How To Find Your Dream NoMad Office Space In Manhattan
The Madison Square North Historic District (NoMad) in Manhattan is such a fantastic area to have a business, but not all NoMad office space is created equal. After all, will it matter that you can see the Empire State Building if the server keeps shutting down?
There are 3 keys to having the ideal dream space for your company in NoMad. Those who follow them will find that they can not only have a great start for their business but that they will thrive.
The 3 keys are:
Suitability to your business – both present and future
The cost of monthly rent – the best deal possible
Lease terms that will permit growth – cost and square footage
Suitability to Your Business
For the sake of this article, we interviewed green energy expert David Katz. Mr. Katz worked in this area of Manhattan and found that it was not only desirable, but the office space was specifically geared toward his employer.
“Not only were we in the heart of the business district for our company’s industry, but we were being incubated by a larger, more established firm.“
When asked to clarify, he explained that by giving a bigger business a stake in the potential for the startup he had helped bring forward to an IPO, they were not only in the very best place to have a business, but they didn’t pay any rent until the business was profitable.
“Can you imagine being in the heart of New York City,“ he asked, “and your only overhead is payroll?“
It really seemed like an unbelievable scenario – meaning that we couldn’t fathom it actually happening. So, David Katz referred us to his colleague, Christopher Pascale, the accountant who was the acting controller for Katz’s former employer before becoming the CFO of Portfolios with Purpose, and most recently he released War Poems: A Marine’s Tour 2003-2008, a compelling book about his service in the Marine Corps.
Mr. Pascale verified that David Katz worked in a completely rent-free environment for many months. “The company was able to take the thousands of dollars it would have cost to rent the space to bring in the best talent,” he went on. “It’s not a coincidence that David, who went to Columbia University, was there, nor was it surprising that TJ Anthony [a Chicago Law and West Point graduate] was his mentor.“
Getting a rent-free space is ideal, but for those who can’t find such an amazing deal budgeting needs to be accounted for.
Cost of Monthly Rent
Some company visionaries believe that by getting into the heart of NYC they will be able to have all of their dreams come true. Many learn the hard way that a dream location can turn into a total nightmare.
This is the same reason the late Dr. Thomas Stanley stressed in his book, The Millionaire Next Door. Owning a big home in a gated community or belonging to an exclusive country club will not create sales quite like making sales calls will. In the book he provides a fantastic example on pages 103-105, which have been paraphrased below:
Joel’s son just got his license to sell stock and other investments, and he wanted to help Joel move up faster by helping him buy a house in a gated community. The problem was that Joel’s son only earned $35,000 a year, and his wife was a part-time hairdresser who was now going to retire. When I asked Joel how he thought his son would be able to afford such a high lifestyle he insisted that there would be big deals made on the golf course at the country club, which was mandatory to join in that community at a cost of $25,000 annually. Two years later Joel came to me asking for help. His son’s business wasn’t growing as quickly as he had hoped, and he was still supporting him.
This is not a warning to stay away from the NoMad district. The key is that one must find the right location as well as favorable terms.
Lease Terms That Will Permit Growth
The example noted from Dr. Stanley’s work with millionaires would have been totally different if there were extenuating factors. For example, if Joel’s son used an inheritance to buy the property outright, and the country club gave him a 2-year membership gift, the entire equation would have been different.
In order to get the right office space for your company to thrive, there are several key factors in the lease agreement that need to be met. The cost of operating cannot be overburdened.
Moving into an ideal location with terrible costs will create a situation where your dream NoMad office space turns into a nightmare. Even the best business plan can’t save a company in the development phase from meeting costs it simply doesn’t have the cash to cover.
The Main Takeaways
The dream office you’re looking for can be found if the location is affordable, conducive to growth, and has good lease terms.
There are many promising startups that never truly get off the ground because they end up in default. For those that get rolling, there are many that are disrupted by the need for more space, meaning that they got in a location that didn’t provide for them adequately in the second phase as a result of planning for only the short-term in looking for NoMad office space.
By following this guidance and keeping your budget in mind when looking for a NoMad office space many startups cannot only find themselves in the perfect New York City location for incredible networking and other opportunities but also realize the goals they had set out in the beginning of their journey.