March 12, 2011
1. Founder, Seth Berkowitz, says that opening an Insomnia Cookies store on a new campus “is a little risky, a little scary.” What steps should Insomnia Cookies take to evaluate the suitability of a college campus on which they are considering opening a new location?
Just like every business opening a new store, location is risky and scary. You have to consider your target market and product placement for that market. Insomnia Cookies target market is college students up late studying. They have to determine the kind of campus and the student’s routines for each College that they survey as possible location. The time and money invested in learning this information could be lucrative for them! Every business needs to consider the following when determining location: …show more content…
The space has to work for you, or it won't work. Remember, you're the one has to work there every day. Not on the 2nd floor of a previously working Dr.’s office!!! LOL!
Your customers? It also has to work for your customers, or it won't work. No customers = no business.
Your employees? This issue may not be as critical at first, especially if you don't have any employees yet. But the ability to attract and keep good employees will be affected by your location.
Strategic partners? While this may not seem like a big issue, the reality is that strategic partnerships happen more easily when the partners are local to each other. Why do you think that certain areas become hubs for certain types of business, such as Silicon Valley for the tech industry?
Potential investors or buyers? You may not even be thinking about that yet, but potential investors looking at the long-term value of the business will see location as an important factor.
Each of these groups has different concerns about the