Business Cents
The subtle realities of ‘Location, Location, Location’
By Jim Schneider
Choosing a location for your small business is the key to your success, so we are all told. There are many factors that affect the success of the location, some of which we may think of as obvious, and others that may be more obscure. The obscure ones are the focus of this article.
The most obvious factors of location are the physical aspects such as the overall look of the storefront: windows doors and signage, as well as the position on the block (corner space or middle of the block), available parking and neighborhood demographics.
The more obscure factors are the type of businesses that surround your location and the strength and services of local business associations and the other merchants in the area.
Before you enter into a new lease or purchase a commercial property for your business, I strongly recommend that you spend some time to get to know the people who own and operate the shops around your potential location. You certainly want to ensure that you can have an open and friendly relationship with most of them as they can dramatically affect your success. You should be able to rely on neighbor merchants to refer your products and services to their clients and you can offer the same for them. It would be difficult if you found, after you open your shop, that you cannot work well with your neighbors.
The types of shops that are immediately near your location may be a great resource for cross marketing or referrals for your business. If you own a women’s clothing shop, for example, having a women’s accessories store nearby could be of great benefit to your sales. Working with the shoe merchant to stock similar styles that complement your clothing would be a great way to draw more clients to both shops. Advertising this unique pairing of shops would be excellent ways to share the cost of advertising while informing the public about this shopping convenience.
When considering whether to set up shop, seek out the availability of an active Chamber of Commerce or Business Improvement District. These types of associations are generally staffed to address the needs of the neighborhood merchants and can offer marketing opportunities, beautification efforts, assistance with zoning and permitting issues as well as many other technical assistance programs. Business Associations and Chambers of Commerce are excellent ways to pool limited resources (time and money) of individual merchants together to have a larger impact for the entire business district. Having an active association can greatly benefit any and all merchants by addressing the common concerns of the member businesses.
Jim Schneider is Executive Director of the Adams Avenue Business Association, www.adamsavenueonline.com. If you have ideas for this series of articles or would like to ask a question about small business, please email Schneider at aaba.jim@sbcglobal.net.
