Why Location Isn’t As Important As Entrepreneurs Think

I often get asked the question, “Is my location important to my success as an entrepreneur?” I can’t blame the entrepreneurs that ask me this question because it’s something that has been highlighted quite a bit in the media.

Every entrepreneur knows about Silicon Valley. We hear the amazing stories of entrepreneurs with big dreams who get funded massive amounts of money in that area. I for one started my business and stayed in Orange County, California.

Silicon Valley is in Northern California while Orange County is in Southern California. The difference from my location to Silicon Valley is approximately 400 miles. Even though both locations are in California, Orange County isn’t quite as entrepreneur concentrated as Silicon Valley is.

The question I get asked often is, “Why don’t you move to Silicon Valley?” Well, I personally love Orange County and I don’t feel the necessity to move 400 miles. House prices in Silicon Valley are also incredibly expensive whereas other locations can give you much more house for your money. For example, the median house price for Silicon Valley is $935,00 as of 2018. Glendale real estate, located in Los Angeles County, shows a median home price of around $100,000 less than that. You can find many other cities with much lower prices than in Silicon Valley.

In this article, I discuss why location isn’t as important as entrepreneurs think.

Talent Shines From Anywhere

Are the chances of you landing an investment or developing that huge connection higher in Silicon Valley compared to other places? I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t. However, that does not mean that you will be successful.

If you start a business, you can shine from anywhere. If a company like DropBox or Groupon was located out in the midwest somewhere, they would still get the investors and the success they have today.

In the world of investing, if your business is truly exceptional, people will find you trying to invest in your company. However, if you’re business isn’t so hot, you are forced to go door to door looking for capital.

The Internet

We have this little thing nowadays called the internet, which provides us with various tools that substitute the activities we must do in person. Have you heard of Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook, Twitter, etc?

The amazing thing about the world we live in today is that you can literally be involved in entrepreneurial communities or mastermind groups from anywhere in the world. I for one am in a mastermind group with members from all over the country.

You don’t have to be sitting in Palo Alto to network with people. The internet provides us with a prominent set of resources that we can use to find others to connect with. I sit in Orange County connecting with various influencers from all over the world on a regular basis.

Smaller Areas Can Draw Larger Publicity

Imagine seeing these two headlines on a newspaper. “New Tech Company Grosses $1 Million in Revenue in Silicon Valley” versus “New Tech Company Grosses $1 Million in Revenue In Toledo”.

Nothing against Toledo, but we all know that stories like this are happening far more often in Silicon Valley than they are in Toledo. By staying in the city where you reside at, you give the town an underdog to root for. This in turn helps you generate a lot more publicity and PR coverage for your startup.

A month ago, we were featured on the front page of the OC Register. It was an article about my startup company StatFuse and how we were helping students hack the college admissions space through technology. I never say never, but this opportunity would have been a lot harder to come across if I was working out of Northern California.

Product/Service Value Matters

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you’re operating from. A customer will buy your product or service if you are providing them with the value they are looking for. If you have market fit, good leadership and a solid product, then you will be successful from anywhere.

You can make progress with your business from anywhere in the world. Ultimately, businesses are successful not because of their address but because of the team and value they create in a market.

Conclusion

In this article, I shared my opinion as to why location isn’t as important as entrepreneurs think. Do you agree or disagree? Share your comments below.

photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc