Scott Christiansen, CEO and Founder of Root3 Growth Marketing, is skilled at delivering marketing insights and growth strategies for clients. When it came to evaluate the real estate needs of his own high-growth company, his vision wasn’t as clear.

In the first of a two-part series, Christiansen outlined the benefits of finding the right real estate partner, making the decision to move, and visualizing the next phase of growth.

In the second installment, Christiansen continues his first-person story about how Bespoke got to know his business, then provided the counsel and resources he needed. “The relationship with Bespoke opened my eyes to the benefits of finding the right real estate partner,” says Christiansen. “They were instrumental in helping me visualize the next phase of growth for my company.”

Christiansen writes:

When is the Right Time to Invest in a New Office?

I have three kids and have come to realize that we, as parents, are the last to figure out when our kids are ready to take that next big step. We see them grow every hour of every day, so we don’t have many occasions to get a 500-foot view of their maturity. The same goes for businesses and their owners.  When it comes to something like realizing it is time for a space upgrade, employees figure it out first, clients second, and owners last of all.

This is dangerous because even in a best-case scenario it will take six months to pull off a move. Waiting until you are at the point of scale to start thinking about a move is akin to postponing the decision to capture a new opportunity – it puts positive momentum at risk. As owners we need to educate ourselves on the early signs that it is time to move – not now – but in 6 months or 12 months.

Accessing the Right Spaces

Of course, once I was ready, I still couldn’t help trying to do some of this myself. Even though I was 100% committed to utilizing Bespoke, I still looked online to see what I could find.  I found nothing interesting but sent a few listings to Bespoke to show them what I was looking for. Without blinking, Victor told me about 10 spaces right where I wanted to be that would work perfectly. If you think you can do this yourself, I doubt you will be able to access more than 10% of the spaces available.

And before showing me properties, Bespoke took the time to learn more about my business and where I wanted it to go.

Reducing the Financial Risk

Bespoke came up with options in negotiations that I would never have asked for. Most notably, they helped me grow into the space by coming up with a proposal to frontload one month’s free rent in the first two years of the lease. That simple ask meant I could move into much bigger space today, but not have to pay the full amount until Year 3. And it helped eliminate the need for a preliminary move to an interim space for a couple of years. By moving once – versus twice – I saved tens of thousands of dollars.

The security deposit is also huge. Four months’ rent is a lot of cash that I would much rather have on hand than sitting with my landlord. As a solution, Bespoke recommended a letter of credit against my line. The cost was insignificant. This strategy did reduce the amount I can access against my line, but if 2009 happens again and the landlord goes bust … I won’t lose the security deposit. Brilliant.

Interested in learning more? Click here to read the first blog in the series or click here to access case studies, photographs, and client testimonials. Please join our conversation via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.