by Tracey L. Howard

Created on: July 16, 2007

You've decided to open your own business. You've done your homework and you know your market, financials, projections and competitors. You're in the process of securing funding and you're looking for the perfect site. You've heard that location is everything, but you're not entirely sure that's true. And even if it is, you don't have an unlimited budget. Should you hire an expert to help you find the perfect location?

Even if you do choose to retain outside help, the ultimate responsibility for site selection rests with you. You have to know and be able to evaluate the essential factors in choosing a location. Criteria used in selecting a site include: industry norms, square footage, atmosphere, demographics, neighboring stores, geography and cost. If you're opening a franchise you'll also have to take the franchisor's guidelines into account.

YOUR INDUSTRY
Before you choose your location, look at your industry and your product. Is it something that requires a brick and mortar location or can it be sold over the Internet? Do you require a large space or will renting a single office be adequate? Assuming you are looking for brick and mortar, where do your potential customers shop today? Is this a unique product or service they'll make a specific trip to get (making you a destination stop) or something that's more of a commodity? Are these trends likely to stay the same for the next 5 years or is there a move to go online or sell via catalogs?

YOUR TERRITORY
Get a map of the area and study it. How big is the territory? Are your customers concentrated or spread out? What's the traffic flow? Where are the big interchanges? What's accessible and what's not? Is it a city that's growing or declining? Do people live and shop there or is it mostly commuter traffic? Are you looking at an area that's easy to get to or is across town and against traffic?

You can answer some of these questions through observation. Look at the cars in the area. You can learn a lot of demographic information about your customers by noting the type of car they drive. Spend time observing your competitors. Survey their locations and traffic flow. What seems to work? What definitely doesn't?

YOUR SITE
Generally, start-up business locations are found in community shopping malls or retail strip center locations. Large malls and mega-store outlots are too expensive for the average new business to consider.

Walk and drive your specific site. Is it safe? Easy to park? Inviting? Check with the City and find

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