How to Turn Distance Into Your Biggest Advantage
Earlier this week, I shared an Instagram Story asking which of three topics you’d most like to hear about in this week’s episode. The choices came directly from our first Base Notes community Q&A, and the winner was clear: how your location can become your biggest business advantage.
The results fascinated me. The location topic came out on top at 47%, closely followed by 10x thinking at 41%, and persistence at only 12%. This genuinely surprised me because, from the messages I receive, persistence is often what holds people back most. But I completely understand why the location topic resonated so strongly.
Particularly if you’re based somewhere rural or away from hubs where clients and events happen, it can feel genuinely limiting when you’re trying to market yourself and grow your business.
This question came from someone in our current Base Notes community during our first live Q&A last week. She’s based rurally, but her offerings are easily transportable. For her, it was really about being outside central areas and not being able to attend events and meet clients easily.
I want to share a completely different way to think about location. Because what I’ve learned, from my own experience and from closely following successful creative businesses, is that your distance from key centres is never a disadvantage. It can actually become your biggest opportunity.
The Location Story We Tell Ourselves
Before we dive into how to transform this, I want to acknowledge something many of us experience. When you’re building a creative business from somewhere that isn’t a major hub, there’s this story that can start running in your head.
Things like “It’s easier for brands near major cities because they have access to everything.” Or “I can’t build the same relationships from here.” Maybe it’s “Clients prefer working with people who are nearby,” or “I’m missing out on all the important networking opportunities.”
These thoughts feel completely logical. They feel very true. But they’re also stories that keep you stuck instead of taking action on what you actually can control.
My Own Location Story
When I started my flower business, I experienced this firsthand. For all the big events and main venue preferred supplier lists, it was the London-based florists who were appointed, never the smaller, country-based florists. At the time, as I was outside London and very much country-based, this felt like such a barrier.
I remember thinking, “How can I possibly compete with established city florists who are already on all the lists?”
But today, the concept that successful florists must be London-based seems completely outdated. There are now incredible, well-known and highly regarded florists outside London. The entire landscape has shifted. And it seems strange to say it, but I actually played a part in that shift by bringing the concept of countryside flowers into the city.
I positioned this as bringing something genuinely fresh and authentic to urban spaces. It wasn’t just about how the flowers looked; it was about the narrative they told. The sense of natural beauty, seasonal authenticity, and care that felt completely different from the more polished city offerings available at the time.
What I didn’t expect was that this approach didn’t just work for me. It opened up the entire market for other country-based florists who could tell their own version of this story. By successfully positioning my location as a strength, I created space for others to do the same.
Examples of Location as Advantage
Let me share some examples of brands that have turned distance into genuine competitive advantage.
Eileen Fisher built her multi-million dollar fashion brand from Irvington, a small town in the Hudson Valley, rather than moving to New York City’s fashion district. The thoughtful, sustainable approach that came from that quieter environment became absolutely central to her brand identity and success.
TOAST started in a farmhouse in rural Wales. They could have seen their remote location as a complete barrier to entering the fashion market. Instead, they made their countryside setting central to their brand story, with catalogues featuring Welsh hills and Cornish coastlines. Their rural roots became their signature appeal – “clothes designed to be lived in, inspired by real environments, not trends.”
Harris Tweed Hebrides turned their remote Scottish island location into their greatest asset. “Hand-woven in the Outer Hebrides” became this beautiful story of authenticity and craftsmanship that commands premium pricing globally.
Aesop started in Melbourne when Australia wasn’t considered a beauty industry hub at all. They used their Melbourne roots to create a distinct brand philosophy that felt refreshingly different from European beauty brands, and eventually became a global luxury brand worth billions.
Ganni could have seen being based in Copenhagen – not Paris, Milan, or London – as a disadvantage in fashion. Instead, they made Danish design aesthetics and Copenhagen cool their entire brand story. That “outsider” location became their signature appeal.
The Strategic Reframe
What if your location isn’t a limitation, but instead your unique advantage?
While dozens of similar businesses cluster around major cities, you’re the distinctive choice. You’re not just another photographer or designer or consultant in London, New York or Paris. You’re the expert who brings a completely different perspective, story, and approach to your work.
Your location can become one of your most powerful differentiators in a crowded market. This isn’t about putting a positive spin on a problem. This is about recognising the genuine advantages you already have.
The Advantages You’re Not Seeing
Here are some advantages you might not be fully appreciating:
Lower overhead costs – Your rent, living costs, and business expenses are likely significantly lower, which means you can be more profitable while maintaining competitive pricing.
Your unique story and authenticity – Your location gives you a genuine narrative that sets you apart from everyone clustered in major cities. In a world where authenticity is increasingly rare, your real connection to place becomes genuinely valuable.
Less competition – You’re not competing with hundreds of similar businesses on the same street. This means you can become THE person in your area for what you do, rather than just one of many trying to stand out.
Stronger local connections – In smaller communities, relationships often run deeper and referrals carry more weight. One satisfied client can transform your entire local network in ways that don’t happen in big cities.
Quality of life – This often translates to better work, more creativity, and sustainable business practices. When you’re not burnt out from city stress and overwhelm, you bring more energy and genuine creativity to your work.
Specialisation opportunity – You can become THE person known for your expertise in your area, which creates a ripple effect that extends far beyond your immediate location.
When Your Business Seems Location-Dependent
Some of you might be thinking, “But what if my business really is limited by location? What if I make large furniture or pottery that’s difficult to transport, or I provide services that require me to be physically present?”
Even these businesses have offerings that can transcend location. The pottery artist might offer online workshops, sell smaller pieces that ship easily, or create seasonal collections that make shipping costs worthwhile. The furniture maker might offer design consultations virtually, create a signature collection of smaller pieces, or partner with interior designers in major cities.
Let’s look at flower farms, which might seem completely location-dependent. Ferne Verrow in Herefordshire has turned their location into part of their story. They’ve partnered with city-based restaurants for consistent orders, use overnight couriers for private addresses, offer online workshops sharing their growing methods, and have built such a strong brand around their specific place that people travel to them. Their remote location has become central to their appeal, absolutely not a limitation.
The key question is: what part of what I do can work beyond my immediate location? Because there’s always something.
The Strategic Approach
Here’s how to turn distance into advantage strategically:
Plan strategic intensives – When you do travel to major cities or industry events, plan back-to-back meetings. Yes, it’s exhausting, but it’s also incredibly efficient. You’ll accomplish in two focused days what city-based competitors might spread over months.
Use virtual relationships intentionally – Pick up the phone, send handwritten cards, schedule video calls. These personal touches often mean more than casual coffee meetings because they show genuine intentional effort.
Make your location part of your brand story – Instead of hiding where you’re based, feature it. “Hand-crafted in the Yorkshire Dales” or “Designed from my studio overlooking the Pacific” becomes part of your appeal.
Become THE expert from your location – Own your geographic connection. Become known as the photographer, designer, or consultant who brings that unique perspective to your work.
Leverage constraint for creativity – Limited networking time forces you to be more strategic. You’ll research better, prepare more thoroughly, and make more meaningful connections than someone who can casually network every week.
When Your Location Isn’t Picture-Perfect
Not everyone is based somewhere that sounds romantic or looks like it belongs in a travel magazine. Maybe you’re in a post-industrial town, a sprawling suburb, or somewhere that doesn’t immediately scream “inspiration.”
But authenticity trumps beauty every single time.
Some of the most compelling brand stories come from unexpected places. Your environment shapes how you see the world, and that perspective becomes part of your creative edge. The designer surrounded by brutalist architecture might bring bold, structural thinking to their work. The maker in a busy commuter town understands efficiency and functionality in ways that others don’t.
Even if your location feels ordinary to you, remember that ordinary is relative. What feels mundane to you might be fascinating to someone from a completely different environment. The suburban creative has insights into family life, community dynamics, and modern living that can be incredibly valuable to the right clients.
For City-Based Creatives
If you’re city-based and now suddenly feel like you need to be somewhere more rural, don’t worry at all. Being city-based brings its own unique perspective and strengths that rural creatives don’t have.
You understand the pace of urban life, the aesthetic of modern living, the challenges of space constraints, the energy of cultural diversity. You’re surrounded by cutting-edge trends, you have access to different communities and perspectives, and you understand what it means to create beauty and meaning in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
Your city location gives you insights into contemporary challenges that businesses everywhere are facing. Remote work, urban density, digital overwhelm, time scarcity – these are the realities your ideal clients are living with, regardless of where they’re based.
What You Can Do This Week
Here’s how to start transforming your location story:
Rewrite your story – Draft a new version of your bio that positions your location as an asset. Instead of “Based in rural Devon,” try “Drawing inspiration from the Devon countryside” or “Bringing Devon’s natural beauty to design projects worldwide.”
Plan your next strategic trip – Research one major industry event or city where your ideal clients gather. Plan to attend and schedule as many relevant meetings as possible around it.
Start one virtual relationship – Pick one person you’d love to connect with and reach out. Phone call, handwritten note, or thoughtful email. Show them that distance doesn’t diminish your ability to create meaningful professional connections.
Identify your geographic advantage – What makes your location unique? The pace, the landscape, the culture, the lifestyle? How does this influence your work in a positive way that you could feature more prominently?
Test your location story – In your next client conversation, mention something positive about how your location influences your work. Notice how they respond. You might be genuinely surprised by how intrigued they are.
Moving Forward
The moment you stop seeing your location as something to overcome and start seeing it as something to leverage, everything can change for you.
Clients are looking for the best option, not the most convenient one, particularly when it comes to creative offerings. If you provide exceptional value, they’ll work with you whether you’re in their city or on another continent.
Your unique perspective, your distinctive story, your different approach – these are competitive advantages waiting to be claimed. The world genuinely needs your unique contribution from your unique vantage point.
Distance is your opportunity to stand out. It’s your chance to bring something genuinely different to your industry. It’s your invitation to stop competing on someone else’s terms and start succeeding on your own.
When you successfully position your distance as a strength, you’re not just transforming your own business. You’re creating a new way of thinking about what’s possible in your industry. You’re showing the world that expertise and excellence can come from anywhere. You’re proving that the best choice isn’t always the most convenient choice.
Your location isn’t holding you back. It’s absolutely setting you apart.
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