When you start any business, location plays a vital role in making it a success. The location needs to be thoughtfully selected keeping in mind your operations, customer access and delivery of product or services. You must search answers to some pertinent questions in choosing a location for your business.
1. To start with, find out how big is the area where you want to locate your business. Is it a shopping area with a number of malls and stores, or is it an area with very few shops and no competition for your line of business.
Also consider how convenient will it be for your customers to reach to your outlet. Find out if transport is easily available for making your deliveries.
2. Next thing to study about the location is to find out the type of people frequenting the area. If you intend to run a grocery business, there should be a sizeable population of families in that area. If you plan to open a stationery shop ensure that the area has commercial offices, schools and colleges. Your target market should decide your area. While conducting the survey, estimate the traffic of customers in the area. Customer traffic will decide the volume of your business. If traffic is very low, do not consider that location for business.
3. If you are getting a plot at cheaper rates, think twice before rushing for a purchase. Get more details of how fast and to what extent is that area developing or is likely to develop in the future. An area likely to take longer time for development may prove disadvantageous even if available at cheaper rates.
4. Estimate how much space you will require to run your business. The area estimation should include space for storage of products or goods, space for bill counter, storage of files, sitting place for staff and some open area for movements. Compressed space hampers smooth flow and customers avoid visiting such a place.
5. Depending up on your competing skills you should choose the location either nearer to your competitor or away from it.
Having pondered up on these points carefully you should now take help of a good real estate company brief your requirements and ask them to provide the location of your choice.
Selection of the right location is the first and most important step in your business career. Remember, well begun is half done!
