today let’s talk about seven common
mistakes when choosing a workspace or
office location number one mistake and
this is literally the number one mistake
is paying more attention to look than
productivity and me being in the fashion
industry I’m a total victim of this I’m
worried about what the space looks like
it’s kind of like a girls outfit you’re
worried about what you’re wearing
instead of how it functions it’s the
same thing when you’re dealing with an
office space or choosing where you want
to work you want to pay more attention
to how productive it can be than what it
actually looks like although being
visual is important it’s more important
to be productive numbers is letting the
excitement of your new space cloud your
judgment
one of the problems with leasing a
commercial space is they start up in
your lease after year one year two it’s
even more year three it’s even more so
you have to really gauge your business
and make sure you can afford that and
negotiate those terms because they’re
hoping that your business grows so much
that you’ll just agree to these terms
and you’ll agree to pay more because
they make more money so I rented a
storefront in downtown LA it was my
first retail store it was beautiful I
did it on a budget it still looked
amazing I had the pink glitter floors my
name was at the top of the Kelly
Nishimoto everything seems exciting I
have had red chandeliers and it was my
first time having a storefront so what
happened I didn’t prepare I didn’t
prepare for the lease I signed I didn’t
prepare for the merchandise this is this
is a case where I got too excited and I
let my excitement cloud my judgment for
where my business really was so what
happened after two years I had to close
my storefront I couldn’t afford the rent
you know it sounded like a great deal
but year two it went up and then year
three my rent almost double from $1700
to $2,500 when your business is in the
dumps you can’t afford that you really
have to make sure that you’re choosing
and negotiating the right rent for your
for your business growth number three
not preparing for enough space or over
preparing for space you really have to
be super realistic on gauging the growth
of your business for instance if you
think you’re growing at a rapid rate and
you feel like
you need more space maybe it’s a better
option to have two small spaces instead
of just completely moving out of the
small space and getting this giant space
that overtakes everything what might
happen your business could be at a
crossroads
maybe you’re preparing to sell maybe you
might have to downsize because you’re
taking on a different project that goes
in a different direction you never know
what’s going to happen to your business
especially when when you’re young or
maybe you’ve been in it for so long you
just think you might take a different
direction better to get two spaces then
one big space because you can always
downsize if needed problem is is when
you move into a giant space you’re so
excited and overwhelmed and then your
business takes a hit all of a sudden
you’re not prepared it’s unexpected and
then you have to downsize and when you
downsize a big space into a tiny space
it kills your spirit man I’ve been there
I’ve done that I had a beautiful 5,000
square-foot live workspace I lost a
million dollar contract and business was
just in the dumps so what do I have to
do I had to close the entire space and
move into something that was about a
fourth of the size but had I done what I
just said which is rent the two spaces
until you’re absolutely sure I would
have still had my beautiful small office
space and I could have just had a
secondary small office space that could
have later been dumped when I didn’t
need it anymore
the fourth mistake is not assessing your
visual needs and what I mean by that is
what type of presence do you need to
convey are you seeing clients is it just
you with one employee what is going on
in your business that constitutes what
type of space you have so for instance
I’m a clothing designer so it’s cool to
have like a dingy warehouse space that
you roll up into kind of a creepy
parking lot then you open the garage
doors it’s all these amazing fabrics and
leggings but hey if you’re if you’re
selling life insurance or you’re in the
financial services business you can’t
get out a client role into that you need
a small it can be small you need a clean
and professional space that gives you
credibility you need to decide your
visual needs based on your business and
your customers and if they’re coming to
see you and who’s coming to see
I’m in a fashion business and my
business is based out of Los Angeles I
just moved everything actually closer to
home which is Canoga Park Woodland Hills
area we took pre-college Valley I was
downtown where all the action is all the
contractors but it was better for my
quality of life that I moved to closer
to my house so I got a warehouse space
which isn’t right for everyone but is a
creative person in the fashion industry
you go into a dingy work like a dingy
warehouse space and it’s always cool you
know so that survive I like to have like
to have kind of an unexpected what is
this I might get killed rolling up in
your parking lot but then you open the
garage door and it’s literally a legging
Fantasyland I love white walls pink
carpets pink glittery floors the color
pink it just does something to me I
can’t explain it it’s a certain hue the
glow the warmth of it it really it sends
something some signal from my toes up to
my brain and just makes me feel like I’m
at home
so my workspace has pink glowing lights
I love fun silly things it’s important
for me to have a giant coffeemaker
sodalite it whatever the latest coffee
espresso machine is I have it I have
pink cutting tables to cut fabric you
know all my girls have a brand-new
laptop or a Mac and I’m all about the
big screens and I just really I like
having a fun space you know you have to
figure out what makes you feel good and
you take all these little elements they
don’t have to be expensive I mean I
can’t exist these days you got home good
you got Target with a great home section
just get some little fun things like a
light-up
I love taco sign and put it in your
office and feel good about going to work
everyday and smile when you walk in the
fifth mistake is not knowing your budget
budget is so extremely important if you
don’t have a budget you don’t rent a
workspace it’s plain and simple you have
a house you have an apartment you need
to carve out a corner or a section a
piece of your kitchen I mean I don’t
know turn the bathroom into a workspace
if it’s big enough but you want to have
a designated workspace that fits your
budget
my first workspace was actually my
garage you know my roommate at the time
I said hey
I really need a workspace can you get
your damn car out of the garage so I can
turn it into something and I took it
seriously you know I wanted to go in
there and and feel inspired so I cleaned
up all the oil from the floors I put
some cool little carpet remnants in
there I hung a chandelier up I did some
crazy wood stuff to the wall I stained
thing like was you know I was just like
a regular jack-of-all-trades when I was
doing that I put my sewing machines in
had my computer and voila
I prepared for my first to mercedes-benz
Fashion Week’s full-on 40 to 60 piece
collections with runway models the
photographers the whole gamut
celebrities on the front row and I
pretty much made everything out of my
garage that’s the way you do it when
you’re starting out and you need to have
a big presence it’s more important to
spend money on your your product and
your marketing that it is for your space
because no one’s looking at your space
except for you and your one intern when
you’re first starting out so keep it
minimal keep within a budget and stick
to it
mistake number six is probably something
you don’t really care about or think
about until it’s too late and that’s
being a respectful tenant trust me when
you’re an entrepreneur and you have your
own business there’s nothing better you
can do than to be a respectful tenant
why because they’re going to want to do
more for you if you need something do
you need something repaired if you’re
respectful tenant or you pay your rent a
couple of months in advance you’re going
to be the first on the list that they
help you need to downsize you need to
grow your business they’re going to help
you with discounts and if they’re just
going to go above and beyond if you go
above and beyond to show that you’re
respectful and you appreciate your space
you know hopefully in return they’re
going to do that for you should you need
something I like to pay my rent two or
three months in advance why okay well
first of all it makes me a respectful
tenant and they appreciate my business
and they know that I’m paid up for a
couple months they don’t have to worry
about me but what it does for me is it
kind of alleviates me writing a check
all the time every month you know so I’m
paying my bills four times a year
instead of twelve times a year it’s kind
of a way where I save myself a little
bit of time and the other person is
happy as well the SEVIS mistake which
everyone loves to do and that’s do not
take shortcuts when you are deciding on
a space that’s building your business
everyone wants to try to paint their own
space
to do that you can hire someone for a
couple of hundred dollars to come in and
paint your space exactly as you want it
because this is what’s going to happen
you’re going to go to Home Depot it
takes you a couple hours you’re buying
the paint the rollers oh what do I need
how do I tape it off you go back you
paint your space there’s paint
everywhere you’ve ruined the floors it’s
uneven you got a splash on the ceiling
and then you’re wishing you had hired
someone right so now you end up hiring
someone they have to correct your
mistake and repaint and you spent two to
three times as much money when you
should have just hired someone in the
first place so don’t take shortcuts on
your space if it needs a professional
just just use the money and hire the
professional otherwise you’re going to
have a space that looks like a
kindergarten project and you don’t want
that when you have clients coming to
visit you those are seven mistakes that
you’ve got to look out for when you’re
finding a work space or an office space
okay I want to know what your office
space looks like so why don’t you tweet
me a picture of your space at Kelly
Nishimoto and don’t forget to subscribe
to value Tait it because our goal is to
get to a million subscribers
[Music] Oh
mistakes when choosing a workspace or
office location number one mistake and
this is literally the number one mistake
is paying more attention to look than
productivity and me being in the fashion
industry I’m a total victim of this I’m
worried about what the space looks like
it’s kind of like a girls outfit you’re
worried about what you’re wearing
instead of how it functions it’s the
same thing when you’re dealing with an
office space or choosing where you want
to work you want to pay more attention
to how productive it can be than what it
actually looks like although being
visual is important it’s more important
to be productive numbers is letting the
excitement of your new space cloud your
judgment
one of the problems with leasing a
commercial space is they start up in
your lease after year one year two it’s
even more year three it’s even more so
you have to really gauge your business
and make sure you can afford that and
negotiate those terms because they’re
hoping that your business grows so much
that you’ll just agree to these terms
and you’ll agree to pay more because
they make more money so I rented a
storefront in downtown LA it was my
first retail store it was beautiful I
did it on a budget it still looked
amazing I had the pink glitter floors my
name was at the top of the Kelly
Nishimoto everything seems exciting I
have had red chandeliers and it was my
first time having a storefront so what
happened I didn’t prepare I didn’t
prepare for the lease I signed I didn’t
prepare for the merchandise this is this
is a case where I got too excited and I
let my excitement cloud my judgment for
where my business really was so what
happened after two years I had to close
my storefront I couldn’t afford the rent
you know it sounded like a great deal
but year two it went up and then year
three my rent almost double from $1700
to $2,500 when your business is in the
dumps you can’t afford that you really
have to make sure that you’re choosing
and negotiating the right rent for your
for your business growth number three
not preparing for enough space or over
preparing for space you really have to
be super realistic on gauging the growth
of your business for instance if you
think you’re growing at a rapid rate and
you feel like
you need more space maybe it’s a better
option to have two small spaces instead
of just completely moving out of the
small space and getting this giant space
that overtakes everything what might
happen your business could be at a
crossroads
maybe you’re preparing to sell maybe you
might have to downsize because you’re
taking on a different project that goes
in a different direction you never know
what’s going to happen to your business
especially when when you’re young or
maybe you’ve been in it for so long you
just think you might take a different
direction better to get two spaces then
one big space because you can always
downsize if needed problem is is when
you move into a giant space you’re so
excited and overwhelmed and then your
business takes a hit all of a sudden
you’re not prepared it’s unexpected and
then you have to downsize and when you
downsize a big space into a tiny space
it kills your spirit man I’ve been there
I’ve done that I had a beautiful 5,000
square-foot live workspace I lost a
million dollar contract and business was
just in the dumps so what do I have to
do I had to close the entire space and
move into something that was about a
fourth of the size but had I done what I
just said which is rent the two spaces
until you’re absolutely sure I would
have still had my beautiful small office
space and I could have just had a
secondary small office space that could
have later been dumped when I didn’t
need it anymore
the fourth mistake is not assessing your
visual needs and what I mean by that is
what type of presence do you need to
convey are you seeing clients is it just
you with one employee what is going on
in your business that constitutes what
type of space you have so for instance
I’m a clothing designer so it’s cool to
have like a dingy warehouse space that
you roll up into kind of a creepy
parking lot then you open the garage
doors it’s all these amazing fabrics and
leggings but hey if you’re if you’re
selling life insurance or you’re in the
financial services business you can’t
get out a client role into that you need
a small it can be small you need a clean
and professional space that gives you
credibility you need to decide your
visual needs based on your business and
your customers and if they’re coming to
see you and who’s coming to see
I’m in a fashion business and my
business is based out of Los Angeles I
just moved everything actually closer to
home which is Canoga Park Woodland Hills
area we took pre-college Valley I was
downtown where all the action is all the
contractors but it was better for my
quality of life that I moved to closer
to my house so I got a warehouse space
which isn’t right for everyone but is a
creative person in the fashion industry
you go into a dingy work like a dingy
warehouse space and it’s always cool you
know so that survive I like to have like
to have kind of an unexpected what is
this I might get killed rolling up in
your parking lot but then you open the
garage door and it’s literally a legging
Fantasyland I love white walls pink
carpets pink glittery floors the color
pink it just does something to me I
can’t explain it it’s a certain hue the
glow the warmth of it it really it sends
something some signal from my toes up to
my brain and just makes me feel like I’m
at home
so my workspace has pink glowing lights
I love fun silly things it’s important
for me to have a giant coffeemaker
sodalite it whatever the latest coffee
espresso machine is I have it I have
pink cutting tables to cut fabric you
know all my girls have a brand-new
laptop or a Mac and I’m all about the
big screens and I just really I like
having a fun space you know you have to
figure out what makes you feel good and
you take all these little elements they
don’t have to be expensive I mean I
can’t exist these days you got home good
you got Target with a great home section
just get some little fun things like a
light-up
I love taco sign and put it in your
office and feel good about going to work
everyday and smile when you walk in the
fifth mistake is not knowing your budget
budget is so extremely important if you
don’t have a budget you don’t rent a
workspace it’s plain and simple you have
a house you have an apartment you need
to carve out a corner or a section a
piece of your kitchen I mean I don’t
know turn the bathroom into a workspace
if it’s big enough but you want to have
a designated workspace that fits your
budget
my first workspace was actually my
garage you know my roommate at the time
I said hey
I really need a workspace can you get
your damn car out of the garage so I can
turn it into something and I took it
seriously you know I wanted to go in
there and and feel inspired so I cleaned
up all the oil from the floors I put
some cool little carpet remnants in
there I hung a chandelier up I did some
crazy wood stuff to the wall I stained
thing like was you know I was just like
a regular jack-of-all-trades when I was
doing that I put my sewing machines in
had my computer and voila
I prepared for my first to mercedes-benz
Fashion Week’s full-on 40 to 60 piece
collections with runway models the
photographers the whole gamut
celebrities on the front row and I
pretty much made everything out of my
garage that’s the way you do it when
you’re starting out and you need to have
a big presence it’s more important to
spend money on your your product and
your marketing that it is for your space
because no one’s looking at your space
except for you and your one intern when
you’re first starting out so keep it
minimal keep within a budget and stick
to it
mistake number six is probably something
you don’t really care about or think
about until it’s too late and that’s
being a respectful tenant trust me when
you’re an entrepreneur and you have your
own business there’s nothing better you
can do than to be a respectful tenant
why because they’re going to want to do
more for you if you need something do
you need something repaired if you’re
respectful tenant or you pay your rent a
couple of months in advance you’re going
to be the first on the list that they
help you need to downsize you need to
grow your business they’re going to help
you with discounts and if they’re just
going to go above and beyond if you go
above and beyond to show that you’re
respectful and you appreciate your space
you know hopefully in return they’re
going to do that for you should you need
something I like to pay my rent two or
three months in advance why okay well
first of all it makes me a respectful
tenant and they appreciate my business
and they know that I’m paid up for a
couple months they don’t have to worry
about me but what it does for me is it
kind of alleviates me writing a check
all the time every month you know so I’m
paying my bills four times a year
instead of twelve times a year it’s kind
of a way where I save myself a little
bit of time and the other person is
happy as well the SEVIS mistake which
everyone loves to do and that’s do not
take shortcuts when you are deciding on
a space that’s building your business
everyone wants to try to paint their own
space
to do that you can hire someone for a
couple of hundred dollars to come in and
paint your space exactly as you want it
because this is what’s going to happen
you’re going to go to Home Depot it
takes you a couple hours you’re buying
the paint the rollers oh what do I need
how do I tape it off you go back you
paint your space there’s paint
everywhere you’ve ruined the floors it’s
uneven you got a splash on the ceiling
and then you’re wishing you had hired
someone right so now you end up hiring
someone they have to correct your
mistake and repaint and you spent two to
three times as much money when you
should have just hired someone in the
first place so don’t take shortcuts on
your space if it needs a professional
just just use the money and hire the
professional otherwise you’re going to
have a space that looks like a
kindergarten project and you don’t want
that when you have clients coming to
visit you those are seven mistakes that
you’ve got to look out for when you’re
finding a work space or an office space
okay I want to know what your office
space looks like so why don’t you tweet
me a picture of your space at Kelly
Nishimoto and don’t forget to subscribe
to value Tait it because our goal is to
get to a million subscribers
[Music] Oh
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