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HOW TO FIND YOUR NEXT BUSINESS LOCATION

September 18, 2019
Finding the perfect place for your next business location can be stressful, overwhelming and just flat out confusing. What matters more: street view or anchor tenants? North or south side location? How do I even know where available spaces are? Just know you aren’t alone in this important step. Countless business owners are left baffled on how to find their next spot. Because this is a crucial process for a successful business, we have outlined four things to add to your list before taking the plunge.

Location, Location, Location
Before you take any space available, ask yourself “where do I want to be?” Sure, that retail space you found was unbelievably cheap, but it is all the way across town and in an area you are not familiar with. Find out where your customer base is and find a space there. For example, there’s a quaint pizza place centrally located in Oklahoma City that serves some of the best pizza locally. Although they are based in OKC, a large portion of the Yelp reviews are customers living 25 minutes north in Edmond. A good opportunity for them would be adding a location in Edmond, where they know they’ll instantly have a following on the day they open. Knowing where to find your customers is half the battle.

If you are a small business, anchor tenants may be high on your list. An anchor tenant is a large, usually nationwide company that brings traffic to the area. The idea is an anchor tenant will drive customers to the building and may come into your business after visiting the anchor tenant. At our Summit Pointe Plaza property in Oklahoma City, we are fortunate to have a T-Mobile flagship store, Slim Chickens and Louie’s Grill & Bar. So someone who may see the new iPhone at T-Mobile may stop by 24 Fit Gym to learn about gym memberships, or visit Meraki Hair Studio after lunch at Louie’s.

The Internet of Things
Unlike the days where you had to physically drive all over a city to find a space, today’s technology allows us to find everything we need online. If you haven’t used Loopnet, you absolutely should. You can draw the area you want to be in and available listings will sprout up. Click any listing to find out more information and the contact information for the listing agent. Furthermore, you can take the address and plug it in Google Maps to see satellite and street views without putting on shoes and leaving the house.

If you’re a business that is heavily dependent on traffic, look up the traffic count database for the area, which can be found on a county/city’s website. If you want a place that’s heavy in foot traffic, try Walk Score. Although it’s targeted for apartment hunters, it can give you a general outlook on how accessible an area is by foot.

Drive An Area
Sometimes it is as simple as picking a day and driving around the area you want to be. Although Loopnet is the #1 place to find available spaces online, sometimes the owner or property manager will choose to not post the listing online or it’s so new to the market they haven’t had time. You may get lucky and find the perfect location with absolutely no competition to take the suite because they just put up the “For Lease” sign that day.

Call Brokers
Whether it’s a listing broker of a property or a tenant broker, give a few brokers a call. You will want to know all the details before jumping into a lease anyway. You can even tell the broker what are some important things you want in your next location, so he or she can keep an eye out for anything that matches that description. You will be happy because you have someone to take some weight off your shoulders, and the broker will be motivated to find the perfect space as soon as they can so they can get a commission fee from the building owner.

Finding a future location is usually not something you can do in an hour. It may take days, weeks or even months to find the right location for you. Remember to be patient and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

If you are looking for a retail or office space in Oklahoma, visit our website to see what we currently have available. If you don’t see anything that piques your interest, shoot us an email with the perfect description of your next location. We’ll get in contact with you if we find something that matches your vision.

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OKC RANKED AMONG THE BEST CITIES FOR SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS

September 18, 2019
Oklahoma may be known for their livestock, oil, and a Broadway musical, but the state’s capital city might be gaining a new reputation. According to Small Business Trends , Oklahoma City is one of the best cities for serial entrepreneurs. Small Business Trends looked across the country to find cities where you can find large concentrations of serial entrepreneurs— those who have started three or more businesses prior to the one they run today. By weighing factors like “the percentage of serial entrepreneurs to the overall population in the metropolitan areas of the United States with over 50,000 people… industry clusters, lifestyle, infrastructure, costs and workforce availability,” OKC climbed all the way up to #4 for serial entrepreneurs! Oklahoma City’s ranking sits behind Salt Lake City, Miami and Denver, while beating out Dallas, Tampa, Raleigh, Orlando, Seattle and Portland. Oklahoma City has 2,422 serial entrepreneurs, which makes up .18% of the population. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for a professional office, check out our availability at Wilshire Gardens Office Park , or jump on our waiting list for Smartsuite Executive Offices!

NEW ADDITION TO THE GRAYSTONE FAMILY

September 18, 2019
On July 31st, Graystone Properties added the Wilshire Gardens Office Park, located at 425 W Wilshire Blvd., to our office portfolio. This property will be a key component to our future growth and we are excited to engage with our new tenants. Wilshire Gardens is a 4 building office park located between Nichols Hills and Broadway Extension on Wilshire Boulevard. From individual executive offices to large company suites, Wilshire Gardens is capable of hosting companies of multiple sizes. Graystone Properties plans to update the building’s facade, landscaping, office common areas and office suites. Nick Gray with Kevo Commercial represented Graystone Properties, while Amy Dunn with CBRE represented the seller, Rodger & Rodgers Living Trust. The property was purchased at $1,749,000 and was closed at The Oklahoma City Abstract & Title Company. More information about Wilshire Gardens can be found at www.wilshiregardensokc.com.

WALLETHUB CALLS OKC THE BEST LARGE CITY TO START A BUSINESS IN

September 18, 2019
If you asked everyone you know which large cities are the best for startups, you would probably hear plenty of mentions of San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and New York City. Despite those cities’ reputation as hubs for innovation and tech startups, those cities didn’t make the top 30, according to a new report from the personal finance website, WalletHub. WalletHub analyzed 182 U.S. cities across 19 key metrics, such as cost of living, office space affordability, startups survival rates, and quantity of investors. So, which city could possibly be No. 1? Oklahoma City took the top spot for the second year in a row. From the rise of coworking spaces to the resources provided by our chamber of commerce, it’s no surprise to see our startup community thriving.
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