Office space can mean everything for your business. No matter what work you do, the place in which you perform it affects everything – from clients to productivity. Whether you’re the sole owner or you have dozens of employees, your office space can make or break your business.

Before you start looking at any office space, sit down and think about your business and how it makes money. Sounds simple but, giving yourself an honest audit of your goals will give you a concrete foundation for what you’ll need in an office. For example, if you founded a brand-new real estate company, you’ll need an impressive office to meet with potential clients and make a first impression. If you’re a web developer working with other developers, you don’t need to think so much about the presentation—you need a space where you can work in peace without quashing creativity. Write a list of the attributes your ideal office must have to make your business better before you start looking around.

Consider these factors when touring potential spaces:

• Floor space
  Anyone showing you office space should have square footage numbers ready. Obviously, your space should be conducive to how your business operates at its highest efficiency. For comparison, it can be useful to look up square footage of the space where you live to give you an idea of how the numbers and the space you’re viewing match up.
• Location
  You don’t have to be a real estate broker to know that where a property is located makes a huge difference in its value. Decide where your business will be successful. A cake shop would do well next to an ice cream parlor. Your tech company might be more successful in the ‘tech’ part of town, where you can rub elbows with other technology leaders and collaborate. Consider which businesses are already in the area and how your business can benefit from its proximity to them.
• Arrangement
  Once the office space becomes yours, you’ll have some say in how it’s laid out. First, consider how flexible an office space can be. Is it possible to create an entirely new interior layout? Are the desks bolted to the floor? How much can you personalize the space for optimal productivity? When you’re visiting an office space, try to envision it not as it is, but how it could look with your personal touches.

Looking for an office differs from looking for a house or an apartment because you have to quantify the space in terms of how your business can benefit. You must treat it like a business decision. You need to objectively look at the facts and how you can visualize your company being productive in each option. Above all, consider how you and your employees can work productively as a team.