Site selection is not nearly as complicated as folks in this business would have you believe. Actually, it’s a fairly simple process.
First of all, do a quick cut. Determine your one or two most basic requirements, things that would eliminate a location regardless of its other attributes. These could be geographic (i.e., you need to locate in a particular region or part of the country); they could relate to infrastructure (i.e., access to interstate highways, airports, river or deep-water ports, railroads, etc.); or they might be population-driven (i.e., a sufficient number of highly skilled workers in your particular industry).
Then gather data related to those one or two basic requirements, eliminating locations that don’t meet even your most basic requirements. This will save you from wasting a lot of time gathering information on obviously unsuitable locations.
Next, expand your information list to include all of your basic requirements (i.e., HR, financial, real estate, operations, etc.) for operating the specific facility you intend to open. This list of requirements, unlike the initial screening cut, should be detailed and comprehensive. Then collect the necessary data for each requirement for each location, and compare how each location does against the others, particularly in those areas of greater importance to your particular operations.
Using this information, try to cut your list down to a more manageable level, say, three to five locations.
Then arrange on-site visits to each location, checking out specific real estate, talking to executives and managers of local businesses currently operating in each location, and meeting with the local community leadership to discuss and evaluate any financial incentives that might be appropriate and helpful.
Finally, make your decision.
As you can see, the process itself is fairly simple. It is, however, extremely time-consuming, and that means that you’ll probably need all the help you can get.
Fortunately, there are plenty of good, reliable resources to which you can turn.
You can get a lot of valuable data via the Internet — demographic, tax, business climate, etc.
Then there are magazines like Expansion Management, which provide you with a quick summary of the site selection process through the eyes of people who actually do this for a living, as well as information on where to go to find the information you need.
Our directory of economic development contacts provides you with a list of economic development professionals in various communities throughout the United States. Don’t hesitate to seek their assistance or, if you prefer, we can put you together with these people.
State and local community economic development organizations are excellent sources, ones that you’ll eventually need to approach, anyway, as you narrow your focus down to a manageable number of possible locations. Don’t think of them as nuisances, like somebody trying to sell you a time share when all you want are room rates for the night. They’re professionals whose job it is to provide you with information and data on their community in order to help you make whatever location decision is best for your company.
Whatever you need, remember that there people and resources out there that you can turn to that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, most will cost you nothing at all.
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