The biggest and most futile mistake one can make when starting out in business is having your business in the wrong location because when you’re in the wrong location you won’t attract the right consumer or the consumer that will be contributing to the growth and success of your business. The only way to have the business grow is to attract the right consumer who will then refer you to other consumers who will then contribute to your businesses success and sustainability.

Below is a list of Top 10 Reasons Why Location Is Important for Business:

1. Equipment and Space

Depending on what kind of business you are running every business needs enough space or the right amount of space for the equipment you use to run the business. To keep the production line going and in shape you need to have your business in the right location, the kind of location that accommodates the type of business you are running.

2. Convenience For Customers

The most important part of any business is most probably the customers. Your location must accommodate the people who bring in the income. Easily accessible and not too hard to find. The way the business is set up must also accommodate the customers. Where and how your products are set up is very important for customer convenience.

3. Parking

It’s better to have too much parking space than to have your customers parking two blocks away to get to your location. Choose a location that will allow you to have a large number of clientele at a time so business is not slowed down because there isn’t enough parking space.

4. Service and Sales

Your location determines the traffic of customers you have on a daily basis. The right location improves service and increases sales in a significant way.

5. Inventory

You need to know how much inventory your business will have to determine how much space is needed for it. Inventory determines space and how that space needs to be used.

6. Study

Your business is obviously dependent on customer traffic so you need to do a customer survey to determine what kind of customers you draw in and how your location will influence the customer traffic.

The most important decision an entrepreneur has to make when opening up for shop is choosing the right location. The location of a business can affect many aspects of how it operates, such as total sales and how costly it is to run. Run the necessary study before hand.

7. Accessibility

Location is very important for a business that offers their goods and services directly to customers. A business that is located in the mall specialising in cake making is more likely to make more money than a cake baking shop that’s down town next door a mechanics operating business.  A business with a store front on a busy street is more likely to attract customers with signs and store front displays than a business that is not in a busy area.

8. Competition Matters

The location of your business determines the competition you have. It wouldn’t make sense to open shop next to a business that sells exactly the same products as you do at a lower price. They already have a solid clientele basis and you would either have to attract new customers or have the magic to steal theirs. Choose your location keeping your competition in mind, trust me they matter. If your location is better than your competitors, you’ve got it in the bag.

9. Operating Expenses

The location of a business can influence the total cost of operation. Renting a store front on a popular street or in a highly trafficked mall is likely to be more expensive than opening a store in a small shopping centre in your neighbourhood. A business could be better off opening its doors in an area that is cheap and affordable, even if it results in fewer total sales.

10. Taxes and Regulations

The location of your business determines the amount of taxes you will need to pay to keep the business up and afloat. Choose a high end location expect to pay a high end amount of tax. Your location also determines what regulations you would need to run your business under, will those regulations e for your business or basically cripple customer traffic?

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