Businesses: If You Build It, They Will Come

Yes, if you build a new business, they will come… But You Have to Build It Right

Most people know the line from the movie Field of Dreams. I find myself saying it to business owners from time to time, especially those preparing to open a new business or expand into a new location. But when I say it, I don't mean that simply obtaining a new space, putting a sign on the building, and opening the doors will magically bring customers.

Quite the opposite. When I say, "If you build it, they will come," I'm talking about everything that goes into building the business before expecting people to show up. I'm talking about putting real thought, effort, research, planning, and detail into creating a business that customers want to visit and great employees want to be part of.

What Are You Actually Building?

Starting a business is exciting. Finding the location, designing the space, choosing finishes, buying equipment, creating the logo, and finally seeing your name on the building makes the dream tangible. After months or even years of planning, there's something incredibly rewarding about finally seeing the physical version of what you've imagined.

But none of those things, by themselves, create a successful business. You're building much more than a physical space. You're building an experience, a reputation, a culture, a team, and the systems that will eventually allow the business to grow. Ultimatelyy, you're building something that needs to give both customers and employees a reason to choose you instead of someone else.

That's what I mean when I say, "If you build it, they will come." I also think it's about believing in yourself....that if you did everything you could, and you continue to do everything you can after opening to be successful.... they WILL eventually come. In the world of entrepreneurship, the need for having extremely high self belief is the main driver for success in my opinion. There will be so many ups and downs in the roller coaster ride of being an entrepreneur, that if you continue to have strong self belief, you will continue to build something great.

Build It for the Customer Experience

One of the most important questions a new business owner can ask is simple: "Why would someone choose us?" Not why should they choose you. Why will they? What's in it for them?

Put yourself in your customer's shoes and walk through the entire experience. Is the location convenient? Is parking easy? Is the business visible and accessible? Does the space feel welcoming when they walk through the door? Is it easy to schedule, purchase, communicate, or get help? Are you solving a real problem for them? Does the experience you're providing justify the price you're asking them to pay?

Then ask an even more important question: What will make them come back? Getting someone through the door once is very different from building a customer who chooses your business repeatedly and eventually tells other people about the experience they had. It's all about making people feel good.

Business owners naturally see their companies through their own eyes. We know the vision, the investment, the sacrifices, and everything happening behind the scenes. The customer doesn't see most of that. They experience the business from an entirely different perspective. The more time you spend understanding that perspective before opening your doors, the better your chances of creating something people actually want.

Build It for the Employee Experience

There's another group business owners sometimes forget to design the business around: their employees.

You can have a beautiful location, a great product, and an excellent business plan, but eventually you're going to need good people to help deliver the experience you've promised your customers. That means asking another version of the same question: Why would a talented person choose to work here?

Is the workplace designed to help employees do their jobs well? Are expectations clear? Are there systems and processes in place, or does every day depend on the owner putting out fires? Is there an opportunity for people to learn, grow, and take on more responsibility? Do employees understand where the company is going and how their role contributes to that vision?

Great employees have choices, just like great customers do. If you want talented people to comeand build their career there, you have to intentionally build a company worth working for. Culture doesn't magically appear after you hire people. It starts with the decisions you make while building the business.

The Real Estate Has to Support the Plan

This is where real estate becomes part of the plan to help the business plan come to life.

Too often, the process happens backwards. An entrepreneur finds a space they love and then starts figuring out how to make the business fit inside it. The excitement of the location begins driving decisions about staffing, expenses, operations, and growth. I believe it should happen the other way around. Understand the business first. Understand your customer, staffing model, operations, financial projections, growth plans, and long-term vision. Then determine what real estate supports that plan.

How much space do you actually need? How much can the business comfortably afford without starving other areas of the company? Where are your customers coming from? Where will your employees come from? How much parking is really necessary? What does the customer experience look like from the moment someone pulls into the parking lot until the moment they leave? If you grow faster than expected, can the space accommodate you? If you grow slower than expected, can the business comfortably carry the occupancy costs?

A great-looking building won't compensate for a poorly planned business. But the right real estate can become a tremendous tool for a well-planned one. Your space should support your strategy, enhance the customer experience, help your employees succeed, and give the company enough flexibility to grow into it.

"They Will Come" Doesn't Mean Immediately

There's one important caveat to all of this. Building it right doesn't guarantee that people will be lined up outside on opening day.

Business success can take time. You can analyze for years before opening a business, but at some point you need to take action and figure out what works and what doesn't, and adjust on the fly. My grandfather used to tell me: "Sh*t or get off the pot," meaning that I need to make a decision and move on already.

As you are building, you have to figure out marketing and how to drive the hype of the business. You have to let the community know what you do and the difference you're trying to make in the community. There will be learning curves in recruiting and training staff. You have to listen to customers and employees, measure results, make mistakes, adjust, and continuously improve.

That's why "If you build it, they will come" shouldn't create an expectation of instant success. To me, it means that if you put enough thought and effort into building the right foundation with solid processes and systems, and you continue to refine, you dramatically improve your chances of creating something people want to be part of.

Build Something Worth Coming To

I've experienced business ownership firsthand, and one thing I've learned is that there are very few shortcuts. The businesses that look successful from the outside are often the result of years of decisions, adjustments, mistakes, investments, and hard work that nobody ever saw.

So yes........I believe if you build it, they will come. But "building it" means developing a thoughtful business plan around your customer, creating a workplace where great people want to work, developing systems that allow the company to operate without everything depending on the owner, and creating a financial model that gives the business room to breathe and grow.

Do those things well enough, consistently enough, and for long enough, and you give customers a reason to repetitively visit you, employees a reason to stay, and the business a foundation on which to grow and last for a long time!