Perhaps one of the most common questions I’ve been asked recently is “What’s the hardest thing for your business to do?”
Well, oddly enough, “Search for an office” is at the absolute top of the list right now.
While I’ve maintained a home office, it’s time to move up and out. Unfortunately, there is currently a misconception on how much many “for lease” spaces are worth right now. On top of this, many of the real estate agents and management companies listing these buildings just don’t want to do any leg work. In one example, I watched an office get listed over and over again on Craiglist. I finally drove by and pretty much liked it, but wasn’t sure about some things, so I decided to email the agent that listed it as I see email as a great way to judge the quality of a business – especially someone that might be a landlord. In saying that, most companies contacted via email don’t reply, they just flat out ignore you or you get to wait in line with 100 other people for weeks before they get back to you.
I find it interesting that you can leave a message via email or phone and some companies don’t bother calling you back. You pretty much have to hound some companies to just call you back… What’s the point of being in the business?
Protocol16 has been taking the office search slow, looking here and there over the last 2 or so months. While we could move all the way across town to get more space for less money, I would really like to keep Protocol16 here in the Beaverton community. It’s where I live and it’s near my main customer base.
While taking all that into account, finding the right office proved to be a challenge, and a big one. We require 24/7 access to any building we’re in, security systems with lasers and flesh-eating hamsters (ok, so lasers are optional), and enough power to light up your typical neighborhood due to all the computers we fix.
With all that said, WE FOUND ONE! Protocol16 has signed a lease for an office on Farmington Road in Beaverton! We’re very excited in our expansion and even more excited to be able to have the option of staying right here in Beaverton. I’ve been crawling the web for all the old addresses since the new one is: 14025 SW Farmington Road, Suite 165, Beaverton. We’re on the bottom floor, to the right.
While the office is smaller than I would ultimately like, I think it’s good that Protocol16 stays frugal, especially in this economy. Sure, there is a larger space in the same building that we could occupy, but packing ourselves into a smaller office achieves the same result – helping customers.
Now, for the phone system, internet setup, furniture buildout (yep, we’re BUILDING our own shop benches!) and all the other “neat” and “fun” things to do when moving. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here for you all!
Justin