When most people think of starting a business, they tend to dream more of a city center location, right in the heart of a bustling and thriving community. However, companies exist everywhere, in all kinds of environments. And there is no reason why you cannot set up a company – and achieve success – in a rural area.
There are plenty of positives – your quality of life will be excellent, and when it comes to hiring staff you will find people tend to be more loyal. However, it’s not all a bed of roses. In today’s guide, we’re going to take a look at some of the issues you might face when setting up a company in a remote location.
The climate
Your first issue lies with the weather, and the overall climate of your location. In rural areas, you will often have to contend with harsher weather conditions than you would in the city, so there will obviously be some added costs to consider. Protection from earthquakes, wildfires, or tornadoes will be essential, depending on where you live.
Transport
Different environments need different kinds of attention, too. For example, you will need to consider investing in polyurea coating to give your fleet of business vehicles protection from the snow and damp conditions. All-weather tyres will be more necessary, whether you live in the freezing cold plains of Alaska or the harsh deserts of Arizona. And don’t forget, lack of transport will affect the amount of employees you can expect to travel into work.
Deliveries
The more rural your location, the higher the costs of sourcing raw materials to create products, or ordering inventory to sell. It’s not just a cost factor, either – deliveries to remote locations will often take longer, and you will find that delays are not uncommon. One way of defeating these issues is to move close to where your raw materials are already. If there is a need for your product and those deliveries are on your doorstep, you will be in an ideal position to take advantage.
The scale
Setting up in a rural location also has scale issues. While it is likely that you will be able to rent commercial space to produce as much as you want, will you be able to shift all those products? It’s unlikely that your local community will be the solution, so you may need to service a much wider location than a similar business in a city. Again, transportation can be a big problem, and if you can’t nail your logistics in the right way, you will encounter lots of issues. Investment in a robust inventory system and logistics planning will be critical to your success.
The technology
While our cities enjoy superfast broadband, 4G, and almost-guaranteed electricity, rural areas tend to suffer a little. Power cuts are not uncommon, and signals and reception can be unstable at best. Proper planning will be essential to ensure you can run your business, and telecoms and power services supplying the community are enough for your requirements.
Have you experienced setting up a business in a rural location? Let us know about your experiences below and join in on the conversation…
