Prove the demand before you spend
- List the buildings in your territory that could sign2 hours 30 min
This step produces the pipeline every later phase feeds on: 20 to 30 commercial buildings inside a radius you can reach at night, each with the square footage, building type, night access, and property management company written down. The tricky part is scope — “commercial building” covers a 200,000 sq ft tower and a corner dental office, and only a narrow slice of those can actually sign you.
Define the territory. Draw a 15–20 minute drive radius around your home base on Google Maps — night routes and callbacks live or die on drive time.
Harvest the buildings from three free sources:
- Drive the radius after 6 pm and note every lit, occupied building — your future clients are visible at night.
- Search Google Maps for “office building”, “medical office”, and “retail center” inside the radius.
- Pull ownership and the property manager from your county’s property appraiser or assessor records — public and free online.
Record for each building: address, square footage, building type (office, medical, or retail), number of tenants, night access (24-hour lobby, locked at 6 pm, alarm), and the property management company’s name.
Rank with the first-target test: one decision-maker — a single owner or one management company, not ten separate tenants; stable tenancy without vacancy churn; after-hours access already arranged. A building that fails two of three stays on the list but drops to the bottom.