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does a shop location matter when setting up business?
I’ve recently been looking at re-locating my shop to a location which is on a main road, nice sized unit 1500sq ft with (I’ve counted, sad huh) at lease 30 passing vehicles a minute.
I know this may sound obvious but do you think it will make a difference as in potential customers ‘popping in’ for a quote and generating more leads?
My current location is on an industrial estate but we’re quite tucked away and can be hard to find. Is there anybody else on here situated on a busy main road or the like and wouldn’t consider moving?
Is it all about location or how many Sunday mornings you are prepared to post flyer’s through letterboxes?
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13 Replies
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I had a main road location before I moved to my present location. On the main hwy between Brisbane and Gold Coast. Thousands of cars per hour, but it didn’t translate into customers for me.
Being able to park easily, is an important factor. If they can’t park close to you easily, they’ll lose interest if they have to walk a bit to get to you.
Rents in those sort of trafic corridors are usually much higher too, so you have to be sure you can generate the business.
I’m now in the back blocks, a dead end street with no passing traffic. But I work hard to get referals with the quality of my work. I also make a big deal about going to the client, so they don’t have to find me.
Works for me, It didn’t happen overnight, but now I get the bulk of my work from referals and advertising on my van.
Hope that helps.
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The rent is a wee bit cheaper much to my amazement so a saving there. I thought due to the location it would be a lot more. It has it’s own car park for 8 cars at the front and is easy enough to get to.
My thinking is as it is more visible, cheaper and a dam sight easier to heat, what do I have to loose? The unit I’m in now is 30 yrs old and subsiding, a nightmare for getting lettering straight as all vehicles tilt to one side!
I suppose wherever you are, backstreet or main road, you’ll only ever get back from your business what you put in….
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quote WillPlane:The rent is a wee bit cheaper much to my amazement so a saving there. I thought due to the location it would be a lot more. It has it’s own car park for 8 cars at the front and is easy enough to get to.My thinking is as it is more visible, cheaper and a dam sight easier to heat, what do I have to loose? The unit I’m in now is 30 yrs old and subsiding,
There has been much discussion on this subject Will.
Reading what you have said, it sounds like a good deal and I think in this present climate we are going through we need all the exposure we can get.BUT..remember you will be getting more people through the door including the general public who may be enquiering about a sign worth no more than a tenner but will want to stand and chat about it for an hour.
If you work on your own or just a couple of you, valuble working time could be taken up with time wasters.
I think if you have a strong client base it doesn’t matter where you are based. In this instance though it might sound like a good move and could open up different avenues ie, t-shirts etc.
A few people on here are in main road shops I think, would be interested to hear from them.
Good luck if you decide to go ahead.
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I agree to your comments…I see it as a calculated ‘punt’ & the given greater exposure it would allow me to get a few more irons in the fire so to speak (I want to explore printing, business cards etc) as the front of the shop would be my advert. The ££’s I spend on advertising to direct traffic to my place currently adds up nicely over the year as well so I see a saving here as well as the initial rent on the new place..
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We have a main road position and would not like to change that situation.
As said you do get a lot of time wasters but depends on the work you do.
As well as all the usual signs we also do car graphics and number plates.
I Think you definitely need a shop if your dealing with The public because if its on a trading estate then most people think your trade only , and a shop they can look into is much more welcoming. -
The two Martins make some very good points.
Clearly your market is different to mine. We don’t do number plates here for instance, that’s strictly controlled by a government license here.
I made the decision a long time ago to get away from joe public walking through my door looking for a small signs and car graphics…. mainly because a lot of the franchise shops are setting up in our shopping centers here, targeting that market, and its hard to compete on that level against those sorts of companies. Also, we have specialist sign shops that only do car yards and car graphics, so they are better equipped to service that market too. And, having boy racers trying to outdo other boy racers in the graphics scene, is just not my style. I’m getting too old for all the drama 🙂 They are worse than little girls sometimes. 🙂
I think the opportunity of a shop front, for less cost than your present situation is certainly something worth considering.
Sounds like a good idea I guess.
Best part about not being in a high traffic area is I can take a day off during the week, or go home early, and no one will notice. 😉
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My advice would be don’t do it. Far better to concentrate your energy in generating quality enquiries rather than deal with a high volume of enquiries many of which will undoubtedly waste your time.
We are situated in and industrial unit in a quiet corner of an industrial estate yet I still get pestered by muppets wanting "stickers" for their bikes and cars. If I was in a high footfall location I would undoubtably go off my rocker *hair*
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S’pose it depends on the market you want and have already.
‘Main Street’ passing trade is often, but not always, low value tat – and lots of work for not so much money. Too many ‘I want a sticker for my Corsa’ and not nearly enough ‘I saw your shop and I’ve got three vans that need doing’ – that can easily tie you up for lost hours on end per week making nothing on one-off customers with little more than a £5 in their pockets…all in the name of ‘being friendly / providing a service’.
If you can port over your existing client base I wouldn’t be worried – a change can be a good motivator for you to develop your business more.
Like a few others on here – the best marketing tool EVER is a reputation for excellence at a fair price. That’s in customer service, innovative design, suitable materials, slick installation & genuine aftercare…get that right & they’ll recommend you to everybody wherever you trade from.
If you think you can make a go of it and not lose trade because of the change in venue – why not.
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To be honest I didn’t think of the amount of time wasters being increased but I guess this is the risk I take.
My subtle tactic is to say to people that we’re commercial only, i.e. we only make business signage and then tell them of a great on-line auction site they should check out for their 6in Ducati tank sticker.
Then for the people who are in business that turn up and waste your time, well, If I knew that in the first place I’d be a very rich man right? -
Not sure about your ‘commercial only’ approach.
I’ve done more than a few ‘Joe Public’ jobs that were worth a fair bundle.
You might just want to have a minimum order charge to weed out the dross.
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Will, it depends on what you are marketing. If you do mugs, shirts, and all the usual retail store stuff then fine but if you mainly do commercial signs then a street based shop is typically likely to cost more than a better sized workshop elsewhere.
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Hi Will
I always enjoy reading the shop Vs unit threads as I sometimes wonder.. what if I had a retail shop front. .. . blah blah. .. . !
Here’s my take on it. .
I personally would consider the working environment offered by each location (shop or unit) before anything else. For example, at your current unit do you have the ability to drive vehicles inside and work undercover ?
Are you able to work late into the night without waking up the neighbours should you have an urgent order ?
Do you have good access for large delivery trucks etc ?
Do you have the staff to man a shop counter when you are out fitting / quoting / manufacturing ? Nothing worse than a shop with "back in 30mins" on the door !I look at some local sign companies with envy as they seem to have found great locations, Corner shops with fitting / manufacturing bays at the rear.
I know for fact that these retail locations generate good business for them.
However on a crappy day like today I’m very happy can drive a 7.5 tonne truck into my nice warm workspace and shut the door :). . .. not many shops can do that !Best of luck. . .and let us know what you decide to go for !
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I’ll keep you posted! Either way notice is now served at my current unit, sometimes you got to listen to gut instinct and that’s what I’m going with, I just got a good feeling about my new place. I’m currently in a 2000sq ft unit which is cold, dark and far away from the punters (yes this is all year round), get that cut off feeling and I really hate that. I know you can’t have your cake and eat it all the time but being self employed does open a few more doors occasionally, you dig?
It is another industrial unit (not retail) where I’m moving to, 1500 sq ft (smaller), nice layout etc, clearly visible as bang on a bypass with easy pull in access and 10% cheaper on the rent. One thing I haven’t mentioned is that half of my business is on-line via mail order graphics so I really only need a few local jobs a week to sustain all the bills etc, online is where I retail……locally I do not.
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