Radio Front Desk

Bonus episode | Meg & Neena of Articulate Design + Consulting

• Jane.app • Episode 8

Share episode

In this bonus episode, we’re jumping into the second half of our conversation with Meg and Neena from Articulate Design + Consulting. Here, they walk us through a few of their tips from their playbook for finding your space.

What you’ll learn:

  • What really matters when choosing a location
  • Why square footage isn’t always what it seems
  • How preparation gives you an edge when negotiating with landlords

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Stay connected:

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Radio Front Desk by JNAP. I'm your host, denzel Ford. If you listened to part one of our conversation with Meg and Nina from Articulate Design and Consulting, then you know just how much goes into creating clinic spaces that are beautiful and functional. In this bonus episode we're jumping into the second half of that conversation. Meg and Nina will share highlights from their playbook for finding your space. They'll walk us through a few of their tips, like what really matters when choosing a location, why square footage isn't always what it seems, and how preparation gives you an edge when negotiating with landlords. Let's jump back in so you both have created a resource for us and our listeners and we're going to link that so everyone can find it and take a look at it. But before we start, have you ever helped a clinic or a practitioner find their actual space?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So part of what we offer is like a clinical consultation where we're helping clinicians. Once they've honed in maybe into like two or three different spaces, we consult on their choice. And that actually is the first category in our playbook is why is that important and how to do that? So, most definitely, we do that because you kind of can't start the design process too early. So, in terms of understanding flow and design, how many rooms do I need? What kind of special elements am I requiring? You need to kind of know all of that before you even settle on a space. So using us as a sounding board to kind of help our clients think of all of those elements before they make that big commitment is, I think it's a really, really great offering that we do provide.

Speaker 3:

Awesome. Yeah, I think to Nina's point. Most people spend too little time considering the space, we believe, because I think it's just it's easy to get caught up in the idea of like this space open. Open, it looks really cool, but there's a lot of intentionality and consideration to put into it. So, you know, is it worth spending more money to be at street level versus up in an office? Like, what are the different considerations for your business and marketing and what kind of concerns do you have from, like, an accessibility standpoint? And there's just a lot more to to think about. And oftentimes people are engaging with us after they've signed a lease and it's hard because it's hard to go backwards, right.

Speaker 1:

I've noticed that from talking to several guests is that the the choice they make in their location impacts a lot of business decisions that come down the line. One of the biggest ones I've noticed is how they do marketing if you make in their location impacts a lot of business decisions that come down the line.

Speaker 1:

One of the biggest ones I've noticed is how they do marketing. If you are in a location that is like you know, pop in and like you got street traffic, you almost don't need to do much marketing. If you're kind of in a building or up and you know, like tucked away somewhere, you need to do more like active work and getting people in the door or maybe different versions of how you're going to get people rebooking that kind of thing.

Speaker 1:

But I also feel like it's probably really stressful in the sense that anytime I've needed to go look for a space, you're always under that panic of the market that you're in yes, so like it's you are, it's really challenging and and there's pros and cons too.

Speaker 3:

Like I will say, we were at a space we designed yesterday. They're on the second floor. For them, that's perfect, because their services are like needing to be very intimate and private, and so for them, like it's a disadvantage to be at street level or to have a lot of windows, that outlook onto a street. So, just putting a lot of thought into that, even maybe making a checklist, and that's something like we do with our clients, but for those needing to do this themselves, of like really putting thought into those features before then even looking at properties, and then really stick to your list, right, stick to the places that meet that criteria, yeah okay, take us through your playbook.

Speaker 2:

So, so the first tip is really all about considering the location, and we just spoke to some of that. Considering accessibility, you know, are you having tons of patients on crutches or wheelchairs or strollers, things like that? Thinking of the accessibility parking is your public transit Really? Then, beyond that, it's like your target demographic right Location is really everything in terms of attracting your patient base. And then our pro tip is, as Meg was saying, like considering visibility and foot traffic. Is that actually something that is beneficial to your practice or is that something that actually you want to avoid? So those are things to also think about in just when you're picking, like the geographical location.

Speaker 3:

Great, okay.

Speaker 3:

Our second tip is square footage is not created equal, and what we mean by this is that often people kind of get a idea in their mind of how much square footage they need.

Speaker 3:

So you know, for an example, let's say they've decided 1,000 square feet is perfect for the size that they want to inhabit, and so then they'll look for spaces that have that square footage.

Speaker 3:

But it's not created equal.

Speaker 3:

You can have 1,000 square feet in a nice rectangular shape where it's very easy to to like build out rooms and spaces, or you can have a thousand square feet in a very awkward orientation that makes it very challenging, or there's a lot of dead space, or I'm not really sure what to do with it, and so then you're paying for square footage that you're not actually capitalizing on, and so the shape of the space and knowing how you need to utilize it is really important.

Speaker 3:

So our pro tip is that creating a floor plan for the spaces you're considering before putting in a letter of intent is very, very helpful, and if that's something you struggle with, then we'd encourage you to get help doing that from a professional. But it's amazing how much clearer the picture is to people when they start to consider oh, this really is very challenging to lay out, or the position of the doors or position of the washroom or things like that really make it challenging, or it works in my favor and it's like a no-brainer is there a simple way somebody could do that like a solo practitioner if they weren't able to hire somebody?

Speaker 1:

just get a piece of paper and kind of map it out yourself yeah, I mean for, like, smaller spaces.

Speaker 3:

For sure you can just map out, like, based on your equipment and and kind of do it to scale. Uh, for bigger spaces where you're needing to build out multiple rooms or different types of areas, if that's something that you're quite inclined to do, then do it. But otherwise we'd say, see it as an investment. You're about to probably spend the most amount of money you've ever spent to lease a space and to build out a space. So you know it's really a small investment to have somebody help you who's got a brain for kind of seeing spaces Great Okay.

Speaker 2:

What's next? So our next tip is to audit the big items, and I think this is really really important and often overlooked. But things like plumbing, hvac, sprinklers they're all really really expensive elements to move or relocate, and so knowing where those are in the space, based on the floor plan that you're looking to create, is really really important. And so we've had clients where they've picked a space and we're designing it, and maybe they're providing a lot of pelvic physiotherapy and so each room needs a sink.

Speaker 2:

Well, now we need to rough in a ton of plumbing, and so those are unforeseen costs and there are, unfortunately, costs that if you were to move, you're not taking any of that with you. So planning ahead, being aware of those big ticket items, getting a rough estimate of moving those, how much those things would cost to change, is really really important for for budgeting. And then a pro tip is try to negotiate a lot of this kind of work actually being done by the landlord or covered by the landlord for that very reason in that it's enhancing their space. But you can't take any of those elements when you leave.

Speaker 1:

How do you assess the health of those systems? Who assesses, like if you have a healthy HVAC system?

Speaker 2:

I would say it's less about the health of the HVAC system I would say that's kind of on the landlord to ensure efficiency it's more the location of them and the understanding of how easy would it be to relocate. So if you're adding new walls right, you may need to move sprinklers and you may need to move these ducts, and so that comes at a cost. So, understanding some of that, because a lot of us assume like yeah, I'm just going to throw up some walls and it's like, well, no, there's a sprinkler right there. So how are we going to? We need to think about it, you have to get heating and cooling into each room.

Speaker 3:

Yes, you know, you have to get electrical into each space.

Speaker 2:

So I mean, the big thing is is like taking our time, like not hopping into just like I got to sign a lease today, least today, right. It's like taking, you know, stock of all of these things. Maybe lining up your team, like lining up a GC that can walk you through these spaces with your designer, so someone who's helping you with your floor plan and understanding that, but then also cross-referencing that with a GC who's going to be able to say, yeah, like this won't cost you that much, but this will kind of thing, right, you know, doing that upfront work. Yes, it comes at an investment and maybe you will walk away from that place, but you will walk away having saved hundreds of thousands right for not choosing the space that eventually would cost you triple or quadruple what you intended.

Speaker 1:

Yeah I'm thinking like the emotional side of going through all this and then you got to walk away from a space. How do you set your mind around that so that you feel like it's okay, you know we're going to move on and we're going to find the right space?

Speaker 3:

I think that you have to see this as such a big investment in your future business and you have to pick it well. It's like picking a partner Like you don't take the first one. That pick it well. It's like picking a partner like you don't take the first one that comes around because it's convenient, right. It's like does this align with what I'm trying to create? And I think there's a big scarcity mindset of like if I let this one get away, you can get caught up in the emotions of like I need to get it, another one won't come up and another one always comes up yeah, it always does.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, what are your last two steps for your playbook?

Speaker 3:

negotiate with a plan. This kind of speaks to what we've talked about previously, but the more information you have going into your negotiation, the more power you have. So when you can come to a landlord with, this is the floor plan. This is how I'm going to build it out. This is my design concept. You're coming to the table really prepared and you're showing them how you're essentially going to elevate their space.

Speaker 3:

And we found clients just have way more negotiating power. They often get more in tenant improvements or maybe they have a longer fixturing period, maybe they are able to save on the rent if they're investing, or the landlord will put more money into it. So that really really helps when you come to it with a plan. And then I'd also say we're really trying to bolster up clinicians in particular, so anyone in the medical paramedical field, clinicians in particular, so anyone in the medical paramedical field.

Speaker 3:

They may not know this, but to commercial landlords you are like a tier one client. They want you in your space because you run a very stable business, and so we want people to feel confident that what they're bringing to the table is something really, really advantageous to the landlord and to use that power that even if there's other offers or other people wanting to come in. Many, many businesses are quite fickle, but anything kind of in the medical sphere is considered an incredibly stable business and they really want you in that space. So just be aware of that and be confident in your negotiating power.

Speaker 1:

I love that.

Speaker 2:

I didn't know that, yeah. And then our final tip is and we've talked about this a lot is just understanding your brand. Have that brand flushed out, go through the process of really thoroughly developing the brand, whether that's independently or with a professional. That just makes all the following steps so much easier. And, as Meg said previously, that doesn't mean just jumping into aesthetics. It's more about focusing on how you want your clinicians and clients to feel as they walk through the space and create that brand experience from there.

Speaker 1:

And then can we talk a bit about low-high buying. What is it? What does that mean?

Speaker 2:

I'm interpreting it as like where am I investing more and where am I investing less? Furniture it's going to take a beating. It's going to, in most places, only last you X amount of time and you will be replacing it. We tend to recommend more investment in some of these custom pieces. They're more durable, they last longer and they also can become iconic to your space. They will stand the test of time and they really create almost like an artistic feature yeah, and customs are where people get really uncomfortable with, because they think it's very expensive.

Speaker 3:

Oftentimes, though, doing custom millwork in a commercial setting can be much less expensive than furnishing, and it also is a way more efficient way to use the space. So like, when you have a little odd nook, okay great, we're going to create some like retail shelving where you can sell product that otherwise that nook would go unused or you know.

Speaker 3:

So people can get a little bit uncomfortable with that, but when you do it and it's very durable, um, and in a commercial sense it's a lot more economical okay, and then maybe just to wrap up, what are your hot tips for using scent or sound or lighting?

Speaker 3:

We love the idea of immersing the senses as part of the experience. Now, that comes very different for very different people. So lighting is maybe our number one investment or tidbit of like it's going to make such a massive impact on how you want to regulate the people in your space and everybody needs lighting yeah, it's the component that we probably put the most emphasis on and really understanding like what is the vibe you're trying to create. Often lighting is a big component of what that is. For scent, that's a tricky one. Some places are like completely scent free, others like scent, like our olfactory sense is really tied to memory, so some actually use sense as part of their marketing. We have places where they have really nice hand soaps and then they sell the hand soap and then every time someone's at home using the hand soap it conjures up like a thought of the clinic they were just at like.

Speaker 3:

It's like really kind of sneaky marketing or like in my space I had this like unique diffuser blend I had created with oils but I would diffuse at nighttime so it wasn't an offensive, like there's scent coming at people while they're in the space. But I am not kidding. Every person who walked in the door was like what is this smell and how do I get it? And I was like it's my secret. But then again that like triggers, memory, touch and feel like textures. We really like to involve in a space different types of textures. All of that is part of the experience. The experience is not just aesthetics and what we can see.

Speaker 2:

It's really immersive of all the senses. You know what that makes me think of like. If you close your eyes, can you smell an abercrombie store? I can like you, walk in and it would just like hit you like a brick wall, right the smell, but I can still remember that there's a few stores like that.

Speaker 1:

Obviously Lush is like that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the body shop used to be like that also. You can smell that from like sage, 50 yards away.

Speaker 3:

Yeah sage, does it a clinic? We just did. They have like lemongrass. I think it's beautiful like you walk in and it's so comforting. So yeah, people can use that at their will thanks for tuning in to Radio Front Desk.

Speaker 1:

If you found this episode helpful, it would mean so much to me if you gave it a rating and leave a review letting me know what you think. And if you're a fan, you can subscribe to Radio Front Desk on Apple Music, spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.