When you buy a house, it’s all about the location. But you may be surprised to learn that the location you choose for your contracting business can also make a big difference. Finding a place that has a balance of opportunities and minimal competition will make it easier for you to get established. Here are several factors to consider to help you decide.

Cost-of-Living
One of the reasons that location is such an important part of deciding where to live is the ability to maintain property value over time. But this means that the most desirable locations tend to have a higher cost-of-living. That isn’t always the case, but here in California, you’ll find that it’s usually true. In certain parts of the state, it’s much more difficult to provide an income that will pay the rent much less handle all your bills or allow you to buy a home. This is probably the biggest deciding factor in where to locate your business. Because if you can’t afford to live there, it’s going to be harder to drive there every day.

Access to Workspace
How you run your contracting business depends on your field and the services you offer but also on your location. In many cases, you’ll need access to some kind of workspace that isn’t necessarily the jobsite. This means that you’ll need to do some research into what’s available for workspaces that you can buy or rent, that aren’t too far away from your home or your clients. Areas with a lower cost-of-living tend to have cheaper industrial spaces for rent, but they may also be fewer in quantity and further away than you’d like. You might have more choices closer to a large city, but you’ll pay more for the convenience.

Customer Base
Customers are the lifeblood of your business. If you don’t have enough customers, you may struggle to keep your business going. While you certainly don’t have to settle down smack dab in the middle of an urban area, knowing where your customers are coming from can help you pinpoint the best locations for you. If you’re not looking at areas with huge suburban sprawl, it might make sense to select something that is within reasonable driving distance of a few different cities. This allows you to expand your service area, without necessarily increasing your drive time.

Competition
Competition tends to increase the closer you get to a heavily-populated area, but so does the number of jobs. And in truth, this depends more on the market and your services than the actual location. That means that you can’t necessarily assume that a big city will have lots of competition for your business, or that a small town will have none. Do some research into the competition you are likely to find, and how well-established they are in the types of services you intend to provide. Spend a decent amount of time with this before you make a choice, because it will help you determine where you are most likely to find clients without having to fight 500 businesses for each one.

Long-Term Growth Potential
Even though locations are geographically stuck, you can definitely see where they are coming or going. You might look at a small town and see how it is going to become a thriving city within a period of a few years. This represents a lot of growth potential within a short period of time. On the other hand, you might also find well-developed areas that aren’t going to be growing much for the next decade or more. This often relates to population growth, but it doesn’t always. If you can find the places that will need qualified construction workers now and in the future, it will be easier for you to stay put once you get settled.

Finding the perfect place for your business may take weeks or months of research. But once you’ve found it, you’ll have a better time getting started. To find out more about what it takes to run a successful contracting business, contact CSLS today!