Selecting the geographic location for a business venture is one of the most important decisions that an entrepreneur will make. Entrepreneurs who select the best locations will have a competitive advantage over competitors who do not select their locations wisely. The geographic location of a company will vary depending on the nature of their business. In the past, companies selected locations with access to railroads and raw material. However, today companies are more likely to select locations with airport accessibility, with Internet access, and near universities for high-skilled labor.

The process for selecting a location requires gathering information from a set of selection criteria and then moving that information toward a decision. The entrepreneur should narrow the choices down first by region, next by state, and ...