How to Plan a Commercial Remodel for Your Business
Keep your business up to date with the right interior design trends. Here’s how to plan a commercial remodel for your business.
Are you looking to redesign and remodel your office space? While redesigning an office space is not an easy task it will ensure that you maximize the use of your workspace. A commercial remodel will ensure your office space is renovated, whether it’s damaged or in need of an update.
According to studies, the average American spends over 90,000 hours at work throughout their lives. This means that the quality of your business environment directly affects your employees’ morale.
Commercial remodeling can have a significant effect on your business. It helps you improve your building’s appearance. This in turn improves your customers’ experience by impacting how they interact with your business.
Whether you run a shop, a restaurant, or any other commercial enterprise, a renovation could help your business be successful. However, planning a renovation can be very stressful, especially if you don’t know where to start. Use the below tips to help you plan for a business renovation:
1. Create a Plan for the Renovation
A commercial renovation is a stressful undertaking. Creating a plan beforehand will help you drive successful results. It will also keep the project from going over the stipulated budget.
Understanding what outcome you want from your commercial renovation will help you keep track of the project. This also means having well-laid-out goals.
While it’s seductive to let your imagination go wild during renovations, it’s essential to ensure that you have enough time and money to accommodate these changes. You can also ask for your team’s input when planning the renovation.
2. Determine Your Goals
To determine your goals, you have to know why you want to renovate your business premises. Come up with a well-laid-out list of what you want to accomplish at the end of the renovation. Below are typical examples of remodeling goals:
- Rebranding your business
- Improving employee morale
- Bringing in more customers
- Optimize your business space
- Increase employee efficiency
According to a study, businesses that renovate their premises experience a minimum of 10% increase in sales. After writing down your goals, ensure you also write a list of how the renovation can help you achieve these goals. If your main goal is to optimize your office space, this list could include turning idle offices into functional spaces.
Writing down your goals will help you get your contractor’s input. Your contractors may offer advice on how this renovation project could help you achieve these goals. Before making a decision, remember to remain flexible and open during the planning process.
3. Establish a Budget
Before looking for a commercial contractor, ensure you establish exactly how much money you are willing to spend on the project. This also means looking into how much time you’d like to spend on the renovation.
According to statistics, over 85% of projects go over budget due to unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, remember to also budget for any unforeseen repairs that may pop up during the project.
It’s easy to miss some repairs during the initial inspection. However, these missed repairs will still need to be handled before the completion of the renovations.
Once you know how much money and time you’d like to spend, list down all the improvements you’d like to make in order of priority. This will help you know where to prioritize your money in case it’s not enough.
4. Check Out Different Contractors
Different contractors offer different prices for the same business remodel job. Before choosing a commercial contractor, you’ll need to get an estimate from numerous companies. Ensure these estimates are in writing to make it easier to compare the prices.
During the email correspondence, ask for an estimated cost of the materials, labor charges, who will be handling the work, and any other expected charges. Make a comparison of all the companies and pick the one you’re most comfortable with.
Working with the right team will ensure your project is completed on time and it’s up to your satisfaction. Below are essential things to look out for when vetting potential contractors:
- Check their insurance, licensure, and references
- Check customers’ testimonials and reviews
- Have a face-to-face meeting with a company representative
- Check out their portfolio
- Conduct interviews of each company
Remember to also look into the quality of service and their customer satisfaction rate. Do not settle for a company because they offer lower prices. This might put you at risk of receiving poor quality service.
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5. Review Your Property’s Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical and Structural Plans
Before proceeding with the renovations, conduct some initial inspection of the building. This will help you determine if the building’s plumbing, electrical and mechanical structures can handle your renovation plan. Understanding your space’s capabilities before signing the contract will help you understand the limitations of your design.
Ensure you also contact an electrical contractor for an inspection. During the inspection, they will look for signs of outdated circuit panels, old wiring, and overloading. After the inspection, the electrician will advise if you need to upgrade your electrical panel.
If you’re looking to turn a space into a food establishment, accessing the building’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEPs) plans is essential. It helps you realistically prepare your budget based on existing infrastructure.
6. Focus on Realistic Deadlines
While a renovation project is exciting, it also means loss of productivity or function for your business until the completion of the work. You may be tempted to schedule everything all at once. However, this is not the right way to approach such a project.
Long commercial renovation projects should happen in phases. This allows your workers to keep working even when the project is underway.
Talk to your contractor and come up with a renovation schedule. They know how fast or slow their team can get the work done. Remember that interruptions and delays are expected regardless of how fast the tea may seem.
7. Keep Your Customers in the Loop
Instead of losing customers during the renovations, take it as an opportunity to give them an exclusive discount. If part of the building will remain open, offering discounts will increase your sales. Make your customers part of the process.
Ensure you put up signs with essential details about the remodeling project. Clearly explain to your customers when to expect the temporary closure of your business.
If you have a display image of how the building will look after the project, you can also display it for your customers. Keeping customers informed and updated will get them excited about the renovation. You can also do the below to keep your customers in the loop:
- Communicate with your customers about your renovations plans on the phone
- Apologize for any inconveniences caused by the project
- Offer your customers a celebration before or after the project
- Update your company’s website with new images of the newly renovated building
- Move your services online to keep helping your customers
After planning the remodel and establishing a timeline, ensure there are no gaps in serving your customers. Keeping your customers aware of what you’re doing will prepare them mentally for any inconveniences. Make sure your customers also know how to reach you in case they need help.
Should You Stay Open or Closed During a Commercial Renovation?
Once the renovation project starts, there are numerous decisions you must make as a business owner. This includes whether to continue conducting business as usual or close down for the renovation process. However, before making this decision, ensure you consider the below factors:
How Disrupting Is This Renovation?
If the renovation project will interrupt your worker’s ability to implement their duties, closing the office down could be your only option. Renovation projects such as flooring upgrades are too disruptive and could warrant for complete closure of the business. On the other hand, HVAC system upgrades are less disrupting and may be done while your business stays open.
The Length of the Renovation
Renovations that take too long to complete can be quite disruptive for businesses to continue operating. The cost of sending your customers to your competitors and loss of profits can damage your business
In such a case, most business owners will look for ways to keep their businesses operational. One way to do this is by moving your business to a different location during the project’s duration. You can also close down the most problematic areas of the building while the other parts remain open.
Work with your contractors to determine the best way to complete the project with minimal business disruptions. They can help you minimize the disruptions by ensuring the most disrupting works are performed during nighttime or the weekends.
Think About the Bottom-Line
When renovating your office space, you may also be looking to improve your interior design. The design you choose is most likely aligned with improving your profits. While this is great for short-term purposes, it’s also essential to look at your business’s bottom line.
Ensure you look into commercial remodel trends that also serve your company’s long-term goals. If you are considering selling your business in the future, ensure the remodel doesn’t hurt the building’s resale price.
Wherever possible, ensure the renovations increase your property value. This will make it easier to sell the building when the time comes to relocate. As a small business owner, the last thing you want is your commercial renovation plans to hurt your business’s resale value.
Are You Ready to Start Your Commercial Remodel Project?
Successful businesses outgrow their original spaces. However, a well-planned commercial renovation project can help you revamp your workspace based on your company’s requirements. Using the above tips, it’s possible to renovate and stay in this office space a little longer.
Once you’re ready to start a commercial remodel on your business establishment, contact us at Service Wise Electric. We are a family-owned, insured, and licensed business, and we can handle all your electric needs around Cherokee County, as well as Kennesaw and Marietta Georgia. We are also BBB accredited.
