Is Your Space a Fit—Or a Friction Point? Right-Sizing for Your Business

You’ve probably heard the phrase “location, location, location.” But in my book, it’s only

half the story. Because even the perfect location won’t save you if the space inside isn’t

tailored to the way your business actually operates.

I walked a space once with a professional services firm—lawyers, accountants, IT

people. Beautiful building. Great area. But the space was laid out like a maze—narrow

corridors, no natural light, tiny individual offices that couldn’t be opened up. The CEO

looked at me halfway through and said, “Mike, we’d lose half our team if we moved

them in here.”

We passed. They found a brighter, more collaborative layout elsewhere, and six months

later, they saw a 17% increase in employee retention.

Right-Sizing Isn’t Just About Square Footage

It’s about:

Layout flow and workspace design

Breakroom and collaboration zones

Loading areas (for industrial)

Storage-to-operations ratio

Expansion capacity

Here’s a mistake I see tenants make all the time: they lease too much space “just in

case.” It’s the commercial real estate version of buying pants two sizes too big. Not only

do you pay more, but the space feels empty, disconnected, and unproductive.

At Commercial Investors Group, we guide tenants through a space programming

exercise before they sign anything. We figure out:

What do you need right now?

What could you grow into in 6, 12, or 24 months?

How can we plan for future flexibility without overcommitting?

This isn’t about stuffing people into cubicles. It’s about designing space that matches

how you move, think, and build.

Here’s the takeaway: The right square footage in the wrong shape is still a bad deal.

Your space should feel like an extension of your brand. Your culture. Your momentum. If

it doesn’t fit how you work, it’s going to work against you.