Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
There isn’t any excellent components for locating the correct location for a franchise enterprise; it is half artwork and half science, and the wants of a restaurant model will lead that franchise to a special search than, say, a enterprise consulting agency. However it doesn’t matter what business you characterize, the mission is identical: Keep true to your mannequin and perceive your visitors so your new location will create the identical expertise they’ve come to count on all over the place you use.
Listed here are 4 important steps that must be a part of your search course of:
Make the most of native actual property brokers
The native brokers will probably be much more vital in case your franchisor would not have a devoted actual property group that will help you decide in case your potential location can assist your franchise. However even a company group cannot know each market in each state and city. One in every of your native managers’ jobs must be to construct nice relationships with the business brokers in that market.
As you start your search, make a want checklist of all of the options you need in your new location and group them into Tier One and Tier Two websites. Tier One areas could have all of the vital areas you want, like substantial foot site visitors for those who count on loads of walk-in enterprise or ample parking for those who count on visitors to drive to you. Tier Two websites will checklist the must-have components and point out what you may give up.
Associated: Explore the full 2025 Franchise 500 list, complete with category rankings.
Dig into the demographics
Market information is crucial in judging the place to plant your franchise flag, and site visitors is among the most important information factors. However do not simply ask for uncooked numbers. Discover out when the site visitors flows to and from your corporation. Should you’re an leisure venue, you will not need probably the most frequent site visitors to be driving away from you at night time. If you would like your espresso store to draw morning commuters, you do not need to be greater than a block or two away from the subway or prepare station.
Your location also needs to be simple for drivers to enter and depart, which I name “the true property inside the true property”. There are nice way of life facilities, however there is a distinction between being within the again, virtually hidden, and being proper close to the principle entrance so visitors simply have one flip and so they’re in.
That is why you may’t count on a spreadsheet to let you know every little thing. Get your actual property group right into a automotive and have them drive a three- to five-mile radius round the place you hope to open. What does the market really feel like? How is parking and the entry to it? Is the location well-maintained and frequented by severe shoppers, or does it appeal to lots of people simply hanging out?
Associated: The One Factor the Top Franchises of 2025 Have in Common
Submit a number of letters of intent
Do not wait till you’ve got chosen a finalist earlier than speaking with the property house owners. You may be in a greater negotiating area while you put out three or 4 letters of intent, hoping to get one or two down. With extra choices, you will not be determined to make a deal.
If you finalize an settlement, make certain an actual property legal professional checks all the small print — your liabilities, your covenant, your ensures and different authorized points — so it is as a lot in your favor as attainable.
Be aggressively affected person
My motto has at all times been “Be aggressively affected person.” Have a look at as many locations as attainable and be affected person as you search.
After I’m searching for a brand new Ford’s Storage location, I provide you with that two-tiered checklist of options I would like. Tier One has every little thing, and Tier Two has what I should have and what I can do with out. I do not instantly accept a Tier Two spot if I am unable to discover a Tier One instantly however preserve searching for my perfect. I do not need folks’s notion of our model to be a Tier Two model of our Tier One model. So, I make certain we’re affected person to find the correct location.
It may take us a great six to 9 months to search out the correct place if nothing is on the market while you’re first trying or if there’s loads of competitors. However while you lastly open up in exactly the place you envisioned, with all of the options and facilities you dreamed of, it is definitely worth the wait.
