Opening in a second city without signing a second lease

Address first

Start with a registered business address and mail handling. It costs little, it satisfies most incorporation requirements, and it gives your first local hire somewhere to receive equipment.

Desks second

Give the first two or three hires coworking access rather than an office. You will learn which days they actually come in, which is the number you need for step three.

Office third

Take a private office once the local team is stable and you know the peak-day headcount. By then the decision is arithmetic rather than a bet.

Keep the exit cheap

Every step above can be reversed in a month. That is the point: the cost of being wrong about a market should be a notice period, not a dilapidations claim.