Where you are going to locate your business is incredibly important when you are just starting off. The location can make or break your business idea and you could end up investing all of your savings and money from the bank into something that will not work from the very beginning, because you’re just not in the right place. You also need to take into consideration the demographic that you are reaching for and try to ascertain if these same individuals will be in the area where your business premises are. It really does depend on the type of business that you are operating and who it is that you want to sell your goods and services to.
If you started your business off online and now you want to make the move to an actual brick-and-mortar store then your needs can be much different as well, as you expand your enterprise and try to increase your customer base. You need to look at all of the options that are out there and just don’t think about renting or buying a current business property because there are other alternatives out there in the form of large farm sheds. Don’t let the name throw you off because this is quite simply a structure that you can easily set up your new business in and it can be erected in a very short space of time and it is made from the best quality materials that are out there. This is one thing for you to consider when trying to figure out the location for your new business and the following are some others.
- Figure out your location type – There are a number of options open to you like basing your business from your home and if you have the space around your property then erecting one of the sheds mentioned previously would be an excellent idea. If you want to go retail then just don’t restrict yourself to the standard places in the high street because if you have a good enough product or service then customers are willing to travel outside town where you have already constructed your farm shed.
- Think about your budget – Everything boils down to the amount of money that you have and renting in a shopping mall or on the high street can be an expensive proposition when it comes to paying rent and rates. You will find that there will always be some kind of hidden cost no matter where you intend to set up and don’t commit yourself to a specific area until you have talked to other business owners in the area.
- You need to pick your suppliers – It’s quite fortunate that there are a number of different vendors and suppliers out there not only in your local town or city but all across Australia that can offer you what it is that your business needs to operate. When choosing your location, however, you need to make sure that it is convenient for suppliers to find and to deliver to. You also need to consider the extra costs of delivery.
- The location needs to be safe & secure – There are many aspects of safety to look at here including yours, your business and your employees. Depending on the sector that you operate in, maybe your inventory is incredibly expensive and so you do not want to be basing your business in an area that has high burglary rates and slow police responses. You need to feel safe and protected when you are operating your business and so this is something that needs to be seriously considered.
- Figure out where the demand is – Clearly, you do not want to be basing your business somewhere where there are no customers. You also need to think about the competition in that area as well and so if there are too many competing businesses then it might be time to reconsider the location that you are currently considering. Try to base your business somewhere where there are other businesses around you that don’t sell the same thing as you do but that sell other products that complement them.
- Think about recruiting needs – As your business begins to grow, it’s likely that you will want to hire additional employees and so you need to be in an area where there are skilled people who will come to work for you. If it is your wish to locate your business outside normal business areas then you also need to make sure that there is transportation available so that employees can travel to and from work with relative ease.
- There needs to be suitable parking – It is no good having a business in the perfect location, having the cheapest and best products and services if there is no work for your customers to park when they come to visit. Ideally, you want to be able to offer them free parking at all times but if that isn’t an option and they have to pay then maybe you could think about validating their parking fees if they purchase from you.
The bottom line is that figuring out the best location for your business is going to take time and great effort on your part. There are many things that you need to consider like whether or not you want to pay rent or rates or you want to erect your own business property as was suggested at the beginning of this article. Consider what it is that you want to be in business for from your point of view but also try to take the point of view of your employees and all of those potential customers out there as well. You want to be able to hit the ground running when you open the doors of your new business so take your time and choose wisely. This could be a success story or a disaster, so choose wisely.
