Non-legal Considerations
There are so many non-legal or business considerations that go into selecting a business location. I will be brief with these, as how each impacts your client will depend on your client’s industry and goals.
- Competitors – Where are the competitors located? Does your client really want to set up a coffee shop next to Starbucks?
- Accessibility – This is important. Accessibility can mean for customers, delivery couriers/trucks, and employees. Accessibility can also address not just location but the safety, and available parking.
- Employees – If the entrepreneur requires skilled employees, is the location going to be one that skilled people will want to move to/or work at? For instance, will aerospace and electrical engineers want to move to northern Cumberland County, Pennsylvania to work or is it better to be nearer to a city like Denver, Colorado?
- Customers – Where is the entrepreneur’s target market? Will this location appeal to them?
- Community – Will the community embrace your entrepreneur’s business? Community members are potential customers but they are also potential troublemakers if they don’t like your client’s business. I’ve seen many yard signs attempting to stop warehouses and landfills from communities. I know of instances where community members have gone to the township building to block businesses. So, not only can community support matter from a customer or employee standpoint, but also from just being able to start at all.
- Renovation Costs – When the location has been selected, what kind of renovations will need to be made? Can the client afford them?
💡Pretend you are starting a company in a physical location, what other costs can you think of?