After years of silent hustle, entrepreneurs are now being hailed as modern day heroes by entertainment, social media, and academia. Entrepreneurs are always growing, always learning, and always working to do better than yesterday.

For a startup founder, taking a business from brainstormed idea to scaling growth is a huge achievement! It comes with a wealth of small successes, failures, and memorable days. Of course, there is always one exciting day that stands out to all entrepreneurs that have built a business from the ground up – the day you upgrade from working in the garage to making sales in your new office!

Refreshing as the new space may be, you will have to furnish it before any work can get done. For most founders, picking out office furniture doesn’t exactly sound exhilarating. Entrepreneurs love to build their business and pour passion into what they do. That’s why Lewis Office has made it their mission to help growing businesses quickly create a fresh workspace that breeds innovation. Lewis Office has created a new way to get your office ready for work in just a matter of days, so you can get down to business.

Since furnishing a new workspace can feel like a head-spin, a lot of things can fall through the cracks. That’s why these 5 tips are important to remember when you’re shopping for that fresh office.

#1: Prepare for Growth

As a startup, growth is rapid and virtually unpredictable. A startup’s success is dependent upon it’s great team, so to scale the company’s sales, the company’s talented team members will scale as well. That means when it comes to office design, it’s not just about your current needs. Startups must prepare for growth.

This means it’s important to ensure that the furnishings you use can be easily modified. New team members need more than just training for the role – they need a desk to work at! It is important that adding an additional workspace is a smooth process when a startup adds a new team member. In order to onboard new employees quickly, the office furniture supplier must also always have your product in stock and ready to ship. As the company grows, how groups collaborate will begin to transform. The workspaces must be flexible and modifiable enough to adjust with these new developments in company culture. Startups need to embrace for these internal changes and prepare to create new workspace layouts to stay most productive.

#2: Storage Isn’t Just on the Cloud

So you have Google docs, slack messaging, iCloud, and a Spotify playlist that would keep a deserted islander entertained. Think you have all the storage you need? Get your head out of the clouds! You’re going to need somewhere to put your things. While a shelf may be obvious – company gear, documents, memories, jackets, purses and company culture swag turned memoirs will evolve from the birth of your office. And when that day comes? You’ll be grateful you have a place for the whole team to live, and so will visiting clients.

When you imagine “office furniture storage” you don’t have to think about the clunky filing cabinets and cheap shelves of the mundane cubical days. Just like your startup is innovative, your use of space can be too. Since you’re scaling the company, it is important to maximize your entire workspace. Sharad Mathur, the founder of Lewis Office, recommends a great way to do this with sneaky storage solutions that double as usable spaces in the office. One great technique is the storage-sofa. Turn a short storage shelving unit into a seating area by adding a storage pad topper to make it a comfortable place for teams to collaborate. Makes for the perfect spot for a team to gather together over coffee and make a game plan for the day.

#3: Everybody Is Different, Every Body Is Different

Successful team breeds diversity, that’s what keeps startups innovative! Just like everyone’s talents, personalities, and work styles are different – so are their bodies. Stature, posture, shape and size all influence our working preferences. As anyone that has experienced “tech neck” before knows, it greatly hinders productivity when you’re uncomfortable. Don’t let your employees sit around uncomfortable, grumpy, and unproductively. It is essential for a successful startup to foster an environment that boosts productivity, so it is important to ensure that each individual has a workspace that is catered to their needs.

Adjustable tables and seating options allow workspaces to be modified to fit the individual. Just as some people prefer to sit while working, others may feel more comfortable standing up while they get down to business. Options like standing tables give your employees the opportunity to work however fits them best. Always remember to account for varying preferences in work styles to boost overall productivity and company morale.

#4: Plug It In, Plug It In

What do your Alexa, laptop, and Nespresso all have in common? They need to be plugged in! As a technology-centered society, today we have more cords than we do pens. Your business thrives on connectivity. Don’t find out the day that you move in that you forgot one of the most important assets for furnishing your office – extension cords. Nothing kills a cold calling power hour like a dead phone or thwarts a demo like a dying computer. Don’t force your team to choose between them: power can be placed throughout your office to support your team while they’re powering up.

Consider table power options that sit on top of the desk. This will allow your talented employees to charge up while they work, without having to crawl under the table for an outlet. Also consider extension cord options with a USB plugin, eliminating the problem if someone forgets the wall outlet part of the charger.

#5: What’s a Screwdriver?

You’ve found the perfect furniture, ordered everything you need, and just got it all shipped right to your new home-away-from-home. Did you consider how you will get it all from boxed goods to functioning items? The last thing that comes to mind when dreaming of the perfect office is “installation”, but it’s a tough reality that costs time and halts progress. Don’t stop the hustle to search for that screwdriver you swear you saw just a couple of weeks ago – ensure installation is simplistic before you buy.

For a startup, every second is valuable. Wasting precious days putting together office furniture can affect bottom lines. Lewis Office recommends considering options with tool-less assembly, so it is easy to assemble tables and chairs in a matter of minutes, not hours.

Always remember, nothing costs more than time wasted. Ensure that when upgrading into a new office space, you prepare ahead of time with all of the considerations needed about what you need now and in the future as the team continues to expand. Use these tips to save as much time as possible when furnishing your office, so you can continue doing what you do best – building your business.