Milton - Canada

The first item to be analyzed is the demographics of the city including size of families, cultural background, language/s spoken, income level, education, home ownership, net worth, propensity to seek financial advice and any other areas that may assist you in determining the target market you will focus on when opening a financial planning practice in the city of your choice (an example might be that your group chooses to focus on customers who speak a specific language or work in a specific industry). A map of the city showing the locations of the population you are targeting would be helpful.

The second item you need to analyze is the competition in the city you choose. How many Financial Planners are working in the city? How do you define Financial Planners? Which companies have Financial Planners working in them (remember that most Banks offer financial planning services). A review of what services your competitors offer and a map of where they are located in the city would help with this. When you analyze the competition you will also be looking for a location for your firm that offers maximum exposure to the demographic you are selecting.