How to Set Up Your Business

Choosing the Site / Location of Your Business

Finding a site for your business is crucial. In the retail business, your sales potential depends on your location. Like a tree, a store draws its nourishment from the area around it. A store-owner is already half-successful if he sets up shop in a good place.

You must also be able to recognize factors in some sites that are detrimental to your business. Among these are: smoke, dust, disagreeable odors and noises, proximity to garages, hospitals, drinking places and similar establishments, poor sidewalks, and old, run-down buildings.

Some guidelines to help you find a good location:
a. Know the population of the trading area. Is the neighborhood starting to be run down? Is the population moving away? Or is it new and on the way up? Determine the purchasing power of the population. Do they own cars? Big, affluent homes?

b. Study the competition - How many stores look prosperous in the area? How many look as though they are barely getting by? How many similar stores went out of business in this area last year? How many new stores opened last year? What price line does competition carry? Pinpoint which stores will be your greatest competitors. If you intend to put up a variety store, you may find it profitable to locate your store adjacent to that of your competitors’ because the combined appeal of two or more similar stores creates greater customer traffic.

How to Plan Your Business

This is the first step that anyone should do in setting up a business: make a business plan. Without a business plan, the business would be like sailing without charts and destination. A business plan is your direction to keep you on track and to identify your goals and objectives. Having no business plan and poor planning are among the top reasons why new businesses fail.

Here is a guide how to make a business plan:

Determining Your Product/Service Line

Focus on what specific type of product or service you want to sell. Some of the factors given for consideration will help you come up with a great idea for a product – what specific field are you interested in? Can you apply your skills or background work experience to this field? Provided below are the different types of product/service lines:

1.Product Industries - You may choose to manufacture your own product, either for the mass market or for specialized or individual demands. Canned goods, wooden or plastic toys, and ready-to-wear garments are examples of goods produced for the mass market, while precision instruments for industrial use of made-to-order furniture are examples of specialized products.