Do you want to open a bakery business and need to know where to site? If YES, here are 10 factors that will help you choose the best location for your bakery.
It is a known fact that one of the factors that make a bakery profitable is the location of the business. As a baker, you may bake very delicious confections and sell them at the most affordable prices in the market, but if people can’t see your bakery and your edible goods, you may as well be baking for your neighbourhood.
This is the reason why bakers who intend opening a bakery business usually take their time to find out the best location according to the dictates of their wallets. If you’re preparing to open a bakery business with a storefront, putting your business in the proper location might be the single most important thing you do at startup.
Of course you need a winning product, too, but how will anyone know about that product unless you get them through the door? That being said, we will help you find out factors that would help you find a great location for your bakery.
10 Factors to Help You Choose the Best Location for a Bakery
1. Area Accessibility
Being accessible is one of the key things to look out for in a bakery location. If your business does frequent deliveries, you may have to look out for a location that has local transport links, particularly main roads and motorways.
Property rental and purchase prices are often steeper in higher density, more commercialised areas, so there are certainly cost benefits to seeking a more out of town location, providing your daily business operations won’t be hampered by poor transport links.
Equally, if you rely on high customer footfall, then ensuring your location is accessible by car, bus and even train will all be important considerations. Don’t forget your employees too; a good location is often a critical factor in recruiting the right people into your business, particularly if they have been offered several jobs and need to evaluate the pros and cons of each.
2. Crime Rate
Nobody would want to come and buy from you in an area where they would be always looking over their shoulders. Again, you would do your bakery business a great disservice if you situate it in an area where you an easily get mugged.
This can raise your insurance premiums, and also cost you more because of the additional security measures you need to take to keep your premises safe. So knowing the chances of crime in the areas you are considering is an important part of the decision making process.
3. Competition
Your proximity to other competing businesses could be crucial to your success, or even failure. If you are in close proximity with similar and related businesses, you could benefit from the fall-out crowd of buyers, who may even be your first customers.
But you have to beware that if the competition is much, it could stifle your business and shut it down. If there is too much competition, then it may be a warning sign to check out another location.
If you have an element of your offering that is unique or offers some kind of new innovation, then choosing an area that already has a ripe market could be the ideal way to pick up customers very quickly and establish a presence in a new area in a relatively short time frame.
4. Foot Traffic
For many businesses especially a bakery, foot traffic is very important. Nobody wants to be tucked away in a corner where potential customers will pass him/her by. On the other hand, if your bakery needs confidentiality because of the things you make, you should opt for a low-traffic area.
Find an ideal location by monitoring the traffic outside a certain location at different times of the day and different times of the week.
Doing so is a great way of confirming whether the traffic meets your needs. To determine a particular area’s population base, you could do a site study. However, these can cost up to $25,000. Most people looking at their first bakery don’t have enough money in their budget for a professional survey.
5. Employable Labour
Skills are very important to a bakery business because you would need at least a hand to help you with the business. If you rely on skilled workers it is best to go to where there is a healthy bank of talent. Employees are often a business’s biggest asset thus choosing a location that’s lacking in required talent may be the start of your business’s downfall.
6. Potential for growth
Yet another thing to check out if you are choosing a location for your bakery business is if the location can be able to accommodate business growth or a spike in demand. Moving premises is a big upheaval and can be time consuming and costly.
A decision needs to be made as to whether the premise you are choosing is a short-term location or if you would like to stay there for the long haul. Consequently, a location’s flexibility could be a very important factor regarding the premises’ suitability for your business needs.
7. The major Demographics of the location
The demographic of your chosen location is another thing to check out if you are looking for a suitable location for your bakery business. If you set up your bakery in an area where people have majorly switched to natural foods, then you may find it difficult to turn a profit.
Secondly, you should consider your community. Is your customer base local, and does a percentage of it support your business or match your customer profile? When choosing communities that are largely dependent on a specific industry, you need to be careful because a slump can be bad for business.
8. Business Rates
Cash flow is critical as it determines the viable ability for a business to survive and pay its bills. Therefore, it is important to research the average Business Rates including rent, utility bills and taxes in the area to ensure you can afford the premises.
Simple hidden costs such as deposits and whether you need to pay to park need to be found out before committing to a location. Estimating the living cost of the location will prevent a commitment outside your means.
9. Parking Access
Consider the accessibility of the location for every person who will be coming there. If you are on a busy street, is it easy for cars to get in and out of your parking lot? Your facility also needs to be accessible to people with disabilities. Which sort of deliveries are you likely to receive, and will your suppliers be able to access the facility easily?
10. Style of Operation
Is your business going to be formal or elegant? Your location needs to be consistent with a particular image or style. If you own a retail business, do you want a traditional store or an online store? This would inform the most suitable location for your bakery.