Kyla Nievera, Negosentro.com | We live in a time when the majority of businesses work online. However, in spite of this growing phenomenon of digitalization, most businesses still require a physical location – either the product has to be physical or the community of employees is too big and their work is too dependent on face-to-face interaction to have them separated by a computer screen. If you count yourself among the entrepreneurs that own this kind of company, here are some things to consider when choosing a location for your business.
Before you do anything – sit and think
A lot has been written on this topic, and most of these informative articles begin with one simple question – what kind of business are you running? Sit and think about that before you start looking for a perfect location. Many people skip this step as everyone has some sort of, let’s be honest, infantile idea about an “archetype” of a perfect business location.
Therefore, many hot-headed entrepreneurs just go for a particular location without thinking about the logistics. It’s mostly about trying to get the most popular location in town, a place that looks “prestigious” or a building that fits your company’s mission perfectly but doesn’t have the necessary space for your product.
Start thinking about the relevant parameters
Your business exists in a dynamic market that requires overlapping with various factors or, if you will, parameters. For example, if you are in the retail business and you need to find the perfect location for your store, the most relevant parameter after the rent price is the traffic. You’d want your business to be near a boulevard or another much-frequented road, in a highly visible building that is easily approachable and has a parking lot with enough space for leeway.
Your customers are an enormous factor here too. You need to consider the demographics, age, and accessibility of what you are offering. The search for the right location will play out differently if you aim at local clients – it might end up being somewhere downtown, in the urban area, or if you want to cast a wider net – your business location can end up being outside of the city, between towns.
The size of your business is also a factor. You might end up needing to change its location due to the sheer enormity or speed of your expansion. This is why you might opt for a location that has several buildings available for rent, as the logistics of moving everything around can end up becoming a nightmare (but more on that later).
Watch out for the competition
Here’s your golden ticket – map out all of the businesses that might represent some sort of competition for you, and try to extrapolate where the best place to situate your company is, so that it’s as far from all the competitive hotspots as possible.
This is an especially important factor for restaurants and trade businesses, though you can argue that some competition between traders is actually good since it opens up the possibility of comparison shopping. On one hand, you have to learn the art of competing and on the other, your product might be so unique it’s not even a factor. This leads us to the next issue.
Count on those fruitful partnerships
No matter how lonesome your business might be and how unique your product is, you are bound to build some useful partnerships along the way. After all, no business is an island. One of the most crucial partnerships you’ll ever forge begins once you hire a dependable truck rental business that will help you move all the necessary equipment to a new location.
Furthermore, the best course of action is to keep cultivating this sort of relationship with one such business because private companies are known to change their location every three to five years, so you are bound to require their services every once in a while.
Likewise, if a need arises to separate the storage of your product from the administrative part of the company, you’ll almost certainly start depending on these truck rental services even more.
Once you’ve settled into the new place with your employees, the time will surely tell how good of a choice the location was. Sometimes, it’s impossible to know if the glove fits before your hand spends some time in it. Choosing the right location for your business is a serious endeavor. It isn’t only meant to fulfill the functional parameters of what you require, but also to look like a respectable place that represents your business. A good and appropriately designed location is half the PR.
