Local Business Entrepreneurs, Local Startups & Investors

Business today is now a truly global affair, but many businesses and investors understand the importance of supporting the local area that they live.

By joining forces, investors and entrepreneurs contribute to the gains of their surrounding community and their business networks.

The good news is for entrepreneurs and investors who are looking to invest in their local area, is that there are some great advantages to launching a business locally. This guide explores some of the main benefits from starting locally.

Advantages of Local Enterprise & Investment

Entrepreneurs are commonly starting to look at their local market to launch their own business since there are many benefits to staying local.

Real estate and office space can be cheaper

Ultimately, it depends what location is local to you. For example, if you're based in London, New York, or Tokyo then you will find that certain business expenses will be high (real estate for example) and there is not a lot you will be able to do about it. However, if you're based outside of the major metropolises, and are in smaller cities, towns or even the countryside you can find there are savings to be had when you launch your new business.

For example: real estate is much cheaper outside of the major cities, and if you're looking for commercial property then you will find that by locating your business away from the large hubs you can make some significant savings.

When it comes to launching a successful business or new product and putting together a business plan, one of the major expenses is for office space. In capital cities, this cost can be astronomical, but move out of the city and your costs start to fall dramatically. Picking the right location is important, so you will need to examine transport links to both major cities, but also transport hubs such as airports. Often you can find an office space with good transport connections but is a lot cheaper due to its location.

Staff hiring costs can be lower.

Salary and labor costs can be lower locally, and there can even be more competition for roles since more employees are looking to work locally than having to face a long daily commute. Even if you are running a business that needs very specialist skills, with the move to home-based working, it is not hard to find people to fill most roles wherever your business is based.

For local employees it's not that you won't be paying employees what they are worth, but working in a city can be expensive, from housing costs, traveling around a city, and shopping can all command a premium in capital cities. Moving your business to a cheaper area means that salaries can be a little lower since employees outgoings and expenses are also lower.

When it comes to reducing the major expenses that a business faces, such as real estate and salary costs, it means in turn, that the cash flow of the business is also improved. Cash flow is a vitally important metric for new business ventures, where it can make or break the potential success of the business.

Local business connections can be beneficial.

You might find that there are local trade associations, small business associations or groups where you can meet other entrepreneurs, and local business people who are looking to establish contact with like-minded individuals in and around their local area. Business owners can find that these sorts of organizations are worth attending since they can be good for business and can offer additional business opportunities.

Another benefit is that you might find a business mentor or someone who can give you advice. When first starting out as a self employed entrepreneur full time, you have a lot of different areas to deal with, from accounts to marketing, and it is impossible to know absolutely everything.

Entrepreneurial ventures cover a lot of ground in terms of business know-how and when you are your own boss you need to know at least the basics of many different areas. You will need to know how to find out how to carry out many aspects of business administration or use other local providers to support your business.

Building connections with more experienced individuals in your local market means you can often glean valuable advice from them. You will also find that many business owners and local investors are happy to help a new business with advice and support, especially if the existing business is focused towards a completely different industry.

The same goes for finding local investors

Many angel investors look for business startups and entrepreneurship opportunities in the local area that they are based. The reason for this is that often they like to take a 'hands-on' approach and support the entrepreneur with their experience. This is a lot easier to achieve when they are based in the same area as the entrepreneur.

Local B2B trade can increase

Often you will find that a local business will want to use other local businesses in the area to trade with. It's common to find businesses working together, sometimes loosely, and sometimes in a more formal partnership or arrangement.

Often business has a symbiotic relationship with the population in the area it is based. Not only are local people employed, but the employees often spend their money in the local area. Take for example, workers using local cafe and restaurants for their lunch. One business ends up supporting another, if not directly but through the convenience of its location. Ultimately the relationship mutually feeds the economy and can in turn create jobs, enhance real estate values, and attract more investors for joint and private ventures. All great for the bottom line of a brand new business.

For many local businesses they often find that their customer base starts out as being based locally, and can, through hard work and know how expand market share to become a more national or even global proposition. Remember even Amazon and Microsoft had to start somewhere before they became huge.

When first starting out it can be hard to find the finances for marketing so many local businesses stick to simple marketing techniques that are either free or very low cost, such as promoting themselves on social media to attract new customers through word of mouth. Making sure your business is on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other local sites, is a great idea for free marketing.

Local business bolsters the local area

Successful entrepreneurs that launch a business help bolster the tax income and finances of the local area. This can mean an improvement in all sorts of things, from transport links, roads, technology and services and facilities. Making the location an even more attractive place to live and work.

Perhaps your business provides something unique and special to the local area, which customers are just waiting to utilize. Or you might be thinking of launching a nonprofit that has been designed to support your local area through social entrepreneurship. Whatever your business model or business idea, by launching locally, you will support your local area in many different ways.

You can get local grants to help your business

Often governments look to bolster business in certain areas and locations, and often, these locations are not major capitals but regions where business and commerce may need some additional support. This is great news for the local entrepreneur who is looking to start a business, since these schemes, when available, can be a good source of free money. Sometimes grants are even established to help attract yet more business to an area so if you're looking to launch locally, you should check out the local governmental web sites to learn if any grants are available in your area.

Since it can be difficult for a brand new startup to get business loans from traditional lenders or venture capitalists, local grants can be helpful. As can finding locally based high-net worth individuals and angel investors who are looking to support local business.

It can be better for the environment

Small business owners who are concerned about the environment can also benefit from focusing on the local area or market, since it means that it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint of the business. Carbon savings can be made by the reduction of transport both in terms of employees traveling to and from work, but also by supplying goods to local customers and through the purchase of goods and services from local suppliers.

Benefits of Using the Angel Investment Network

While Angel Investment Network offers investment opportunities around the world, we understand that investors often want to contribute to the economic growth of their own country and local community.

Our site has listings of thousands of local entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to develop their ideas and operations. From the technology and healthcare sectors to tourism and recreation, Angel Investment Network matches private investors with entrepreneurs interested in reaching the same goals in their business partnerships.

Local entrepreneurs will also find that many of our business angels are based in the same country as them, and can, therefore, guide them in the start-up process and help with any complicated regulations and tax laws. Most of our angel investors have impressive business backgrounds and have joined our network to share their expertise and management skills, as well as their investment funds, with local entrepreneurs making their first foray into the business world.