Business Perspective: The importance of location for your business

A friend of mine opened a multi million clothing business, and at the first look at her shop and offices, she knew that she was on the right path to greater success. All this she communicated to me through email and I could read excitement in every word she mailed to me. Last week as I went to attend the funeral of my mother-in-law, I decided to take a detour a day after burial and visit her.First thing my partner and I noted as we got to the premises where her business is located is that there was no parking space. We had to go back to the shopping centre to park the car and headed back on foot. Even before greeting my friend, I decided to take the bull by its horns. This is a very wrong location for your business, I told her; for the many obvious reasons that she herself had not given a second thought, in fact as we kept on talking she owned up that she is not getting as many clients as she had envisioned when opening the business. The right location is very critical to the success of most businesses. When putting up a business it is very important to check the suitability of the location because it will be reflected in the volume of business to be done. Sometimes when a person is in a hurry to open up a new business they never think twice about the location, but there are many factors to take into account when making a decision about the location of your business.The first thing to be put into consideration when looking for a business location are of course the customers. There is no business without customers; you need to consider the availability of transport and the neighbourhood where the business is going to be located. For example if one is planning to open a high end clothing boutique, it will not make sense if the shop will be located in some slum in the middle of nowhere. Important things like parking space need to be looked into. It will not make sense to locate a business where there is no parking space for your clients. What will happen to the clients who have cars? Nobody wants to leave their car where they know it will not be safe. The easy access of public transport should also be considered for people who are not driving. Clients should not be forced to walk long hours to come and give you business. It always makes sense when a business is located in a more accessible location where clients will find it easy to come and give you business.The facility where the business will be located should also be thoroughly checked before any lease agreements are signed. It would be very unreasonable if a business person will open his business in a building where important facilities like the washrooms are not in good order. And in the case where repairs are needed, this should be discussed and done right away before occupying the said premises; otherwise chances are that the repairs will never be done once payments have been made. All these factors should be considered before someone decides to open a business. Because your business address can be the first thing people will ask for, and it can say a lot about your business. First impression is always the last- otherwise you will only have yourself to blame when you close down your business because of the location. kayitesius @yahoo.com