Question: What are the Steps in Finding a Business Location? Where Do I Start?

Finding a business location is a process of narrowing down. From the entire U.S., you find the city and state where you want to live, then you look at neighborhoods within that city, down to the exact spot for your business. Before you sign a commercial lease for business space, ask yourself these questions:

1. Where do I really want to live? Your first priority must be your personal satisfaction.

Don't choose a community based on population demographics alone; if you don't want to live there, you won't be happy, even if your business is thriving. Or if you have children and the schools in the community are not good, you might be sorry you chose that city. It might take more time to find a place to live AND work, but in the end, you will be glad you took the time.

2.Do I want to pay for rent, or for advertising?  Here's what I mean: If you have a great location with lots of foot traffic or drive-by traffic, you won't need as much advertising. If you have an out-of-the way location, you'll need more advertising. It's a trade-off you should be aware of because it makes a big difference in where you decide to locate.

3. How much space do I really need? Is it expandable? Real estate agents love to show you the biggest property (more money for them), but if it's not productive space, it will cost you more than you can afford. Do a calculation on the square footage cost for the space you are considering.

For example, if you determine that the best size for your store is 3,000 square feet, don't take a location that has 4,000 square feet. That extra 1,000 square feet will cost you each month and you won't be able to get additional income from it.

4. What are the traffic patterns? How easy is it to get to this location? People don't want to have to work to get to your location. So make it easy for them. Look at freeway exits and entrances, traffic patterns, anything that will block people from finding you. One suggestion I was told many years ago: Look for the nearest McDonald's and locate on the same side of the street. McDonald's and the other fast food places do extensive research on location, looking at the "going home" side of the street and other factors. Take advantage of their research by locating nearby.

5. Is there an anchor store nearby? Back in the late 20th century, when shopping malls were the place to go, each one had anchor stores. These were large retailers like JCPenney and Sears and the regional department stores. Two reasons: 1. These stores drive lots of people in, and they wander around and find the smaller stores. 2. It's easy to tell people, "I'm right next door to Sears on the top level." Today, the anchor concept is continued with Wal-Mart, Target, and other similar stores. Find a location that is near an anchor, so you take advantage of the volume of traffic, and so you can tell people how to get to your location "across the street from Target."

All of this work may not get you the perfect location, but it will help.

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