Читать книгу Start & Run a Gift Basket Business - Mardi Foster-Walker - Страница 17

The two most important areas for consideration in choosing a location for your new business are:

(a) choosing a particular community, and

(b) deciding on a site within that community.

Opening a new business in a community with a declining, static, or small population would not be a wise choice. Choose an area with increasing and expanding population, permanent industry, upward mobility, and a minimum of season-related problems in the workplace.

When choosing a location for your new business, ask yourself the following questions:

(a) Is the population large enough to support your venture? Studies have shown that a population of at least 50,000 is necessary to support a gift basket business.

(b) Is the economic base stable and able to support a new business?

(c) What percentage of people are employed full time?

(d) What is the average family income?

(e) Are new chain or department stores opening in the area?

(f) Are branch or head offices of large corporations or industries opening in the area?

If you are planning on running your business from your home, obviously you can’t choose your space in the same way as you would if you are looking for space to rent or lease. But you should still go through the exercise of asking yourself the above questions, because if your answers don’t support your business, you may want to rethink your decision of using your home as your base.

As well, even if you do decide to run the business from your home, you will still need to make sure that you do not violate zoning ordinances or rental agreements if you do not own your home. If you have space to run a home-based gift company, you should still spend some time researching the cost of office/studio space, which will give you an indication of what rental costs would be incurred if you ran your business in another location. Paying yourself the equivalent rent each month will give you a better indication of your profitability and the feasibility of future expansion.