How to Kit Out Your New Office

Looking to start up your own business? Got a business plan, a loan, an office and a team behind you ready and waiting to go – then great! All you need now is some kit. Depending on what kind of business you’re starting will determine what you’re going to need in your office, but as the majority of offices these days revolve around using computing equipment, you’re going to need to invest in some electronic get to get your business up and running.

There is a huge market out there for decking out your office will all sorts of electronic gear; it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. The main thing you need to do is not get ripped off. You don’t want to buy twenty laptops with all the bells and whistles on them if all your company is going to use them for is making spread sheets, word docs and accessing the internet. You need to spend sensibly on all the things that you need in your office to make it a comfortable working environment with all the electronic devices your company needs to get by.

There have been a lot of problems related to office furniture, with everything from RSI or back pain being related to people spending seven hours a day slouching in uncomfortable chairs at desks with screens at the wrong height.  This can have serious effects on your employees heath, the last thing you want is for your business to become a success and then for all your employees to have to retire early because you’ve crippled them with poor office furniture.

You don’t have to spend a fortune, just get the right chairs, tables and laptop supporters for the right price. Try your local office furniture store and see what they have on offer. Ensure that if you’re buying laptops for your employees that you buy laptop risers. Laptops which sit flat on a desk can cause employees to hunch and lean forwards (they working so hard you see) and cause back problems in later life.

Now here’s the expensive part, each of your employees is going to need their own computer hardware. These days it’s cheaper to buy laptops rather than big clunky desktops. Often the laptops themselves are just as powerful as their desktop buddies and are much easier to maintain and move (meaning your employees can take them home if they need to). The only reason why you should be thinking about purchasing a desktop is your business involves running some huge great big processes – other than that laptops should be fine.

There are a range of different laptops you can buy on the market for a relatively cheap price. Depending on what you’re going to be using them for will obviously dictate the need for different laptop specifications.  For the more complicated design work then you might need to invest in a Mac. These go to machines for artists, graphic designers around the world cost a fair bit more than their Microsoft counterparts but are well worth the money when it comes down to getting the work done

You’ll also need to purchase some software for your machines. The go to place for all your office needs is back at Microsoft again, they’ve been dominating the market for years now and there seems to be no sign of them giving up. Microsoft Office has been fuelling offices worldwide since computers found there ways into the office, everyone knows how to use it and the latest issues have made it even easier to put together great presentations, spread sheets and graphs. For graphics work and web design it’s a good idea to get hold of some Photoshop as well as illustrator and some Adobe software. It’s best to speak to your designer if you’re not sure, they’ll know what works best for them.

Filing cabinets? Not quite. What you’ll need is a method of storing all your work online as well and making sure that you don’t lose any important documents by having a safe and secure filing system in the cloud. You’ll need to wire up all your hardware so everyone has access to this online filing system and to make sure that everyone is trained and knows how to save and upload work before you let them loose on it.

Sometimes it’ll all go wrong, something just won’t work or there’ll be a piece of hardware of software that you need installing that you’re not confident enough to do yourself. At this point it’s time to call in the experts,  get in touch with business IT services and have the hired geeks do all the hard work for you. You’d only make things worse anyway.

You’re not a robot, and neither are your staff, so it’s time to get some practical stuff in. Your employees need a break every now and then so give them the tools to do that as well as get down to work.  Get hold of an espresso machine for those Monday morning blues and make your office into a place that people want to come into work. Plants and pictures all go towards making a pleasant and hardworking atmosphere that people want to be – plus, a ping pong table does wonders for staff morale.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think so please feel free to comment. If you liked this piece then make sure you check out the rest of my work on Instructables. I would particularly recommend "Taking Care Of Your Elderly Relatives: What Are Your Options?".

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