Choose a location from the clients you intend to serve, not the clients you happen to have. Those are often different groups, and the gap is where most location mistakes come from. Write down who you are trying to reach, where they spend their weekdays, and when they could realistically attend — then test the location that matches, rather than assuming the most central address covers everyone.
Key takeaways
- Define the client you want before comparing locations; the answer follows from that.
- Where clients spend their weekday matters more than where they live.
- A central address serves a spread-out base; a CBD address serves a concentrated one.
- Validate with ad-hoc bookings before committing to a recurring slot.
Start with the client, not the map
Most practitioners can describe their ideal client in terms of the work — the presentation, the goal, the kind of session. Far fewer can describe them in terms of a Tuesday: where they are at 9am, at 1pm and at 7pm, and which of those moments could contain an appointment. That second description is what chooses a location.
A target-client location worksheet
Fill this in for the client group you are actually trying to build, then compare the answers against what each location serves.
Who
- The client group you intend to serve, described in one sentence
- Whether they are working, studying, caring for someone, or retired
- Whether they come once, occasionally, or weekly for months
Where
- Where they spend their weekday — not only where they live
- Whether they would come from home, from work, or between the two
- Which directions they would be travelling from
When
- The hours they could realistically attend
- Whether those are weekday, evening or weekend hours
- Whether the session length you offer fits the window they have
What it costs them
- How much of their day the appointment consumes, door to door
- Whether they need to take time off to attend
- Whether the journey is one they already make for another reason
Test
- How you will know within a month whether the assumption was right
- What you would change if it was not
- Whether you can run the test without a fixed commitment
Matching a catchment to a location
| If your target clients are… | The pattern to plan around | Worth looking at |
|---|---|---|
| Office workers in the financial district | Before work, lunchtime, straight after work | Raffles Place, which serves Marina Bay, Shenton Way, Tanjong Pagar and City Hall |
| Spread across several central areas | Mixed daytime, evening and weekend | Orchard, which serves Orchard, Newton, Novena, Bukit Timah and Holland |
| Coming weekly for movement work | Recurring slot, short last-mile walk | Somerset, about a 2-minute, 200m walk from Somerset MRT |
| Mixed, with weekend demand | Weekday evenings plus weekend mornings | Orchard or Somerset rather than a CBD-weighted location |
| Attending a workshop or training | A single longer block, group arrival | The workshop space at Raffles Place |
Our side-by-side comparison of the three locations sets out what else differs between them.
The clients you have versus the clients you want
If you are changing who you serve — moving from general work to a speciality, from one-to-one to groups, or from a neighbourhood base to a professional one — then your current client list is a poor guide. Plan around the group you are building towards, but validate it quickly, because a target client base that does not materialise is the most expensive assumption in this exercise.
Validate before you commit
Book ad-hoc sessions at the location your worksheet points to and watch what happens over a few weeks. Do the clients you hoped to reach actually book? Do they book at the hours you expected? Does anyone mention the journey? Per-session rental makes that test inexpensive, and the published rates show what a trial period costs. Rates can vary by location, time slot and how often you book.
If the pattern holds, our guide to recurring room bookings covers moving to a standing slot. If it does not, you have learned that cheaply.
Serving two groups
Some practices genuinely have two client bases — professionals during the week and a different group at weekends. Running from two locations is practical with per-session rental because you carry no fixed cost in either. Start with one, prove it, then add the second rather than splitting your attention from the beginning.
What location will not fix
If clients are not booking, location is rarely the first thing to change. Relevance, pricing, availability and how you communicate all sit ahead of it. Our guide to how location influences attendance and retention covers how to tell the difference before you move anything.
Where responsibility sits
A rented space provides a professional environment; it does not certify or supervise your practice. Your qualifications, insurance, records, consent process and standards of service remain your own. Practitioners should verify any licensing, insurance, professional-body or premises requirements that apply to their specific services.
Singapore context
Clients here frequently travel between home and work rather than from a single fixed point, so "where do they live" is the wrong question on its own. Central, MRT-linked locations serve a spread-out base better than a neighbourhood address does. Weekend and weekday catchments differ sharply between the CBD and mixed-use areas. And because commercial leases carry substantial commitment and fit-out cost, testing a catchment with per-session bookings is materially cheaper than being wrong on a lease.
This article provides general information about choosing a practice location and is not legal, accounting, tax, medical or regulatory advice.
Once you know who you are building for, compare the three central locations, check who the spaces are designed for, and arrange a viewing at the one that matches your target clients.