When it comes to opening a brick and mortar business, there are lots of things to consider. What type of business will you be opening? Perhaps you are opening a medical office? An auto repair shop? A boutique or clothing store? Maybe a specialty shop that features teas, coffees, candles, or other novelty items? Regardless of the type of store you are opening, you will need to have an understanding of the location and structure of your brick and mortar business.
Doctors’ offices that feature emergency care services or cosmetic surgery centers will do well in stand-alone brick and mortar buildings for convenience and parking. These medical practices will need dedicated staff, necessary medical equipment and products, such as surgical glue, and other supplies patients may need to use as well as comfortable waiting rooms and convenient hours of operation.
An auto shop would obviously be best in an open, free-standing building. The ideal location would have plenty of parking for customers, vehicles once they are repaired, and employee parking. The location should be easy to access and the structure should be large enough to allow for all your repair services.
If you want to start a boutique, you need the right location. Boutiques as well as specialty novelty shops do very well in strip malls or in downtown areas. The reason why these types of locations are best is the foot traffic they will experience. The rent may be a bit higher, but the number of customers will also be greater. People visit strip malls and downtown shopping districts to go shopping. This means they are intent on visiting your shop for a reason. You will want bright window displays and accessibility for all.
Goals to Focus on When Opening a Brick and Mortar Business
- Establish an ideal location
- Acquire a location that is accessible to customers and patients
- Set up your storefront in a welcoming way
- Set a financial goal and meet with a financial advisor
- Increase your business online presence to extend your client base
- Encourage local online clients to visit your brick and mortar business by hosting open house events
Location is definitely one of the best goals when it comes to opening your brick and mortar business, but beyond the ideal location, another great goal to achieve is an extensive customer or patient list.
Once you have achieved a great location, necessary supplies, a reliable staff, comfortable atmosphere, and convenient hours, you can set other goals for your new business. These goals will most likely be outside of the realm of the obvious.
You will want to establish savings and investment goals. In order to do this, you will need to talk to your business financial advisor. You may also want to expand your online presence and establish a social media and online presence. If you find yourself bogged down by all of the new activities taking place at your new startup, you can consider hiring someone on a part-time basis to run your online social media accounts.
One goal that you should definitely set when you acquire a social media presence is to increase your customer base. By crowdsourcing, using pay per click advertisement, and engaging your customer base, you will quickly grow your online presence. You can utilize your online presence to then bring customers and patients into your brick and mortar business. Advertise specials and promotions that you are featuring in-store only. You can host open house events that have snacks and special coupons. You can also offer raffle tickets to those who bring a guest to the open house event or who share a social media post to further expand your client base.
While these are all fantastic goals to have for opening your own business you will also need to prepare in advance. Most people cannot just decide one day to open a business and make it happen quickly. You will need to research, learn the demographics, focus on saving, and acquiring vendors before you are able to open your brick and mortar business.
