spend the majority of your time at work, so resolve to make the most of it. The other resolutions are steps in that direction, but ultimately you have to choose to make your time at work worthwhile!

Any time of year is a good time to think about how you can improve your work habits and environment!

If you are interested in office space in Overland Park, KS, give us a call at 314-239-6396 to find out about our available affordable office space in Overland Park!

5 Ways to Improve Your Overland Park Office Space

Even if you did not quite stick to that list of New Year’s resolutions, there is never a bad time to think of ways to improve your office space! Revisit that old resolutions list and think about adding some of these ways to improve your office, as listed in the article, “5 Resolutions to Make Your Work Life Better Next Year“:

Update Your Office Space. Once the stress of the holidays is over you will have a chance to breathe and take a closer look at your office design. If you have the time, energy, and money to do a complete makeover, consider updating your office furniture. Remember that your office design affects the work habits of you and your team. A happier space means happier employees—which means a better bottom line.
Celebrate holidays. It might not be reasonable to throw large holiday parties, but celebrating holidays all throughout the year can bring an office together. Bring some fun decorations and wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. Have a short in-office egg hunt around Easter. Having a little fun will boost morale and strengthen your company!

Sometimes simple changes can be all it takes to improve the overall quality of your workdays!

If you would like to learn more about office rental space in Overland Park, give a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100!

Common Area Usage in a Shared Overland Park Office Space

If you have determined that you want your business will be sharing an office rental space with another similar business, you will want to discuss things like dividing costs and responsibilities, and who will be making big decisions for the space. Another topic to discuss is the use of common areas in a shared space. Here is some more information about this aspect of space sharing, as seen in the article, “What’s Involved in Sharing Office Space“:

Use of Common Areas.

Most shared workspaces have some space that is used by all tenants, even if it is just the entryway at the front of a warehouse. It could also be much more than that, such as a reception area, storage space, office equipment, restrooms, conference rooms, and possibly even a kitchen area. Regardless of whether you have a lot of common space or just a little, you will need to have a clear agreement about how each business will use the space and how much each will pay for this use. There are a few different ways of determining how to split these costs.

Equally sharing the cost of the common space, regardless of how much overall space each sharer uses.
Pro-rating the common space cost based on how much overall space each tenant uses.
Pro-rating the common space costs based on how much common space each tenant uses.
Setting limits on the use of common area space so that tenants who want to use it must split or pro-rate the cost between users.

You will also want to discuss smaller issues, such as keeping the space clean, calendar use of conference rooms, and appearance of the space in general.

If your business has been looking at commercial MLS listings in Kansas City, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about office lease rates in Kansas City!

Have You Considered Sharing an Overland Park Office Space?

Many small businesses lease commercial space, and often it is a smart business decision to share that work space with another business. This can be a cost-efficient decision, and works especially well for businesses that regularly see clients or patients, such as lawyers, financial planners, or therapists. It is a good idea when sharing a space to find a business whose needs are similar or fit well with yours, such as someone who is in the same or similar profession.

Regardless of what type of space you are potentially sharing or what kind of business you have, here are a few basic space sharing issues, as detailed in the article, What’s Involved in Sharing Office Space, that you might want to think about:

Responsibility for the work space. One question that will definitely come up is who holds ultimate responsibility for the space. If you have joined with another business in finding a space to share, then you will most likely have equal responsibility from the start. However, another potential situation is that one person owns a building with others either paying rent for their shared space or buying a share of the property to become joint owners. If one business is joining a space that is already leased by the other business, then they need to discuss whether to become subtenants or primary tenants.
Dividing Costs. Regardless of whether the space is owned by a landlord, all of you, or just you, it is essential to discuss with your sharing partners who pays for what. Since typically sharers use different amounts of space or use the space for different purposes, it is important to come up with a fair arrangement for who pays for what. If your use is not equal in terms of time or space, you will need to come up with a fair payment arrangement that is also flexible, in case any of the parties’ needs change.
Making Decisions. You will also need to determine how to make decisions about the workspace regarding everything from appropriate operations to space decorations. You might defer these decisions to the master tenant or owner if there is one. But if you have equal responsibility or shared ownership, you need to discuss a system for making decisions together.

Sharing a space is can be a smart business decision, but it is important to communicate with your fellow tenants about things like costs and decision making strategies so that you clearly establish each party’s responsibilities. Check back for the next post for more details on how to navigate use and cost of common areas in a shared office space.

If your business is considering executive office rental in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available office space in Overland Park, KS! We have a variety of available offices to choose from of many different sizes and layouts, and our Johnson County location puts your business near a variety of resources in the area!

Tips for Making Good Impressions in Your Overland Park Office Space

The need to make a good impression does not end with your job interview. Maintaining good etiquette in the workplace throughout your career can earn you the respect of your colleagues and superiors. Here are some tips for making positive and professional impressions throughout your workday

Body Language. Practice good posture, eye contact, and turning towards people when they are talking. Genuinely smile at the people around you.
Stay Organized. Carry a neat briefcase or bag. The things you carry with you and the way you treat your possessions say something about your character. Even if you feel like you’re on top of things, messiness can present an unfavorable image.
Dress Appropriately. Follow the office dress code, and going a step above can never hurt either.
Handshake. When you first meet someone, make sure you shake their hand with a firm (but not too firm) palm to palm grip.
Stay Awake. Always be alert; sleepiness looks like laziness.
Be Punctual. Always arrive a bit early.
Be Kind! Common courtesy and kindness always go a long way in making a positive impression!

Be aware of the culture of your office, and be sensitive to both official and unofficial rules of etiquette!

If you are looking to move your business into an office building in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to learn more about our affordable office space in Overland Park!

Six Tips for Successfully Negotiating an Office Space Lease in Overland Park: Part III

Here are a few final steps for preparing for productive lease negotiations:

#5 Try to Build in Clauses to Protect Your Business

In order to protect you business interests and investment in the long term, consider trying for some additional clauses to the lease that would favor your business. Here are a few examples:

Subleasing options – In case your business plans change, you might want the option of subletting your space to another business.
Co-tenancy – If a property has an anchor tenant and that tenant chooses to leave unexpectedly, this clause can help protect you from losing customer traffic by stipulating that the landlord must find a replacement tenant in a specified amount of time, or you are allowed to break your lease.
Exclusivity clause – This clause prevents a landlord from leasing property to another business that is in direct competition with yours.

#6 Defaulting

Businesses are often shut down because of defaulting on their lease. Avoid this by knowing what you have agreed to upfront. Find out whether you will be locked out immediately, if you can negotiate for more time, and if you could be released from paying rent for the entire term and instead just pay for that month.

These tips are a good place to start if you are not sure how to proceed with your lease negotiations. A little research and advanced preparation can have a big impact on your tenancy in a space!

If your business is interested in commercial space for lease in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about our available Overland Park office space!

Starting a New Year Moving to a New Overland Park Office Space

If your business is looking to move into a new space this year, be sure to begin your planning early. Set up a timeline for yourself to make sure finish all of the things that need to be taken care of in advance. You will want to start this planning process 4-6 months before you move, and make sure that all of your employees are well aware of both the move and the timeline (you can even delegate some of the necessary tasks). Planning in advance will also help you plan your budget for expenses like movers and any new equipment. Here are three things to add to your moving timeline as you plan a move:

#1 Update Your Vendors

This needs to be done 1-3 months before you move. In order to transition more smoothly into doing business in your new space, you need to make sure that any items that need to be shipped to your space—including new signs or furniture—are there when you arrive, so be sure to contact vendors and give them your new shipping and billing address.

#2 Hire Movers

If you are planning on hiring movers and cleaners to help with the move, be sure to do research on different companies and get this taken care of 1-3 months before moving.

#3 Update Information for Customers

This includes website, business cards, and letterhead, and should be taken care of 1-2 weeks in advance. Taking care of this in advance ensures that employees can get to work as soon as possible after the move, instead of making these changes after the fact.

Start successfully with a new office space before you even move by taking care of advanced planning and tasks.

If your business is looking to relocate to an office space in Kansas, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about our business space for rent in Overland Park!

Common Terms in an Office Space Lease in Overland Park: Part V

Even if you feel like you understand the main terms you will be negotiating in a commercial lease, it is important to make sure you are also aware of the minor clauses you will encounter, as they can add up to a more successful and convenient tenancy. Here are a few final lease clauses to be aware of:

9. Improvements and Alterations. If you need to make some changes to a space to fit your business’s needs, you need to address this issue in the lease. You and your landlord will have to discuss who pays for it, when it needs to be finished by, who does the work, and who gets final say on design.

10. Utilities, Maintenance, and Code Compliance. A lease will most likely contain a clause spelling out the landlord’s expectations for how you care for your rented space. Often this goes along with a utilities clause if you are a tenant in a multi-tenant building, which settles how the utilities for the building will be billed and paid for. Finally, there will probably be mention in the lease of the landlord’s expectation that you keep the space “up to code” (the meaning of this is often vague). This clause is sometimes titled “Compliance with Laws” or just “Compliance.”

11. Parking, Signs, Etc. There will probably be several clauses in the lease that address practical concerns such as signage, parking, security, etc. The goal of these negotiations is to find ways to be able to run your business wisely and still comply with your landlords requirements. These clauses might not seem as weighty as ones that address rent and other major concerns, but they are still an essential part of a successful and convenient tenancy.

Do some research and be prepared for your negotiations!

If you are interested in Overland Park office space, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available affordable office space in Overland Park!

Personalize Your Overland Park Office Space

If you work for a company that will allow a little decoration, consider personalizing your office space or cubicle to make it a more enjoyable space in which to spend so much of your week! Here are a few more tips for improving the décor of your workspace:

Bring in accessories. Add pictures of family and friends, some inspirational quotes on the walls, a small sculpture or a vase to create a little visual interest. You might also consider bringing in an area rug to define your workspace.
Adjust lighting. You might bring in a small desk lamp with a warm natural-light bulb instead of using harsh florescent lighting in your office.
Stay organized. Keeping your space clean and neat showcases your professionalism. You can be stylish while you stay organized by using pretty desk containers, storage boxes covered in linin, or interesting hanging organizers that coordinate with the rest of your office’s décor.
Be inviting. Everyone loves that office space with a candy dish or a mini espresso machine!

As you decorate your office space, remember not to go overboard and clutter up your desk with all of your accessories—you still need to do work in your space!

If you are interested in finding a commercial space for lease in Overland Park, give a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100!\