Everyone loves the smell of a bakery throughout a neighborhood or business strip. One of the main factors of a successful bakery is its location. When it comes to deciding on a bakery location, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind.
There are ten factors needed to find the best location for your bakery.
- Accessibility
- Cost
- Crime Rate
- Competition
- Labor Availability
- Demographics
- Growth Potential
- Parking Accessibility
- Foot Traffic
- Service Availability
Each of these factors will play a role in helping you determine what the best location is for your bakery. You will need to have an understanding of these factors and how each can help/hurt your bakery.
Accessibility
The easier it is for your bakery to be accessible the better. When looking at locations, you want to scope out the setting of the area. Your vendors need to be able to easily access your bakery without blocking the street or taking up a lot of space in your parking area.
How much work will the location need to make it as accessible as possible for your vendors and customers? Is there a wheelchair ramp? Is the location easily able to be accessed from the main road or business strip? These are just a few of the many great questions you can ask yourself when looking for the perfect location for your bakery.
Cost
There is no surprise that cost surrounds every aspect of any business. You will need to verify that the rent or mortgage of the bakery location will fit comfortably within your budget. You will want to know what companies are available for all utilities and services for the provided location. It would be wise to learn the average cost of all the services in the area. This will allow you to determine if the location is cost-friendly for your new bakery.
Keep in mind, that you will have many additional costs for your bakery such as needed equipment and supplies. In most scenarios, it has been known that you will not only have to make the first month’s payment on the rent but also will have a deposit. You will also most likely have to pay deposits for utility and service companies to get the service needed to operate your bakery.
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Crime Rate
What does the crime rate look like in the given area? Has the crime rate gone up or down in the late five years? The lower the crime rate, the better for your business. Everyone wants to feel safe while visiting, working, or delivering supplies to your bakery.
How does the crime rate affect your business? For starters, it could be that your business insurance may be at a higher rate than you anticipated. If the crime rate is high in the chosen location, it could also cost you foot traffic and profit, not to mention additional costs for your security services.
Competition
Ever heard the expression, knowing is half the battle? As you search for the best location for your bakery, you want to learn what other bakeries are in the area. What is their most popular item? Why do people go to that bakery? What will you bring that will steer traffic into your bakery?
Are there a lot of bakeries in this area? What kind of things can you learn from them? Having other bakeries in the same place as your bakery is not all bad. It can also be a good experience. This can help you get fresh ideas for the market area or even help you with some sales tactics if you find that you are at a standstill with moving products.
Labor Availability
Labor is just as equally as important as clients and a profitable business. How many people are looking for work in your area? Is this location mainly for retirees, business partners, or residents? You will need to hire individuals to help you keep the business running smoothly.
Thus, picking an area where jobs are needed and where people are willing to work is a huge plus. Keep in mind that you will need people who will are experienced in your industry. As an option, you can even offer internships to high school students who want to pursue a career in baking.
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Demographics
When trying to find the best location for your bakery, you will want to research the area’s demographics. You will need to have an understanding of the community to be sure that this location is the best fit for your bakery. What kind of people are in this area? Does the customer base in this area fit the profile for your bakery style?
You need to understand the lifestyle of the people in the area for your bakery location. Knowing the primary food lifestyle in any given area will help you to determine if the place is a good fit or not for your bakery. If you do not complete your research on the area thoroughly, it can hurt your business.
Growth Potential
The growth potential of a given area is also an important factor of the location of your bakery. What does the economy look like in this area? Are business struggling or excelling? Are residents moving in or moving away? These are great questions to ask yourself as you are deciding on the best location for your bakery.
The primary goal is to look at the area and see if this area will allow your bakery to excel over the next ten to twenty years. You don’t want to open a bakery just to have to close it down five years down the road. Think about your long-term goals and where you see yourself and your business in the years to come when deciding on the perfect location.
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Parking Accessibility
The location of your bakery should allow for an easy parking experience. Parking should be smooth and allow your customers to transport as quickly as possible. If your business is in a busy part of town, you want to be sure that anyone arriving or leaving can easily merge into and out of traffic.
Another parking tactic is to have parking in front of your business, not on the side or in the rear. This will make it easier for people to get into the parking area and access your bakery without any hassle or trying to go around the block to find a parking space.
In bigger cities, parking lots tend to be small, or people must park on the street. There are parking garages in the bigger cities to allow people to be able to walk the business strips. This allows people to park their cars in one place and shop at multiple businesses at one time. If you are in a bigger city, try to park close to a parking garage so that on their way back to the car, from shopping, or leaving work, they can make that one last tasty stop before heading home.
Foot Traffic
Without foot traffic, your bakery will fail. This is why you will see a lot of businesses in business strips and malls. This allows for the business to maximize the foot traffic for their location. Another great idea for a business location would be to research buildings or suites near a park or community vendor center. These areas will allow for increased foot traffic for your bakery. Get involved with any school events. Foot traffic will need to be completed from time to time, so do not forget to have specials and host your own events.
Service Availability
Lastly, you will need to make sure that there are services available that will allow you to operate a successful bakery. For example, things have advanced so much that not many people carry cash on them as much. Wifi will be a necessity so that you will be able to process credit cards, use the pos system, and be able to access online orders.
With the advancement of technology, you want to offer services for your customers to make things simple and easy. This allows your customers to work and handle last-minute gatherings, birthday parties, or issues.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The square footage of your bakery will also be dependent on what your budget allows. Bakeries range anywhere from 1300 feet to 2400 feet. The bigger your bakery, the more you will be able to provide for your customers. Some bakery owners will start in a small location and later on upgrade or move to a bigger location to be able to give more services to their customers.
The average starting cost to open a bakery is anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. The actual cost will depend on location, the number of employees, equipment, supplies, and more. Staying within budget is important as you are just starting and you need to get business flowing to break even.
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This blog post is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.
About the author. Entrepreneur and Bakery Business Fan.
Hi! I am Shawn and I am a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online bakery business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a bakery business owner, I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain customers, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Bakery Business Boss: I want to help bakery business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.