Building a Creative Business in Yorkshire: Why You Don't Need to Move to London
When I tell people I run a filmmaking and photography business from Doncaster, I usually get one of two reactions: confused silence or "But wouldn't you do better in London?"
The assumption is that if you're serious about creative work, you need to be in the capital. Better clients. Bigger budgets. More opportunities. And sure, there's some truth to that. But after building Wayne Sables Project here in Yorkshire for the past several years, I've learned something important: you don't need to be in London to run a successful creative business. You just need to work differently.
The Yorkshire Advantage
Let's talk about what nobody mentions when they're romanticizing London: the costs. Studio rent in London can easily cost more than my monthly mortgage. A coffee that costs £2.50 here is £5 there. That "opportunity" to work with a London client often means spending half your fee on travel and accommodation.
Meanwhile, from Doncaster, I can be in Leeds, Sheffield, or Manchester within an hour. I can reach clients across Yorkshire and the North without the crippling overhead that comes with a London postcode. My lower costs mean I can invest more in equipment, training, and actually building a sustainable business rather than just surviving month to month.
The Internet Changed Everything
Here's the reality: most of my best clients have never set foot in Yorkshire. I've worked with brands and organizations across the UK, and the client meetings happen on Zoom. The deliverables are uploaded to the cloud. The invoices are paid electronically.
Location matters far less than it used to. What matters is your work quality, your professionalism, and your ability to solve client problems. None of that requires a London address.
The Yorkshire Creative Scene
Another myth: that all the creative talent is in London. Have you been to Leeds lately? Sheffield? The creative communities here are thriving. Film festivals, production companies, galleries, theaters—they're all here. The difference is we're not competing with ten thousand other filmmakers for the same projects.
I've collaborated with incredible Yorkshire-based creatives: filmmakers, musicians, designers, artists. The talent pool is deep. We just don't spend as much time talking about it on Instagram.
The Doncaster Factor
Yes, I'm based in Doncaster specifically. Not exactly the UK's creative capital. But that's actually become an advantage. I'm the filmmaker people remember because I'm local. I understand this region, its stories, its people. I've built relationships with venues, businesses, and organizations that bigger London-based agencies wouldn't bother with.
And when those clients need high-quality work without London prices? They call me.
Making It Work
I won't pretend it's all perfect. Sometimes I do travel to London for projects. Sometimes I lose work to London-based competitors. But I've built a creative business that's profitable, sustainable, and allows me to actually live—not just survive.
I have a home office instead of a rented desk in a co-working space. I can afford to take on passion projects. I'm not burned out by a two-hour commute. And when a project wraps at 6PM, I'm home by 6:15, not crawling onto a packed tube.
The Real Question
The question isn't "Should you move to London to build a creative career?" It's "What kind of creative career do you actually want?"
If you want to work for major London agencies, be at every industry event, and live that specific lifestyle, then yes—move to London. But if you want to build a sustainable creative business, work with great clients, and actually enjoy your life? You can absolutely do that from Yorkshire.
I'm proof. And I'm not alone. There's a whole community of us up here making great work, building successful businesses, and enjoying a quality of life that London's rent prices make impossible.
So no, I don't need to move to London. I'm building something better right here.
