The Importance of Location for Your Business

You’ve heard the classic advice, “Location, Location,” but is it actually true when considering to start your own business? Yes, but there’s a catch!

Steve Celona, Owner of Shaker Furniture (ShakerFurniture.ME) located in Scarborough, Maine, found choosing a location to be a major obstacle when starting his business. Steve knew it was all about location, location, location when jumping into business, and here is why.

Customers and Community

When choosing a location for you business, it is important to be aware of your surroundings. Is the reputation of the neighborhood your choosing going to help draw in business?

For Shaker Furniture, Steve searched for over a year looking for a location that would suit his business. The demographics of the location you choose have major potential to draw in customers or turn them away. Look to the Census Bureau’s website to help you analyze the demographics surrounding you.

Competition – complementary or competing

If your business is planning on relying on the local community to support you, take in account for the other businesses around you. For Shaker Furniture, Scarborough and the greater Portland area already brought in customers for anything from clothes, electronics to household needs, making it a reliable area to provide a constant flow of people.

Choosing Space

After deciding on a general area, you need to decide on a space that will suit your business needs and fit into your budget. If you’re opening a café, you can’t operate without a kitchen. If you’re opening a warehouse, you need the appropriate access. Studies have found that the sunny side of the street is commonly more desirable for retail shops than the shady sides, which is why the rent can be much higher. Aside from the Sun making people more optimistic and likely to spend money, the natural light helps showcase retailers’ goods better.

Also, the amount of traffic is another very important factor. There is a reason why Zara can be found on streets and corners with the most traffic, usually at the city center or big shopping malls. The sheer number of people makes it more likely that they will see the store, get intrigued and walk in.

Shaker Furniture of Maine found a location that was big enough to provide them with their needs. They have a location with two floors and 10,000 square feet filled with furniture made from solid wood and American pride.

Local Labor Market

Depending on what business you are starting, it is important to consider the potential employees you can hire in the area. Luckily for Steve, “Maine has a reputation for quality workmanship, especially in the furniture field”. Maine employs 17,075 people in the wood product industry and exports $885 million. Wise choice, Steve.

Apart from labor it is important to consider the materials needed to build your product. Steve wouldn’t have been able to find the fine cherry, maple, pine and oak that is needed to create his hand-crafted furniture in other states as Maine as 89% of the state is covered in forest.

Brand Image

Depending on the image you want your business to portray, location can affect that. If you decided to open your childcare facility in an area with high crime rate, what would people think of your business? On the other hand, if your coffee shop is in the upscale part of the town, it automatically sends the message of prestige and exclusivity.

If we get back to Zara, we see that another part of their location strategy is getting as close as they can get to brands like Prada or Gucci. And for luxury brands like Prada, their retail strategy is to try to keep as far away from the likes of Zara as possible.

Future Growth: Here’s the catch!

If you are looking to expand your business past your diligently chosen location, it is imperative to have a location online.

Bringing the business online was an easy and effective way to multiply [my] potential customer base in a very effective manner.

When Steve asks showroom visitors how they discovered Shaker Furniture of Maine, “the two most popular responses are location and that we were found on the Internet.”

The Internet is a great place for low-cost media; in the furniture business Steve has found it to be more effective and less costly than other media they utilize. As a result of their online presence they are able to ship their products all over America.

There are lots of aspects to consider when starting your own business but after lots of planning Steve has been able to control his own destiny and business in Maine. Building natural products, he found .ME to be a natural fit as he “wanted to take advantage of the quality Maine furniture making reputation the state enjoys. The .ME domain reinforces that connection.”

[domain-boxes title=”Let .ME bring your love for your business online.” text=”” placeholder=”Your Domain” color=”1b8e0f” button=”Search”]