When my sister asked me to join her in her new business venture I had not realised quite how important the right furniture would be in its success. I naively thought that if we offered the skills people wanted, success would follow. I certainly did not realise how quick people would be to judge our professionalism from our working environment!
When one prospective client made a disparaging comment about our 'temporary' working environment, we had to take a good, hard look around us and try to see things through completely different eyes. It was true we had picked up serviceable desks, cabinets, chairs etc from junk stores and clearance outlets, but for serviceable read shabby rather than smart.
But how do you perform a glamorous designer makeover on a shoestring? We started taking more notice of other offices we visited and looking at furniture online. It was going to take us years to acquire the type of executive look our business ought to be putting out. Or so we thought; until we found out about a supplier of inexpensive office furniture nearby who had a design consultant service attached. Just what we needed as neither of us had the artistic flair to put together the image we wanted.
The designer took spatial measurements and interviewed us about our needs. She then drew up three sets of plans for us to consider. She gave us some great advice about the best utilisation of space, future planning for when we were able to realise our ambition of employing more staff and about choosing furniture for comfort as well as functionality, all of which were to have a positive effect on our productivity.
Her company worked with popular furniture manufacturers who really knew their stock and how to help us keep costs down. Her job was to ensure everything co-ordinated properly and fit into its designated space. Whilst we were not projecting very far into the future, she was absolutely right that in no time at all we would need to employ someone to take care of calls, email enquiries and other admin duties factored this into her planning.
We had briefly considered buying refurbished furniture, as there are some great deals to be had on solid, well-designed and constructed items, but we felt this would be too risky. To achieve our uniform look and ensure we got exactly what we wanted at the very best price, we just let our designer take over. We had built up such a good relationship by this time that we were happy to accept all suggestions.
When the delivery day arrived, we enlisted the help of a couple of friends, but there was no real need. The installation went very smoothly and it was great seeing our new office emerge from the chaos of packing boxes. In no time at all our smart new office was ready and we hadn't even lost a full business day.
For one thing the uniformity of the furniture gave it a sophisticated and more professional appearance and that seemed to have a knock-on effect on us. With more orderly and efficient workstations, we became more orderly and efficient too. We could tell from our clients' faces that first impressions were very favourable and, whilst I still don't think you should ever judge a book by its cover, I can't deny that in business, it seems you are what you appear to be.
When one prospective client made a disparaging comment about our 'temporary' working environment, we had to take a good, hard look around us and try to see things through completely different eyes. It was true we had picked up serviceable desks, cabinets, chairs etc from junk stores and clearance outlets, but for serviceable read shabby rather than smart.
But how do you perform a glamorous designer makeover on a shoestring? We started taking more notice of other offices we visited and looking at furniture online. It was going to take us years to acquire the type of executive look our business ought to be putting out. Or so we thought; until we found out about a supplier of inexpensive office furniture nearby who had a design consultant service attached. Just what we needed as neither of us had the artistic flair to put together the image we wanted.
The designer took spatial measurements and interviewed us about our needs. She then drew up three sets of plans for us to consider. She gave us some great advice about the best utilisation of space, future planning for when we were able to realise our ambition of employing more staff and about choosing furniture for comfort as well as functionality, all of which were to have a positive effect on our productivity.
Her company worked with popular furniture manufacturers who really knew their stock and how to help us keep costs down. Her job was to ensure everything co-ordinated properly and fit into its designated space. Whilst we were not projecting very far into the future, she was absolutely right that in no time at all we would need to employ someone to take care of calls, email enquiries and other admin duties factored this into her planning.
We had briefly considered buying refurbished furniture, as there are some great deals to be had on solid, well-designed and constructed items, but we felt this would be too risky. To achieve our uniform look and ensure we got exactly what we wanted at the very best price, we just let our designer take over. We had built up such a good relationship by this time that we were happy to accept all suggestions.
When the delivery day arrived, we enlisted the help of a couple of friends, but there was no real need. The installation went very smoothly and it was great seeing our new office emerge from the chaos of packing boxes. In no time at all our smart new office was ready and we hadn't even lost a full business day.
For one thing the uniformity of the furniture gave it a sophisticated and more professional appearance and that seemed to have a knock-on effect on us. With more orderly and efficient workstations, we became more orderly and efficient too. We could tell from our clients' faces that first impressions were very favourable and, whilst I still don't think you should ever judge a book by its cover, I can't deny that in business, it seems you are what you appear to be.
About the Author:
Looking to find the best deal on Office Furniture West Palm beach, then visit www.usacontractfurniture.com to find the best advice on office furniture for your needs.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire