Your Location Matters in Business: Why the Right Environment Changes Everything

Estimated read: 5 minutes

In business, success is not only about hard work, skill, or talent. Sometimes, it’s about where you position yourself. The same product, the same service, and even the same person can be valued differently depending on the environment.

The Bottle of Water Lesson

A bottle of water can cost:

• $1 in a local store

• $2 at the gym

• $4 at the airport

• $7 on a flight

Same water. Different value. Why? Because location changes perception.

It’s not about the water itself — it’s about the environment in which it’s sold.

The Business Reality

Sometimes, it’s not that you’re not good enough or that your product isn’t valuable. You may simply be in an environment where your worth is not appreciated.

Too many entrepreneurs spend years trying to convince the wrong audience, instead of moving to a place where their value is naturally recognized.

Change Your Circle, Change Your Value

The truth is, not every market, customer base, or peer group is built to see your greatness.

• Stop begging to be seen in rooms where your value is invisible.

• Stop pricing yourself down to fit environments that don’t align with your worth.

• Stop assuming you need to change who you are — sometimes, all you need is a change of location.

A Nigerian Example

Consider a teacher in a small Nigerian village.

• In the village, they may earn around $50 per month.

• Relocating to a city and offering the same teaching service could raise their income to $200 or more.

Nothing changed about their skill. The only difference was location.

The Bigger Lesson for Entrepreneurs

Your environment can either limit or multiply your value.

• A restaurant in the wrong neighborhood may close in six months, while the same restaurant in a busy commercial hub thrives.

• A tech startup hidden in isolation may struggle, while one plugged into the right ecosystem (accelerators, hubs, investors) can scale rapidly.

Final Thoughts

Just like the bottle of water, your value doesn’t always come from changing who you are — it often comes from changing where you are.

If you’ve been struggling to be recognized, ask yourself: “Am I in the right place? Am I surrounded by the right people?”

Sometimes, the key to unlocking your next level in business is not working harder, but positioning smarter.

Mimi Awobode 

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