Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
There isn’t any good system for locating the best location for a franchise enterprise; it is half artwork and half science, and the wants of a restaurant model will lead that franchise to a special search than, say, a enterprise consulting agency. However it doesn’t matter what trade you symbolize, the mission is similar: Keep true to your mannequin and perceive your visitors so your new location will create the identical expertise they’ve come to anticipate in all places you use.
Listed below are 4 important steps that must be a part of your search course of:
Make the most of native actual property brokers
The native brokers shall be much more vital in case your franchisor would not have a devoted actual property crew that will help you decide in case your potential location can help your franchise. However even a company crew cannot know each market in each state and city. One among your native managers’ jobs must be to construct nice relationships with the industrial brokers in that market.
As you start your search, make a want listing of all of the options you need in your new location and group them into Tier One and Tier Two websites. Tier One places can have all of the important areas you want, like substantial foot visitors for those who anticipate quite a lot of walk-in enterprise or ample parking for those who anticipate visitors to drive to you. Tier Two websites will listing the must-have parts and point out what you can provide up.
Associated: Discover the total 2025 Franchise 500 listing, full with class rankings.
Dig into the demographics
Market knowledge is important in judging the place to plant your franchise flag, and visitors is among the most important knowledge factors. However do not simply ask for uncooked numbers. Discover out when the visitors flows to and from your small business. In the event you’re an leisure venue, you will not need probably the most frequent visitors to be driving away from you at evening. In order for you your espresso store to draw morning commuters, you do not wish to be greater than a block or two away from the subway or prepare station.
Your location also needs to be straightforward for drivers to enter and depart, which I name “the true property inside the true property”. There are nice life-style facilities, however there is a distinction between being within the again, nearly hidden, and being proper close to the principle entrance so visitors simply have one flip and so they’re in.
That is why you’ll be able to’t anticipate a spreadsheet to inform you all the things. Get your actual property crew right into a automotive and have them drive a three- to five-mile radius round the place you hope to open. What does the market really feel like? How is parking and the entry to it? Is the location well-maintained and frequented by severe customers, or does it appeal to lots of people simply hanging out?
Associated: The One Issue the Prime Franchises of 2025 Have in Frequent
Submit a number of letters of intent
Do not wait till you have chosen a finalist earlier than speaking with the property house owners. You may be in a greater negotiating house while you put out three or 4 letters of intent, hoping to get one or two down. With extra choices, you will not be determined to make a deal.
While you finalize an settlement, ensure an actual property legal professional checks all the main points — your liabilities, your covenant, your ensures and different authorized points — so it is as a lot in your favor as attainable.
Be aggressively affected person
My motto has all the time been “Be aggressively affected person.” Take a look at as many places as attainable and be affected person as you search.
Once I’m on the lookout for a brand new Ford’s Storage location, I give you that two-tiered listing of options I would like. Tier One has all the things, and Tier Two has what I should have and what I can do with out. I do not instantly accept a Tier Two spot if I can not discover a Tier One straight away however hold on the lookout for my excellent. I do not need individuals’s notion of our model to be a Tier Two model of our Tier One model. So, I ensure we’re affected person find the best location.
It could actually take us a very good six to 9 months to seek out the best place if nothing is on the market while you’re first wanting or if there’s quite a lot of competitors. However while you lastly open up in exactly the place you envisioned, with all of the options and facilities you dreamed of, it is definitely worth the wait.
