1. Rent / Own Your Future Location
A good franchise starts with a good location. You may want to rent a place, or you could invest in buying the right location. Owning a commercial location can be a lot to manage, so if you aren’t sure about your first step, be sure to ask for help. There are various sources online that can help you understand the different leasing options and classifications of locations that will affect your rent / operations costs.
2. Location
Obvious as it is, but the right location remains very critical. In today’s day and age, accessibility via car is essential for maintaining relevance. Some food franchises will also need drive-through capabilities, so having a direct connection to a main road may be required.
How visible does your franchise need to be? If your franchise is not in a mall and relies heavily on drive-throughs, is this right location visible from the street?
Most notably, are there additional offices or workplaces nearby? This could mean steady, repetitive stream of customers coming to your location during their breaks / casual meetings.
3. Size
Planing to start and stay small? Or do you have plans to expand? These questions regarding size should be on the top of your mind when choosing a location. Small space can stop from delivering amazing customer experiences. Bigger than needed space means more operating expenses which will eat from the net profit.
4. Reachable, Accessible, and Plenty of Parking
No matter what, no parking space is enough! Still, you need to know how many cars can your nearest parking lot hold? Do you need to share the lot with other businesses? How bad is in peak times? How far is your location from public transport stations? Success of your franchise depends on the number of people you can get in the door.
5. Demographics
Understanding the demographics of your customers is very crucial. Do your targeted customers need what you are selling? Are they high-end clientele, or do you cater to lower-income guests? Apart from getting the actual data for age and income, you can sit outside near your potential location for a few days (or weeks) and take notes.
What kind of people do you see? Are they mostly older? Younger? It’s a good idea to do this on weekdays and weekends, to get a good feel of the type of people that would frequent the area. Is it a popular location on the weekends? Or does it thrive on commuters only?
6. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help
For granted, there will be things you don’t know or know how to do. First, study very well the services your franchisor offers. Some offer to to help you find a location or to assist you in negotiations when you find a place you like. In addition, they may also have data and insights into why specific locations work better than others.
Doing your due diligence and research can make-or-break any starting franchisee. There are plenty of factors to consider. Take the time to do your own research because even the slightest of oversights can cause you trouble afterwards.
Read also: 5 tips to find a suitable franchise location
Source: Franchise Manila website
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