SHARING PREMISES TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

SHARING PREMISES TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Author: Neha Gupta, Writer for Ormita Australia Limited
Website for the Ormita Commerce Network: http://www.ormita.com.au
Date Issued: 1 February 2010

If you want to be incrementally better: be competitive but if you want to be exponentially better: be cooperative. That’s the mantra of those who have established profitable and successful businesses. Cooperate with other entrepreneurs. Sharing your business premises with a business complimentary to yours could be of great assistance in this regard.

Choosing a business which compliments yours help create a good ambience. For example: if you own a beauty salon then sharing the premises with a cosmetic store, spa, aerobics centre or gym can be a good idea. Similarly, book stores, coaching institutes or tuition centers sharing space with a coffee shop can be a good combination. A skin care clinic sharing space with a nature or herb store can attract more attention than a normal clinic. Wedding planner sharing business space with a wedding gown designer will certainly give an edge to both the businesses.

Some of the benefits of sharing business space are :
Larger stores attract more attention: It’s a known fact that a large store attracts more attention. When you are driving by a small store you might just ignore it but a large store catches your attention sooner and is hard to ignore. But we all know that the rent or cost for a large space to create your business might be too much so sharing large space among two or more business is a good idea.

Diversify customer base: Customers save time and energy when they get more than one service at one single location as it saves them the time to commute. Also many times customers end up buying things because they were readily available whereas if not so they might have never made the purchase. So, having more than one business under the same roof helps you increase your customer base.

Share costs: Many costs can be shared when sharing business space. Rent, electricity and water bills are the ones you know upfront. But there others like cost of having a restroom can be shared as this space can be shared by both businesses. Also, advertising cost as it might be better to plan a single advertising budget. In some cases even employees can be shared like having a common receptionist or typist etc.

Advertise one another: Both businesses can advertise one another. You can refer your customers to them and vice a versa. Also may be offering common customer special deals for being loyal to both businesses will promote both the businesses together. Sharing advertising cost can reduce the expenditure for each entrepreneur by almost half.

Sharing the business premises means sharing not just land or rent, it can mean sharing your burdens and expenditures, your labor and advertising budget and when success comes knocking the SUCCESS. So, share premises and partner for success.