Guide
Choose a business location with evidence before a lease
Shortlist cities with public evidence, then test the actual premises, customers and operating constraints before committing to a site.
“Which city looks promising?” and “Should I sign this lease?” are different decisions. Public population and income data can help with the first. They do not establish that customers will buy from a particular storefront.
The current ifYouMind Business product compares U.S. cities using cited Census population, growth, household income and home values. Inspect the sample Decision Report to see the evidence and its limits before starting your own brief.
Define the customer and the area you can serve
Write down the business type, intended customer, service area and decision deadline. A walk-in shop, an appointment-based practice and a delivery business can need different catchments. A city boundary may be convenient for public data without matching your trading area.
The SBA's market-research guidance treats customers and competition as distinct questions to investigate. Use city comparisons to decide where to investigate further, rather than treating a large population as established demand for your specific concept.
Build two layers of evidence
First compare like-for-like public figures: same geography type, source period, definition and units. Record the table and year next to each figure. A household-income estimate is not your forecast customer spend; home value is not commercial rent.
Then collect site-specific evidence. The SBA's location guidance covers location-dependent costs and restrictions. Confirm the applicable requirements with the relevant local authority and obtain actual premises quotes rather than assuming they match a city average.
| Question | City-level evidence can help with | Site-level evidence still needed |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a plausible market to explore? | Population, growth and household characteristics | Customer interviews and a test of the offer |
| Can the business operate here? | Context about the broader location | Written permitted-use confirmation and premises suitability |
| What will occupancy cost? | Housing context only, where relevant | Rent, service charges, utilities, fit-out and lease terms |
| How will customers reach it? | Broad geographic context | Access, opening-hour observations and journey checks |
| What alternatives already serve them? | Business research sources | Current competitors, substitutes and field observation |
Do not let the cheapest quote decide the lease
Consider this invented example, not evidence about a real site: Unit A has a lower quoted base rent but an unresolved permitted-use question. Unit B costs more and has written confirmation for the intended use. The missing approval for A is a decision constraint, not a free benefit that a rent ranking can offset.
Use a comparison sheet with separate columns for confirmed facts, estimates and unanswered questions. Ask what is included in each quote so apparently cheaper premises are compared on the same scope. Seek appropriate professional review of the actual contract before making a binding commitment; a market report does not assess your lease.
Check the observations that could overturn your shortlist
Visit at the hours when customers would arrive. Record what you observed and when, rather than presenting a single visit as representative foot traffic. Speak to potential customers without treating a handful of conversations as a statistical demand forecast.
For each shortlisted site, write a falsifiable concern: “If customers cannot access the entrance during our trading hours, this site does not work.” Assign the person who will check it and the evidence required. The Census Bureau's small-business data overview provides additional research starting points; their existence does not mean every dataset is integrated into ifYouMind.
Turn the evidence into a short decision note
Record the sites considered, reasons for the shortlist, unresolved constraints, spending you have actually quoted and what would change the decision. Keep city signals, site facts and your judgement separate. Do not describe a demographic lead as a guaranteed profitable location.
For the write-up, see how to prepare the market analysis for a business plan. For a reusable evidence table, see comparing options with your own data. The current Business sample report shows what the available product can contribute; personal Life tools remain in development.