Your office is more than a workplace – it’s one of the most important things that clients will judge you by and merely knowing its location can have an impact on what they think of you. As such, it’s very important to focus on the impression your workplace projects, starting with these considerations.

Making Your Small Business Feel Larger

Business people are drawn to success – quite frankly, most people are far more comfortable working with an established company than they are relying on a startup that has yet to prove their worth. That’s a classic Catch-22 situation, but simply giving the impression that you’re larger than you really are can do a lot to smooth things over. This is especially true if you need to meet people face-to-face, potential customers can and will judge you based on the amount of space they think you have.

There are many ways to make your business feel larger, from expanding your social media connections to talking about your Assistant, but we’re especially fond of this article from Secret Entourage. Most of these suggestions are simple, easy, and result in a cumulative effect far greater than the sum of their parts. Not every tip will apply to every company, but it’s certainly worth going over.

Location

The location of your office says everything. If you’re located in a small town that nobody else has ever heard of, then boldly proclaiming your location won’t do much. On the other hand, stating your location as somewhere within a relevant field – like Silicon Valley for any tech company – can give you a sense of legitimacy and quality before a potential customer knows anything else about you. No, this isn’t especially fair to your company – not everyone can have an office exactly where they want it. However, it’s worth keeping in mind – and remember even if some or all of your employees work from home, you can claim to have offices in multiple cities where they work. Numbers are also valuable, even if the cities themselves aren’t very famous.

Office Layout and Branding

Everyone likes the idea of a big sign with their corporate logo hanging on the wall – it gives a sense of identity and purpose that a bare wall can’t. This is most important if you’re ever going to have people visiting your office, and is broken down into several components.

• Color Psychology: Different colors mean different things, and how they’re used matters as much as what they are. Make it your business to find out what colors are associated with your industry and what they say about you. Then begin decorating your office under those guidelines. In short, style yourself in the way you want others to see you.

• Office Layout: Customers will also judge you by the layout of your office – so keeping an orderly workplace is a good rule of thumb. Productivity is more important than anything else in your layout, but clearly streamlining the office, making sure all furniture is neatly aligned, and generally creating an impression of efficiency is likely to garner the admiration of any visitor.

• Branding: It’s far better to have branding that reflects you as a company instead of whoever is providing your office or owning the building. You don’t want to advertise anyone else to your customers, regardless of whether they’re a competitor or not. Customers should focus only on you while they’re there, and the branding of the entire office can easily influence their opinion one way or the other.

The Keys to a Good Impression

They say that Busy makes Busy and Success breeds Success. If you’re raising a champion horse, then you move to Lexington. If you’re building a business, then you go to the place that makes the best statement about who you are. Consider this: Automation in Chicago has drastically reduced the need for attorneys to show up in Court each day. While you’d expect many of them to search for less-expensive office space, the truth is that many attorneys have moved to independent firms while retaining their original locations – easy access to other attorneys means an easier time getting referred cases and supporting their whole profession.

As you can see, there is no location that’s perfect for every company in every situation. If your focus is within Chicago, then pay attention to the neighborhood you’re in – and if your business plan involves the country or the world, ask yourself what other people will think when they hear about where you work. Impressions are a matter of perception – art, rather than science. A keen eye and thoughtful consideration are the keys to creating the greatest works, so learn from the best and focus on making the best impression you can. It doesn’t matter if you employ five or fifty – the impression you give is always important.

Image credit: Chris Jagers