Edmunds: What to ask when moving your business
Hello Gladys: I've had a home-based accounting business for the last five years. The company has grown significantly. I am ready to expand to offer more financial services. I also need more room for my four employees and I plan to hire more people. I have been given all kinds of advice from family and friends about selecting a location. Some have suggested that I locate to a place that has heavy traffic. Others have said that with all the technology available location used to be important but it is no longer significant and therefore doesn't matter. How do I choose the best commercial space for my company? — Marc
When it comes to the success of your business, everything old and everything new matters. And it all begins with what kind of outcome you want as a result of moving into a commercial space.
If you are just looking for a larger space with no concerns for customers, employees and even your own conveniences then the person who said location doesn't matter could be on to something.
On the other hand you wrote that you want to expand your services and hire more people. Therefore, several important questions can be considered.
Who are the people you want to reach in your newly expanded business? Location would play a key role if you want them to have easy access to you. Do you want them to be able to easily park and/or walk to your business? Visit the area that you have in mind at various times of the day to learn about both car and foot traffic. Traffic activities can be either a blessing or a curse for a business looking for foot traffic. I once learned this lesson years ago the hard way.
I was looking to open a second office and a friend said that she saw a for rent sign in the window of a storefront in a busy commercial area. Several people told me that I would do well in the space. Someone else told me that the community was up and coming and had a lot of activity. Even after I had driven through the area I too believed that it was a good move. I signed a lease and opened the doors for business.
I noticed that after several months and many marketing efforts, the walk-in traffic that I had hoped for wasn't happening at all. It was true that there was a lot of traffic. But the traffic was transitory. You see, that main street was the exit and entrance to and from the parkway and the traffic was just passing through. In addition, the street parking was not plentiful and was used mostly by the people who worked in the area.
And those who were lucky enough to find a parking space had a difficult time crossing the street due to constant flowing traffic and no stop signs or traffic signals. I ended up closing that office.
What about the folks who work for you? Will it be easy for them to get public transportation to get to work? Will those who drive have access to parking? Are there places to get lunch nearby? These considerations can encourage your new hires to come onboard.
These are just a few, but important things to consider as you prepare to move your business to a new location.
How you address these questions will matter significantly to the success of your expansion.
Gladys Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is an author and coach/consultant in business development. Her column appears Wednesdays. E-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com. An archive of her columns is here. Her website is gladysedmunds.com.