Knowing when to renovate can be the biggest obstacle. While remodeling your commercial space is usually necessary to meet your business needs, the costs oftentimes will fall at your feet, not with the building owner or lessor – especially if you choose to renovate in the middle of an existing lease instead of negotiating a cost agreement at the beginning. Therefore, remodel too early and your business may not be able to sustain the financial responsibility or the downtime required for a larger renovation. Putting it off too long can cost you in other ways too, though, as a remodel can increase the perceived value of your business and your merchandise. The potential for lost revenue is a gamble you shouldn’t have to take.

If you’re simply not ready for a major build out or renovation overhaul, there are plenty of basic facility maintenance steps you can take, as well as inexpensive ways to remodel on a tighter budget:

Deep Clean and Declutter – This doesn’t mean that things need to look sanitized or alphabetized. If your store was designed to have that “treasure hunt” style of merchandising, we encourage it – and your customers probably expect it. The decluttering we suggest means making sure there are no unpacked boxes of inventory sitting in the corners or behind your register, and that it’s easy to find the things you and your customers need in your stockroom. We also suggest that you hire a commercial cleaning company to give your store a thorough scrubbing. Clear out dust balls, strip and refinish the floors, make the light fixtures shine and clean the mirrors in any fitting rooms.

Update the High Traffic Areas – Think about the top 5 areas of your store –the areas seen upon first entering, the check-out area, the areas with the most-purchased merchandise and the areas with the highest foot-traffic, such as thoroughfares. Keep what works, shake up what doesn’t using new product displays, shelving, lighting and paint. Consider adjustable wire racking – they’re easier for you to personalize and update and easier for consumers to find the products they want. Not to mention that they look more streamlined and clean than bulky, dust-catching shelves. You can also invest in updating your fixtures and adding color. Don’t be afraid to be unique and stray from the neutral tones, either.

Look Down – If stripping and refinishing your floors still leaves them looking a bit lackluster, then consider starting your renovations at the bottom. Would you prefer a nice carpeted feel, or do you want to replace your tiles with the look of wood? Your floors influence your customers, so they are worth your investment. You should also consider replacing just a section of your flooring to highlight a certain product path or high-traffic area; show your customers exactly where they want to go and the best way to get there.

Now, Look Up and Out – Don’t let a broken or dull sign and façade dissuade customers from coming in; revamp the exterior of your store and your outdoor signage through decorative elements and colors. Inside, keep distractions to a minimum by removing any large signage and only providing guidance for shoppers. Keep them moving in the right direction and looking at the products.

Apply these tips to give your store a fresh look and attract new customers. If you need help, we’re here for you; we even have Value-Engineered Options that can save an average of 10-15% on your construction project. Then, when you’re ready to invest in a major renovation and need some more advice, revisit our blog or give us a call.

With a name like National Maintenance & Build Out Company (NMBOC), we can understand when business owners assume we won’t be able to provide the general services they need for their business. It’s even more understandable when considering we are renowned for the high-quality build outs and renovations we have completed for national brands like HomeGoods, Marshalls, TJ MAXX, Verizon Wireless and Retro Fitness. It’s for those reasons that we wanted to take a moment and talk about our customizable solutions for growing businesses.

While we love helping retail businesses maintain their locations and build out new, empty spaces to fit their commercial needs, they’re not the only things we can do:

• If you recently purchased a dilapidated warehouse and need it brought up to code and prepared to store your inventory, call us!
• If you’re considering a move to a new location that previously housed a completely unrelated business, schedule an appointment with us!
• If your entertainment venue needs an update and expansions into other recreational options, such as adding an arcade area to your bowling alley, meet with our experts!
• If you want to change industries and open a grocery store, restaurant or fast food location, let us give you a free estimate for our exemplary services!
• And if the perfect space for your office is an open-floor, former industrial facility, we can help!

We are so much more than our name suggests, and we don’t want you to pass us by for a company that may charge you more, go over deadlines or provide subpar work. At NMBOC, we pride ourselves on providing unparalleled customer service during each and every job that we complete.

No project is too big or too small, and no budget is impossible. With our Value-Engineered Option and more than 20 years of industry experience, we can provide optimized recommendations that will save you an average of 10-15% off of your construction project. As an added benefit, our 13-Month Warranty guarantees that if anything doesn’t work as promised or needs to be repaired after your project is completed, we will send out a group of professionals to make it right, for free. You simply won’t get service like that from many construction companies!

We don’t stop there either – unlike the majority of construction contractors, we know that each client and each project is unique. That’s why we can provide services to so many different industries and properties. We customize our professional construction teams around each client’s requirements – we have project managers, engineers, technicians and skilled laborers that can complete any project you need, the way you need it done. One-service-fits-all just isn’t in our vocabulary.

So, when you’re looking for a construction build out in Bucks County or South Jersey for your business, retail location, warehouse, office space or restaurant, choose one that has a reputation for excellence, guarantee of satisfaction and comprehensive warranty on their services. Choose the National Maintenance & Build Out Company.

To schedule an appointment with one of our construction specialists today, call 1-800-419-5754, visit our website or fill out the contact form on our site.

Finding your dream retail space is like a couple finding their dream home – you look at what feels like a million locations and spend a lot of time walking through each one, asking questions and trying to envision your merchandise displayed along the walls and throughout the floor plan. It takes dedication and can sometimes be a very emotional experience. That’s why finding the right space can have a “clouds parting ways and shining a heavenly light on the location” kind of feeling. But don’t let your emotions rush your decision to lease, you could end up with unfavorable terms that will only create resentment about the space you once loved. We recommend hiring a real estate broker and taking your time with the negotiations, and we’ve compiled a list of the most critical terms to consider.

1. Length of the Lease. The majority of commercial leases run for a term of 5 to 20 years with renewal options, but that doesn’t mean that those terms are non-negotiable. If you are hiring a build out or construction crew, like the National Maintenance and Build Out Company (NMBOC), to design and improve the space, you should probably consider a longer lease in order to get a better return on your investment. Conversely, if you have concerns about the location, you should negotiate for a shorter lease. No matter what, though, the renewal terms should be clearly stated and understandable.
2. Lease Start Date. You want the beginning date of the lease to reflect your profitable usage of the space. If your retail vision requires major construction, you shouldn’t start paying rent until it is finished. Remember to be realistic with your goals, construction and retail build-outs are known to take longer than you would think and you can’t change the terms once you sign the agreement. To be safe, hire a construction company known for maintaining strict deadlines. At the NMBOC, we have earned our reputation for always coming in on time and within budget – don’t settle for anything less.
3. Kickout Clause. This clause is a fail-safe; it will let you out of the lease if your revenues haven’t met stated expectations by a certain time. We highly recommend that you include this clause in your lease.
4. Incentives for Tenant Improvements. Occasionally, you can persuade a landlord to offer incentives for tenants interested in making renovations or investing in build outs. Since you will be improving their property, some may help you pay the costs or arrange for a few months of “free” rent.
5. Common Area Maintenance (CAM) Fees. These fees are in addition to your rent and cover the shopping center’s landscaping, snowplowing, cleaning and maintenance. While you cannot talk your way out of these fees, you can negotiate a way to keep them manageable. We recommend agreeing to a fixed CAM rate or a capped CAM rate instead of a variable rate. We also recommend that you remove any mention of CAM administrative charges from your lease.
6. Radius Clause. This clause was designed to prevent you from opening another business within a certain radius of the store. While you usually can’t eliminate the clause, you can try to limit it to a certain timeframe, say within 5 years.
7. Exclusivity Clause. This clause protects you – it prevents your landlord from renting to a competing business within the shopping center. Make sure you include it in your lease.

Once you reach an agreement with your landlord, the negotiated terms will be drafted into a formal lease. That doesn’t mean that you should sign it immediately and celebrate, though. Don’t let all of your hard work get flushed down the drain, hire an experienced real estate attorney to review it first.

Then, when all is said and done and the space of your dreams becomes the space of your reality, call us to help you with any necessary construction and build outs needs. At NMBOC, we’ll bring the rest of your vision to life, guaranteed.

So it’s time to expand your business, and you’ve chosen to undertake a build out instead of taking the risk of losing customers by moving locations. Absolutely smart move, and as a leading provider of build out services and project management in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, we applaud you for it! We also understand your concerns. After more than 20 years in the industry, we’ve put many fears about construction projects and their processes to rest. Chief among them is the concern that construction crews will interfere with business as usual and intrude upon customers.

While no construction project can go completely unnoticed, there are a few tricks you can implement to minimize, and even eliminate, its impact.

1. Plan around Your business Needs. At the National Maintenance and Build Out Company, LLC (NMBOC), we conduct an in-store audit to study customer traffic patterns. Once completed, we base our hours and the construction plans around your needs to minimize disruptions. Having a plan is always a good idea, and is essential to not only keeping your business running, but to keeping things on schedule and tasks on track.
2. Prepare Your Employees and Customers. If inconveniencing your employees or customers is unavoidable, make sure they are prepared for it. Whether moving desks, merchandise or accessibility to the restrooms, make sure there are adequate replacements or temporary solutions. In addition, whenever possible, avoid contact between visitors and building works. If the build out company you choose must complete some of the work during hours, make sure there’s a temporary structure to conceal the work and that the noisiest aspects are held off until later.
3. Provide Back Up. No, we are not talking about a SWAT team; we’re talking about power. If you must turn off power or internet access at any point, warn the employees and make sure they are not left in the dark or unconnected. A high-power, mobile generator can be set up throughout the construction process to completely eliminate power disruptions.
4. Make Sure There’s Safety Equipment. When choosing a company, confirm that they will provide protective equipment for any of your employees that will have to enter the construction area. This includes hard hats and goggles, but is not limited to them, some companies will always have standard first aid and emergency supplies on hand. At NMBOC, safety is our top priority—for our employees and yours.
5. Pay Attention to the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), construction and renovation projects can have an adverse effect on building occupants through the release of airborne particulates, biological contaminants and gases. Aside from working during off hours and separating the work areas from the business areas, we recommend negatively pressurizing the work areas and/or positively pressurizing the occupied areas. We also recommend that you consult with HVAC professionals on how to isolate the systems in the construction areas.
6. Get a Guarantee. After successfully enduring a construction project, you don’t want to go through it again anytime soon—especially to fix problems resulting from the first job. Customer satisfaction is very important to us, so in addition to making sure every job meets your expectations and our stringent standards, all of our build out services come with a comprehensive 13-month warranty. Whether the job is in Bucks County or Montgomery County, if something breaks or goes wrong in that time, we will fix it for free. We also make sure to call every client at least 60 days before the warranty expires, to give a friendly reminder. If the companies you are considering don’t offer that, call us immediately—we’ll be happy to help.

We hope these tips have helped to relieve your fears about your impending construction build out. For more information, or to speak with us about fulfilling your business needs, visit our website or call us today at 888-340-6900.

Making renovations to your retail location can seem like a daunting task involving more time and money than many store owners would like to invest. However, remodeling can affect the way your employees, clients and customers perceive your business. Commercial renovations imply success and send the message that you are willing and able to invest in your customer’s shopping experience by expanding or making improvements to ensure their comfort, ease of movement and overall enjoyment. Modern renovations that improve a building’s layout and flow can also improve employee morale and attract new employees that previously may have navigated to your competitors.

The benefits of undergoing retail renovations, whether minor or major, usually outweigh the costs by providing a generous return on investment (ROI). However, if you are still on the fence about how big of a leap to take, we have compiled the following tips to help make your renovation decisions easier. As retail construction contractors, our engineers and staff have extensive experience with renovations of all sizes in Bucks and Montgomery Counties and Philadelphia, PA.

Think about Your Needs Realistically: Will your property need a total demolition to achieve your desired results, or can you use some of the building’s existing framework and infrastructure? In most cases, you can keep the load-bearing beams, electrical panels, plumbing fixtures, gas lines and cable and phone wiring intact. You can also concentrate on new flooring, ceilings and lighting to make a change that won’t break your budget. However, if the building needs a complete overhaul to meet your needs and you have to replace the entire structures, then prepare to make a large investment with the knowledge that it will pay off in the end. It is rare that major renovations are needed without a good reason.

Consider Creating a Mock-Up of Your Ideal Layout: When you think about the store of your dreams, where do you envision the merchandise, service area and cash registers? Take the current setup into account, making note of what works and what needs to be changed. Do your customers follow any patterns, congregate in certain locations or get confused in any areas? Also consider the flow of your space and the best ways to funnel foot traffic to benefit your sales and the customer’s experience. For example, organize merchandise to promote cross-selling and ease of shopping, not just to be visually-appealing. And above all, remember to focus on enhancing and reinforcing your brand. At NMBOC, we have professional teams available to help you create your ideal mock-up, which will allow you to make revisions without wasting time, money or resources.

Don’t Forget the Details:

• Consider the ratio of carpeting versus tile flooring– harder surfaces encourage movement and offer benefits to shoppers when you offer carts or they require strollers.
• Incorporate design elements that keep your customer’s needs in mind– make aisles wide enough to accommodate those strollers and place shelving units low enough for easy access, but not too low that the elderly or disabled would have difficulties.
• Choose lighting that complements your store’s mood while directing customers to featured areas. Keep in mind that LEDs are becoming more affordable and desirable, and that they will last longer and save a considerable amount of energy compared to incandescent lighting.
• Color can be a powerful motivator, especially when paired with smart lighting techniques. For instance, red and orange colors have been shown to trigger hunger. Research the color schemes for your industry to create a space that makes your customers and employees comfortable.

At National Maintenance and Build Out Company (NMBOC), we understand how important it is to minimize disruptions during your renovation or build out construction. We guarantee that we will get your business back to normal as soon as possible. When you work with us in Bucks County, Montgomery County or Philadelphia, we will design timelines and deadlines with your needs in mind, even if that means working throughout the night. In addition, we will provide constant updates and alerts and will always stick to your budget. When considering a commercial renovation, look no further than NMBOC – we have the knowledge to get your job done right, every time.