Location can be considered a commodity - something which is purchased. The cost of business real estate, whether leased or purchased, is not only financial, but affects the people who are willing to visit your business and work there.

Most people don’t want to commit to a location for a job. Today’s career environment is very fluid, businesses change frequently, and the cost to purchase and settle in a home is high.

Thus, when choosing an office location, it is extremely important to position it where the people you want to staff it with are willing to go. The only truly reliable way to identify a location that will attract ‘good people’ is to select an area with similar businesses. This can be used to roughly estimate the available talent pool. Bear in mind it is unlikely you will find an exact population of perfect employees, but by the same token, a general skill set can often be discerned (for example: software, hardware, education).

In the event that the existing location is causing the business to suffer due to difficulty in hiring and retention, there are several possible options:

• Allow telecommuting - extremely cost-effective, potentially risky. Creates communication overhead.
• Open a satellite office - may greatly increase overhead, and includes some of the telecommuting risks/expenses.
• Move - choose a new location, perhaps by starting with a satellite office.
• Import employees - strive to find people eager to relocate into the region.