By Contributor,Rhett Power

Copyright forbes

A few years ago, I was helping a small business owner fill three open roles. He had the budget, the job descriptions, the need — but every candidate he liked lived two time zones away, wanted relocation, or ghosted after the second interview. The process dragged for months. Sound familiar?

Hiring today isn’t merely competitive; it’s expensive, slow, and increasingly disconnected from what small businesses actually need: qualified people, quickly, and without the overhead. Here’s the good news: The answer might be sitting within 90 miles of your front door. If you’re an entrepreneur or a small business owner trying to scale without spending a fortune, it’s time to get serious about hiring local, and that starts with building stronger pipelines to nearby universities.

Local hiring goes beyond convenience to improve strategic planning. Done right, it can cut time-to-fill, lower your cost-per-hire, and boost retention across your team. Here’s how to build a smarter, more efficient approach to talent by investing in the region around you:

1. Build a campus-to-hire funnel that accelerates results

I’ve seen this play out in real time: Companies that invest in in-person relationships with nearby colleges consistently outperform those relying on virtual methods or far-flung searches. Why? Because proximity creates more touchpoints, and more touchpoints lead to better hires.

A recent NACE report backs this up. Employers reported higher offer rates (71.9% vs. 56.2%) and stronger conversion rates (58.5% vs. 46%) for students who participated in in-person internships compared to hybrid ones. What’s more, in-person career fairs and on-campus recruiting ranked as some of the most effective sourcing channels available.

That’s where the “90-mile hiring advantage” comes in. When you’re within driving distance of a campus, you can show up, meet students face-to-face, offer internships that don’t require relocation, and host office visits. You build trust. You move faster. You close the loop between “interested” and “on payroll.”

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As Shawn O’Rourke, Dean of the Wehle Business School at Canisius University, told me: “By building a steady stream of local talent, there can be a long-term strategy for growth, succession planning, and innovation without relying on expensive external searches for these small businesses.”

Translation? A reliable local funnel helps you grow from the inside out and makes sure your next hire already knows where to park on day one.

2. Use hybrid work to your advantage, not your excuse

In 2025, most of us have accepted hybrid as the new normal. But here’s the thing to remember: Hybrid still depends on geography. You might only need people in the office once or twice a week, but that doesn’t work if your best candidate lives 800 miles away.

Per Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, global work-from-home levels have dipped from around 1.6 days per week in 2022 to 1.27 days per week in 2025. That means the sweet spot for hiring isn’t across the country — it’s actually within commuting range. Your team still benefits from flexibility, but you also get the face time you need for onboarding, collaboration, and culture-building, especially for early-career hires.

I’ve seen too many remote-first hires fumble in their first 90 days not because they weren’t smart, but because they lacked the in-person coaching and connection that helps people ramp up fast. Local talent fixes that. It’s a proximity play with a retention upside.

3. Lower your cost-per-hire by shrinking your timeline

It’s time to talk numbers. According to the latest from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employer compensation costs averaged $48.05 per hour in June 2025. Every day a role remains vacant costs you money, both in lost productivity and in the time your team spends covering the gap. If hiring a local candidate allows you to fill a role even 10 business days faster, you’re looking at a savings of at least $3,844 in wage costs (not to mention all the opportunity cost). And that’s merely for one hire.

When you build a local pipeline, you can move fast. Think same-day interviews. On-campus info sessions. Trial internships that double as training. Job shadowing opportunities. I’ve worked with small companies that went from handshake to hire in under a week, which is something that’s nearly impossible when candidates are scattered across the country.

O’Rourke summed it up perfectly: “Regional partnerships between business and universities allow businesses to shape the workforce and universities to ensure graduate employability. This reduces the time needed for companies to find qualified candidates. Brand recognition and early engagement will make students apply to these local businesses — and at Canisius, we are nimble, communicative, and mission-aligned, which makes it easier to build these high-impact partnerships.”

In other words: Don’t wait for talent to find you. Go meet them where they already are, and do it before someone else does.

The bottom line: Local hiring is a growth strategy

I’ve spent years advising entrepreneurs who think bigger and better talent means casting a wider net. But the smartest growth I’ve seen? It starts close to home.

By tapping into the schools, students, and communities within 90 miles of your front door, you’re building a resilient, future-ready team that fits your company culture from day one.

So, if you’re looking to scale your business without blowing your budget or timeline, don’t underestimate the power of your zip code. The next best hire for your company might already be waiting just across town.

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