Peter Aaron faced an unusual problem for a small business owner: too many customers. His difficulty was not with the people themselves but with the fact that they weren't all coming into his bookstore, located for 36 years at Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle.
Instead they were flocking to the many new shops, bars, and restaurants in the upscaled historical neighborhood. And they were hogging all of the parking spots. Aaron's target customers -- thoughtful folks who don't like frantic block-circling in pursuit of a parking space (think Frasier Crane) -- were staying away in droves.
So when his lease expired in 2010, Aaron closed the book on Pioneer Square and moved to the Capitol Hill area, where he found an accommodating new space and, just as important, 85 parking spaces that are either cheap or free.
"Business has been great since the move," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at the time. "We were dying in Pioneer Square."
If your business is ailing, or if you just need more space and you're thinking about a move, follow these three steps to make sure your relocation is successful:
1. Do your homework -- and your legwork. Obviously, you need to scout your new location to make sure it's right for your business. This means casing the interior space, as well as staking out the neighborhood to see who's shopping there, when they're shopping, and if they're your sort of customers. Aaron's relocation to Capitol Hill in Seattle has worked not only because there's plenty of parking there, but also because the area attracts all sorts of "alternative" communities, including that offbeat group of people who still enjoy browsing in bookstores.
There are potentially hundreds of factors that will affect your choice of location. Draw up a spreadsheet of all of your criteria and measure every space against it. How expensive is it? Does it have the square-footage you need now and that you might need in the future? Is the neighborhood safe? What's the landlord like? Who are the neighbors? How is the traffic (foot and car)? How close is it to major traffic arteries and public transit? Is there parking? Does it have the Internet bandwidth you need? Are there any economic-development benefits available in the neighborhood? Are there places in the area where your employees can enjoy a decent lunch? You should assess all of these factors and more.
The easy path to a new location is to hire an agent. But you're the one who will spend half (or more) of your waking hours in your new space. You should personally ensure that you'll be happy and financially healthy there. Besides, agents typically work for the property owner, not you, so keep that in mind.
2. Take your time and shop around. Finding a location that meets all of your needs could take months. That's OK. You've got time. Because you'll need time to hammer out a favorable lease. Negotiations are about leverage, and time will give you the leverage you need. (Unless you're, say, moving your auto-salvage yard from the rundown part of town to the more-rundown part of town.)
Don't set your heart on one space. Set your heart on several spaces. For each of them, prepare a request for proposal and send it to the landlord. Tell all of the landlords that you're considering other spaces, so they'll know that they're in competition for your tenancy. To move the process along more quickly, let them know that the first one to deliver a lease you like will get your business.
3. Ease your transition.Once you've settled on a new location, you can make your transition easier with a little bit of -- OK, a lot of -- planning. If your employees are going to help, assign each person an area of responsibility.
One of the most important assets in your old space is your connectivity: phone and Internet. Obviously, it will be just as important in your new space, and you can make sure it's not interrupted by setting up your phone and Internet connections and troubleshooting them weeks before you actually occupy your new location. Yes, you'll spend a little more, but these connections are your lifeline. Consider paying an IT consultant to help you install and/or improve the networks in your new space.
You know the old saying: marry in haste, repent at leisure. The same is true in choosing a new location for your business. So take your time, attend to the details, and, like Seattle bookstore owner Aaron, you'll live happily ever after.
By Tim Devaney and Tom Stein,
No comments:
Post a Comment