​Tips for New Commercial Builds

As your business keeps growing, your commercial space must also grow along with it. It may often mean renovating an existing building, adding more facilities, or building an entirely new structure. Unfortunately, there are a ton of things involved when you plan a construction project for commercial buildings. Be prepared to make a considerable investment of time, money, and effort to make this move successful. It is also critical that you ask yourself a few of these crucial questions: "Does this project suit my business's needs? Is the additional space needed to improve productivity or accommodate business? Is my goal to increase revenue?"

Once you've already decided to continue, you can proceed with the commercial building project, but don't think that everything will be smooth sailing. There can be different hard-to-spot problems in the early stages, including delays, unreliability, and even budget cuts. To be truly prepared, we are here to give you tips for new commercial builds that will give you an advantage in your renovation or new construction. Check them out to minimize the errors that can happen.

1. Evaluate Every Single One of Your Choices

Before you proceed with anything else, you have to determine whether you should add or renovate your existing building or build a new facility. Once you have decided, it's time for you to find a general contractor who can guide you through the rest of the process. It's always advisable to find a general contractor with established connections unless you have extensive commercial building experience. A general contractor will be responsible for hiring and managing the teams who will work on the various parts of the building process. Some of the people that a contractor will employ include brick masons, electricians, HVAC specialists, plumbers, drywall hangers, or other professionals needed for the project. When looking for a general contractor, make sure that you hire someone who has the right connections to ensure that your team will be composed of capable professionals.

2. Look at Your Revenue & Expense Projections

It would be best if you projected what your business revenue and expenses should cover during the construction. This step is for you to be able to plan on what you should invest in the project. Next, figure out what capital you should have and what you need in financing. When you have reliable projections, you will also be able to determine what kinds of payment terms you can afford to avoid taking more debts than you can reasonably pay off in a reasonable time.

3. Take Care of All Legal Work

Aside from abiding federal and provincial laws, every municipality has its requirements regarding permits, zoning, etc. It would help if you chose an excellent general contractor familiar with the specific location you're building or renovating to help guide you by selecting a property in the correct zone and acquiring all the relevant permits before starting the construction process.

4. Don't Try to Save Your Money By Not Hiring A Professional Architect.

A time may come when you probably think that coming up with a simple floor plan for a commercial space is enough. Unfortunately, you will need a professional architect or designer. Their services are essential for making efficient use of the area, and for assuring the building comes with plumbing, electrical outlets, HVAC units, etc. Furthermore, an architect can also help you plan for any extra space you want to add to lease out.

5. Consider How Overseeing Might Affect Your Ordinary Business Operations

It's quite common for those running a business to underestimate the time it will take to communicate with their contractor and make decisions. Are they going to take time away from operations and customers to answer questions, make decisions, and negotiate with the contractor? Note that delaying answers your contractor needs will make the project run longer in time and money.

6. Seek Professional Advice Regarding Costs and Budget

Starting a new commercial build would mean managing the price per square feet, including contract inclusions and exclusions. You have to know everything that will be covered in the contract before the build starts.

7. Add Some Breathing Room into Your Plans

Please don't keep it too tight when you're developing your building and costing plans. You always have to consider the weather systems, market fluctuations, and other factors beyond your control that can considerably affect the time and cost during the build. Moreover, always add at least 5 to 10 percent to the budget for contingencies.

8. Secure Financing Before Starting

Start with your already existing financers. Banks or other lending institutions you have built a good rapport with are likely to fund you again for your next project. You can also consider less common means for financing business ventures like building, including venture capitalists and even crowdsourcing.

9. Trust Your Contractor

There is no problem if you've selected the right contractor because he/she can guide you through many of these steps. Your contractor can also guide you to other professionals who can help in your project, such as a real estate agent who is an expert in commercial properties and knowledgeable in local zoning laws. The contractor can also be your go-to person for learning about the permitting and inspection processes required.

10. Never Make Changes That Drive Up Cost and Take More Time

This tip is another typical mistake that most people make when contracting for a new business facility-- lowballing on cost estimates and continually adding to the project's scope over time. Changing items or asking for additional features or costs will bloat your bottom line. Don't ever hold your contractor to a price if you still plan to improve its scope and scale during the build. It's better to over-indulge initially than have a budget that may run short while the project is underway.

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