The following is part of a series of guest posts from wonderful people in my network who stepped up to write while I'm travelling. If you'd like to join the cadre of guest writers, send me an email at [email protected].
For many years moving to a bigger and busier location was an advantage for entrepreneurs to start a new venture. Many individuals moved to bigger cities and they grow their companies to multi-million dollar corporations. At this age, can moving to a smaller location create a similar result?
Since 2 months ago I have been thinking of relocating from Greater Vancouver (2.476 million people) to Vancouver Island (748,937 people). Obviously, looking at just the population, any logical person will be against moving to a smaller city in order to start a new venture.
After studying and researching many successful small companies in smaller cities here are the facts I found out:
- There are many small niche markets that are left alone because big corporations are not interested in small markets
- By using technology properly a small company can grow quickly without carrying too much overhead cost
- Smaller city, lower cost
- Utilizing Internet and cloud technology breaks all barriers ( It is faster to meet online with a client than meeting them at your office location)
- Finding talent is not an issue anymore. If you are not a control freak, amazing and talented people can work for you even if they are in another country or time zone.
- There are opportunities in service industries that only exist in smaller cities
At the end here is my conclusion: The bigger the city is the higher the cost of operating will be. The bigger the city is the more competition you will have. With the proper use of Internet and available communication tools, operating in smaller cities and growing your market share can be easier and faster. I am going to move to Victoria soon and I will update you all once I start the new venture.
For many years moving to a bigger and busier location was an advantage for entrepreneurs to start a new venture. Many individuals moved to bigger cities and they grow their companies to multi-million dollar corporations. At this age, can moving to a smaller location create a similar result?
Since 2 months ago I have been thinking of relocating from Greater Vancouver (2.476 million people) to Vancouver Island (748,937 people). Obviously, looking at just the population, any logical person will be against moving to a smaller city in order to start a new venture.
After studying and researching many successful small companies in smaller cities here are the facts I found out:
- There are many small niche markets that are left alone because big corporations are not interested in small markets
- By using technology properly a small company can grow quickly without carrying too much overhead cost
- Smaller city, lower cost
- Utilizing Internet and cloud technology breaks all barriers ( It is faster to meet online with a client than meeting them at your office location)
- Finding talent is not an issue anymore. If you are not a control freak, amazing and talented people can work for you even if they are in another country or time zone.
- There are opportunities in service industries that only exist in smaller cities
At the end here is my conclusion: The bigger the city is the higher the cost of operating will be. The bigger the city is the more competition you will have. With the proper use of Internet and available communication tools, operating in smaller cities and growing your market share can be easier and faster. I am going to move to Victoria soon and I will update you all once I start the new venture.