Choosing A Business Location
Choosing a location for business is an essential part of a business plan as your profit mainly depends on it. Consider the following criteria.
- Know your business.
In order to choose a business location ask yourself a question: “Do I need walk-in customers or can I deliver them the products they need?”
- Find your customers.
You should identify your customer base (create a demographic profile). Once you do so you’ll be able to find the right location. In other words if you intend to open a sports store, open it near an athletic center as people will come in to buy what they need. Here’s another example–if you’re planning to open a stationery store, open it in an area close to a university or office buildings.
- Get to know the community.
Before you set up a business in a particular area, read about it as much as you can. Ask other businessmen in the same area if they’re satisfied with their location. Also find out how much the taxes are in the area.
- Scope out the competition.
That’s rather important. For instance, if you’re going to open a jewelry shop in an area where there are already many of them, you will hardly be able to complete, especially considering that you’re a start-up business. So choose a place with limited competition. Otherwise, you will need to offer something that your competitors don’t.
- Consider traffic and accessibility.
Your business location should be easy-to-access. And it’s very important to have a parking area not far from your business location. Preferably the location you choose should have high foot traffic.
- Building quality.
Consider the construction quality of the building in which you want to run your business (for instance electrical wiring and plumbing). Don’t forget about the age of the building either. Pay attention to interior and exterior design. The building you choose should suit all your requirements so you won’t have to pay high costs of remodeling.
- Balance cost with other factors.
If you find a business location that is not centrally located, don’t rush to rent or buy it. You need to think first about who will actually go there to do business. In today’s competitive market, customers won’t bother to go out of their way if they can do business locally. Location is key–it’s better to pay for the right place to yield a high profit cost afterwards.
Photo © davidgutierrez photography
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