Let’s see, where do I start when naming business challenges unique to the wonder metropolis called New York City? Let’s begin with competition. You’re definitely not the only one doing what you’re doing. Especially if you’ve drawn attention to yourself with that thing called success. What about our beloved friend Taxes? New Yorker’s may earn good money, but no one’s fatter than a starch-suited politician. They suck it all up! Then there’s the great and infamous Transportation. Have you ever driven in New York City for anything at all? $10.00 tolls, two miles in two hours, no parking (or standing in Yankee lingo), maniac taxi drivers and relentless NYPD ticket junkies. Lacking for dramatic memories? Get behind the wheel in The Big Apple.

Then there’s one challenge that is seemingly inescapable… Space. It’s either too small, too expensive or not the right fit. Businesses in New York City pay more for office space than anywhere else in the world. Demand is high, supply is low and employees are intimate due to extremely tight quarters. So what do you do when you need more space but can’t afford a bigger office? The following scenario is frequently played out.

The Scene

A start up finds new space in Manhattan. After three, six, eight months the office is piled high with inventory, supplies, furniture, tech equipment, records, anything and everything. Business is growing at a steady clip and the Owner decides to hire an additional sales person. What’s the problem? Where to put them? Here’s what happens next:

Boss: “Susie (receptionist/assistant), look up storage online and find the best price. Make sure it’s close enough to drive back and forth.”

Susie: “Sure boss. The cheapest one I found is on 16th Street and 10th Ave for $$ per month.”

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Many investors skip straight to the financial section of the business plan. It is critical that the assumptions and projections in this section be realistic. Plans that show penetration, operating margin and revenues per employee figures that are poorly reasoned, internally inconsistent or simply unrealistic greatly damage the credibility of the entire business plan. In contrast, sober, well-reasoned financial assumptions and projections communicate operational maturity and credibility.

For instance, if the company is categorized as a networking infrastructure firm, and the business plan projects 80% operating margins, investors will raise a red flag. This is because investors can readily access the operating margins of publicly-traded networking infrastructure firms and find that none have operating margins this high.

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