In 2002, Bill Gates observed that there would soon be “two types of business. Those with an internet presence and those with no business at all.”
But even in these days of internet dominance, finding the right location for your business makes a massive difference to your chances of success. Gordon Selfridge, the American retail magnate who founded the upmarket London-based department store Selfridges in 1909, put it very succinctly when he explained the three most important factors in making sure his business was successful: “Location, location, location.”
Here are some key considerations when deciding on the best location for your business.
Visibility
You may need to maintain a physical presence near your customers. But that still doesn’t mean that you need to have all your business where your customers are. With city-centre locations often proving expensive, larger head offices are often located away from main hubs, with smaller satellite offices providing a good way to stay closer to clients and customers. Businesses can have a postal address, receptionist and physical presence close to customers, with a main base somewhere more cost-effective to service those customers remotely.
Infrastructure
Finding the right support network is vital for your business. Reliable, secure communications links, fast WiFi, printing and office support services are all vital for your business to flourish from day one. And if things go wrong, you can’t afford for your business to be out of action for long periods of time, so you will need an effective action plan to get things fixed – and fast. But you should also consider transport links, especially if you want clients or customers to visit your offices. You don’t want them walking down a muddy lane just to get to a meeting.
Financial incentives
You might want to choose a location where you can get financial help to hire people, or to train them. There are many local and regional schemes that offer financial aid to attract start-ups – often they’re in depressed areas where wages are low in the first place. And in some countries, lower local income tax rates make it very attractive to start up in particular locations. One of the reasons why so many tech businesses set up in Seattle is because individual income tax is zero in Washington State.
Staff retention
You need to be where there are people who you can hire to do the task you need. That’s one of the reasons why businesses in similar fields tend to set up in close proximity to one another. California’s Silicon Valley is one example, from the sphere of high technology. You may not want to offer them more money than your competitors, but you might well be able to offer them more flexible working, which can make you more attractive as an employer.
Virtual spaces
For smaller businesses, virtual offices allow people to work from home while retaining a more professional-looking image. As well as providing phone-answering services and an upmarket businesses address, virtual offices also open up multiple locations for meeting rooms, allowing businesses to locate themselves close to clients and customers, no matter where they are. By far the main benefit is allowing small companies to eliminate the expensive costs associated with permanent locations, while retaining access to professional city-centre offices.
