Tip one:
The first thing that you need to do is know your business. Some things to consider when looking for a location for your small business are: Will customers visit the location? Do you expect to have walk-in business or will your customers call ahead for appointments? Does your business make use of natural resources? Will you be providing services that require you to visit their home rather than them coming to your place of business? How will you your goods be delivered? Do you have to follow certain zoning laws? The best way to be sure that you find the right place is to make a list of all of your business needs.

Tip two:
Next you should identify who your potential customers are going to be and how you can best meet their needs. What you will want to do is find out as much information as you can about the population trends in the area that you are considering for your business. The U.S. Census Bureau is a great place to obtain this type of information. By knowing who you are trying to reach for potential customers you can narrow down your locations by finding the location that provides the largest numbers of your potential customers.

Tip three:
Another thing you are going to want to do is find out about the community as a whole. You should talk to other small business owners to see if they are successful and if they think your business would work well in the community. You can also obtain information about the community through reading local newspapers and researching the local history at the library or online.

Tip four:
An important thing to think about when selecting the right premises for your small business is to know about your competitors. Of course this will have a greater impact on your small business if you plan on opening something other than an internet business. When finding out about the competition you are going to want to know how many other similar businesses are within the area and if there are can the market handle another business. You will have to decide if you can handle moving into an area already high with competition or if you would prefer to have fewer or no competitors around.

Tip five:
Another factor to take into consideration is the cost of the building, either rent or purchase price. You are going to have to make sure that you are going to be able to afford the building and still run your business, keep in mind that prime locations tend to cost more per month than other less desirable locations. But even if it is a lower price you still have to weigh in the other factors such as traffic and accessibility for your customers or whatever else your business needs. Along with the cost of the building you are going to want to inspect the building to make sure that it is in good condition and that everything is up to code and that it can handle all of your technical needs.