location, location, location

You hear it all the time in real estate commercials. "Location, location, location, x house is only min away from points A, B AND C!" Why is that phrase all over the place? Because, no one wants to be an hour away from the closest Walmart. The same goes with opening a business. You have to be in a good location for people to come and patron your business. If you run a high end fashion store but you're out in the boondocks of Kansas, you arent going to get a bunch of customers. There just isnt the market for it. You have to study the potential area you are going to open up shop in. Is there a large number of your target market readily available? Is the building new? Is there going to be enough parking? Is it well lit and easily accessible? All these questions and more are important factors in the location process. This is easily one of the top three reasons, in my opinion, that small business fail-terrible locations.