Find a Location – Small Business Hub: A Research Guide for Entrepreneurs – Research Guides at Library of Congress

Selecting a location for your business involves a variety of factors. The building itself may include certain amenities or perks, and there’s the decision to rent or buy. The location should be convenient to your target market and strategically placed in relation to your competition. If you are manufacturing a product for distribution, the location should be close to your distributors or close to transportation. Planning on an online-only businesses? Selecting a domain name and creating a user-friendly website are important for attracting customers, in addition to making sure your website is findable on major search engines.

Tips

Starting points:

1. Virtual location: Do a search to see if a domain name is available.
2. Physical location: Identify a region based on your market research that would meet a need in the area.
3. Physical location: Search LoopNet.com for commercial property.

Suggested strategies:

• Use searchable directories like ReferenceUSA’s map feature to find a geographic gap in the competition, or complementary businesses you want to be located near.
• Use SimplyAnalytics (a subscription database) or Census BusinessBuilder (a free website) to find geographic regions based on certain criteria. For example, if you are starting a daycare center, locate areas with families or near business with a high number of employees that do not have their own daycare centers.