Location is important to the success of businesses and can affect whether a business thrives or not.

In the UK, Manchester has been identified as one of the most innovative cities in the world, based on local businesses, which could be attributed to its central location.

Take a business, for example, owned by someone who is based in London.

This business has hundreds of customers across the UK and its growth can be seen on the Company House portal.

However, the Business Valuation Authority (BVA) stated:

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"Very few business owners currently use this service to assess their business value or to negotiate for an appropriate commercial rate of return."

Clearly, the location of a business isn't as significant as it was in the past, but it is still an important aspect of a business’s worth.

But is the location of a business truly a determining factor of its success?

To explore this, the authors of The Lonely Planet Guide to the Busy London Business Scene asked 100 entrepreneurs, whose businesses were relatively new, how they felt about their location:

I feel pretty good about my location. What I think will make it work is access to business markets and consumers.

I've heard plenty of suggestions about how to get more creative and thinking outside the box.

We also have the advantage of being able to get to London in around 15 minutes by public transport.

Finally, I've also realized that the advantages can be offset by the disadvantages, and so there is a lot more to consider in terms of what it is that the location of a business offers that might not be obvious.

I'm more open to growing my business at this stage than I was when I first started the company.

I'm also looking forward to the opportunities of having more freedom and fewer constraints when we decide to move into a larger space.

I think my location makes my business work to its full potential, but I also have to accept the fact that there are going to be more disadvantages than advantages.

When we researched with businesses, the majority of the businesses we spoke to preferred the quality of life in London to the capital's being close to other markets

A further 33% noted that the good value for money of living in London outweighs the lack of infrastructure.

A little over half of the businesses were happy with the cost of business premises and commercial rates, and the low cost of insurance and VAT, as well as the number of customers the business had access to.

The fact is, UK businesses are thriving despite their location, because of their focus on providing the very best customer experience. So, a business's location is just one factor among many that influence its success.

Businesses thrive with connectivity, hard work, and persistence

So why are some businesses thriving and others struggling? It comes down to the support businesses receive and the strength of their team.

Conventional wisdom says that fast-moving businesses thrive when they have access to good-quality office space, but that's not always the case.

Firms that are open-minded and flexible, that can build long-term, sustainable relationships with customers and suppliers, that can nurture a team and have a head for business that can focus on work and not always be distracted by things that might not be the priority.

On the other hand, there are those firms that are often seen as slow-moving or unable to grasp opportunities and move with the times.

Some lack the vision, passion, or ambition to succeed in the marketplace, and they lack the team to make it work.

What we're suggesting, however, is that a firm's success is dependent on its ability to adapt, nurture and empower its team, work collaboratively with its customers and suppliers, put the customer at the center of everything, and deliver the best possible customer experience.

What do these factors have in common?

When people come together to work towards a common goal, be that new ways of working or new ways of achieving growth and efficiency, innovation is the order of the day.

That's because no two customers are the same and people are starting to expect that.

It's therefore not a case of the customer or employee being perfect, but rather that both parties are working hard to solve the same problem or solve another customer's problem.

That's not always easy. Businesses need to be able to respond quickly and collaborate to deliver on the customer experience.

The strength of the business

Businesses in the East of England are stronger financially than businesses in the West of England, but firms in West England have greater success at retaining and attracting staff.

The research shows that businesses in London also work harder than those in the East of England.

It might seem obvious that a business that works hard is successful, but many companies struggle to show this in practice.

They struggle to show this in their financial results, that's because they struggle to see where they can cut costs to achieve greater efficiencies, and there's often a lack of passion, ambition, and leadership.

Many companies have great products or services, but that's not enough to make it through to long-term success.

The organization must be able to live and breathe the culture, the core values, and what it's offering.

People look for meaning and fulfillment in what they do, so work in the right way, in an environment where people are motivated and committed to what they do, and you'll reap the rewards.