Gas stations. Dry cleaners. Grocery stores. Bodegas.

These are all hyperlocal businesses, meaning their business model is founded on and sustained by physical proximity to their customers.

First and foremost, this physical proximity provides a built-in moat vs. competitors due to convenience.

But it also affords an opportunity to more deeply serve the distinct needs of the community, creating incremental value on both sides.

Ask a New Yorker about their bodega, and you'll know what I mean.

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Solo consulting too can be thought of as a hyperlocal business, but with a twist.

These days, we’re less concerned with physical proximity to our clients — we can serve clients all over the world if we wish.

(I have clients spread across three countries, and interestingly zero in my home city.)

But the trade-off for that flexibility is that we must operate in close proximity to the customer’s problem — their localized pain.

Otherwise, why are they coming to us?

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So how do we operate in close pain proximity?

By constructing our business model around a unique solution to a specific client and problem — aka defining and serving a niche.

Just like a bodega's location, our pain-oriented niche provides a competitive moat and the opportunity to more deeply serve the distinct need of our clients, creating incremental value on both sides.

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So yes, consulting is a hyperlocal business, just on a different dimension.

Which corner have you chosen?

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💡

-Wes