JANUARY 2015 BCBusiness 27 pete RYAN
intel
S
ay the word three times and
the ideal location still won't
magically appear. Businesses
need more than just the right
address to know where to set
up shop. Choose right and clients will
beat a path to your door, sales will pick
up and the competition may even pack
up and leave. Pick the wrong location
and no one knows your business
exists. Collier International associate
vice president Derek May; John Lecky,
principal at Avison Young; Michael
Olshansky with Maurice Sporting
Goods; and real estate marketing guru
Bob Rennie offer some advice on how
to know if the location is right.
understand your customers' needs
Bob Rennie recounts the case of
a recent development in Mission
that wanted to brand itself to new
homeowners as Mayberry, the fictional
small town setting for the Andy Griffith
Show. "No one under 30 knows what
Mayberry is. There's what we think
we are and what we really are," says
Rennie. Pick a location that shows you
understand your customers' needs:
"If you're opening up a yoga studio, is
there a juice bar next door or a burger
place? If you're Louis Vuitton, you
should be where Hermès is located."
The right location allows you to
attract employees—and spy on
competitors
Your employees are going to want
a good coffee shop, a place to eat
lunch and reliable transportation.
"Remember, people will be spending
more time at work than anywhere else.
At the beginning of the day, are they
going to arrive feeling good—and leave
at the end of their day not stressed
about the commute?" says Derek May.
For these reasons, many industries
cluster around certain downtown
districts, such as technology startups
in Yaletown and Gastown. Being in
the hub gives you certain advantages,
including poaching from a competitor,
says May: "Staff there are used to the
commute and the area and won't have
to drastically change their lives to work
for you."
Don't pick a location that makes
your suppliers and customers
go, Huh?
Michael Olshansky with Maurice
Sporting Goods Inc. already had a
warehouse in Mississauga when he
realized that he needed another,
in Metro Vancouver, for strategic
I t ' S y o u r
b u S I n e S S
The Sweet
Spot
How to pick the perfect
location for your business
by Petti Fong
R e a l e s t a t e
01/15
y
2 8 v i s u a l l e a R n i n g
3 1 C a l e n D a R
3 2 O F F i C e s Pa C e
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