Unlock your office’s search journey

Have you ever faced the problem of a shortage of space at home, due to the expansion of your family?

Hmm, well, it is happening to usat Three Mountains now that we have recruited two new interns:it’s just like all other growing families that still live in a small houses.

As we expect to grow more, we decided a few months ago to start looking for a new office with more space. So how well are we doing in our search?

We started planning one Friday afternoon, with a fun session called “new office requirements”. Gerry, our director, asked everyone to draw a picture of their ideal new workplace. Some of us drew very cool-looking offices, showing the inside office space with stairs leading up to a covered outdoor terrace. This space was like an outdoor office in a garden with a big tree in it,  with birds singing and flowers and strawberries growing in the garden. Ineza drew a car park with her dream vehicle –  a big blue car – parked there.  It was good fun! It unlocked our new office wishes.

We combined all our ideas to find an office which can host 15 people, and at least four cars. It should be located close to a bus stop in a peaceful area of the city, with a beautiful garden and the possibility to use outside space to work. A separate training room would be an added advantage.

OK, so that sounds pretty ambitious, but ‘doable’. So now all we have to do is find that dream space!

We contacted a real estate agent, and we set up a WhatsApp group for the office’s search committee, in which I am a member. The agent started to share photos of some of the offices he had discovered, and we visited the most promising ones. We also checked out online real estate websites, such as Pluto Properties Ltd, Deals, Jumia houses for rent.  In this way, we discovered more new options.

Because we know exactly what we want, it is difficult to find a place that meets all our criteria.

The owner of the first house we visited was not that welcoming, and the house itself had rather small rooms, but an attractive tent space outside. Another place we visited had a beautiful garden and a balcony, but the building was quite old and dark.  A third property looked promising but was located in a very noisy place. The fourth property we went to was too expensive, the fifth was lovely – it had a balcony – but the parking area was limited. The sixth place we visited was a lovely two-storey house, but far away from where the staff live, and in an area that always has a lot of traffic jams. The seventh property…

In short: we are still searching! The good news is we are not in a hurry, and I am personally enjoying the journey. I loved the way we took time to think about what we really want as an office space, and that we got to draw our ‘dream space’. We have a picture of what we are looking for, and I’m confident we will find something that meets our requirements in the near future.

If you know of a suitable place for us, please let us know!

Alaine Gloria Mugeni