Choosing a Successful Location for Your HDB Shop

Every business owner has to grapple with figuring out the location that will – or will not – contribute to the success of his or her shop, and choose a spot accordingly. Although there are many things you should take into consideration as you look for a shop for rent on Property Guru, there are a couple of things you should ask yourself when choosing a successful location for your HDB Shop.

The first step of choosing a house for your business is asking yourself:

• Is the location is that important to the success of your business venture?
• What type of location is ideal for your business?
• How much rent can you afford once you find that shop?
• Is the location you found appropriate for your business venture?

How Important is Location to Your Business

For some business ventures, the mantra is “location, location, location,” meaning that the location is what will make a big difference between a better bank balance or otherwise. However, for other enterprises, location is not as important as finding an affordable space to rent. In fact, in some businesses, location is irrelevant. For example, service-based businesses with little public contact – Internet-based companies, wholesalers and mail-order companies – and businesses that primarily do all their work at their clients’ sites – plumbers and roofers – lay little importance to location. If such types of businesses can pass the rent saving to their clients and profit margin, a low-cost spot in an area that is out of the way might prove to be quite advantageous.

Picking the Best Location for Your Business

A profitable location is dependent on several factors that are likely to increase customer volume for your business. Some of the things you need to ask yourself include:

• Are customers coming in on foot?
• Are more customers likely to find you if you place yourself in an area with similar businesses?
• Is the reputation of a certain neighborhood or even the possibility of a new development in the area likely to bring you more customers?
• Are your customers driving to your business and do you have a parking area?

Remember, different business types attract their clients differently. There is a key distinction between foot traffic versus automobile traffic. For instance, if you intend to open a coffee shop, you might assume that the best location for your shop will be in an area with lots of pedestrian traffic during your intended opening hours. On the hand, a mechanic’s garage should be located along a well-traveled street where your business will attract drivers who can easily pull into the lot.

Also, consider why it will benefit your business to have it surrounded by similar business ventures in attracting the right kind of customer. Women’s clothing shops, for example, will no doubt thrive in areas where other clothing shops are, since many potential customers are more likely to spend more than a few hours in a certain area.

In the end, the location, for any business, is an individual matter. Take some time to figure out your potential customers’ habits, and choose a location that fits.

What is Your Rent Budget?

Chances are that you would prefer to rent rather than buy space for your business. Many start-ups do have the funds required to afford purchasing real estate, and it is not a good idea to tie down your business with high interest payments.

An important and obvious concern as you look into commercial space for leasing is locating that place your business can afford. As you projected your financials – in your business plan – you should have looked into estimates into what amount of rent your business can afford every month, considering projected revenues and other expenses.

To help you determine average rent in your area, approach local agents and brokers – they will work with you to find out what your requirement is. These professionals will give you the average figure for the cost of commercial space per square foot per year in your given area of interest. With this figure, you can compare it to other places you are considering. If you have not done so already, carry out research into the average rental costs in your area to ensure that the amount in your budget does make sense, considering the importance of location for your business and commercial space cost.

As you choose your business space, one of the biggest considerations is not about where it is, but what it is. The facilities within the building should be adaptable to your business needs. For example, a coffee shop will require minimal kitchen facilities. Unless you intend to and can convince your new landlord to install the needed equipment – in terms of electrical work, communications wiring, plumbing and others – laying out the cash yourself may not be worth it. In other words, if a building does not have something that is critical for your business operation, then you should probably start looking elsewhere.