Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/97183
When choosing a location, CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS: 1. 2. 3. Look at the outside of the premises. Are they visible to passing customers? Can you put up signage either on the building or footpath? What is the parking like? New Zealander���s are notorious for not stopping if the parking isn���t convenient. What size of premises do you need for what you are about to start? Remember, it���s better to have a compact well stocked business than something too big and looking half empty! And of course, you will be paying rent for that unfilled space. How far away is your business from home? Often overlooked, this is important, as if you are away from the business and relying on staff, you will almost certainly need to go back to work if a staff member doesn���t turn up or there is some problem at work. How long do you have to drive to do this? It can make a long day if you are miles from your business. For a woman alone, is the neighbourhood a good one? Will you feel comfortable being in a shop by yourself or closing up at night? If you are starting from scratch, is this where you see the business being for a long time? Perhaps it���s a good place to start, but you may want to expand either to bigger premises or start another outlet. Keep this in mind when signing leases. Always get good legal advice before you sign a lease to understand the small print and obligations of being a tenant. Is your rent in proportion with your possible turnover and not too much that you don���t make money! That���s what you have gone into business for isn���t it? 4. 5. 6. 7. Buying a business and finding the right location, either by yourself or with help, can be a minefield! This is a very important part of the decision in committing to what is probably a big change in your life. There are some things you should keep in mind when looking for the right location for your business. Firstly, you really have to understand the industry your business is in and assess if the location is truly suitable. If you are in retail and relying on foot traffic, you need to be somewhere where people do actually walk past your door! If the location you are considering is in a mall, your rent may be higher, the lease shorter, there may be a requirement to contribute to a mall marketing fund, compulsory refurbishments and more can be involved. Long term planning of funding is often required in these circumstances. Strip shopping mall leases can be lower, but are your neighbouring businesses synergistic with your product or service? If they are, group marketing can often lessen the load of advertising for you. If you are already in business, you may consider a ���pop up��� store for a temporary location to sell your products. Make sure it���s well priced and has a good location where lots of potential customers will know or see you while you are there. Malls in particular sometimes look for temporary leases for empty sites and will do a good deal. Do your homework first though. After lots of hard work you want to have made a profit. Remember in these situations you have to comply with mall hours and it���s hard for a one man band to be working seven days a week full time without a break. Part time staffing may have to be taken into consideration. Also, are you the only one of your kind in the mall? You don���t want to find out you are competing with someone else selling a similar product. If by some chance you are starting a business within a franchise system, then a lot of this hard work will either be done for you, or you will have the help of the Franchisor in choosing the right site. They want you to be successful and using their experience will help ensure to find the right site, negotiate good lease terms and organise your fit out etc. Hopefully these practical hints can help you make an informed decision on finding the right premises for your new adventure. Above all, get good advice before you sign the dotted line. Laurel McCulloch www.linkbusiness.co.nz www.h e rmagaz in e .co.n z | 45