Business as Community.
Are you part of something bigger than yourself?
We’re all supposed to think the rugged individualist is the great American way to do business. I’m a reformed rugged individualist and can tell you that if you want to build a successful business, going it alone is a bad idea.
When you go to college you have all kinds of community available to you. When you get an apartment you meet some friends, have a BBQ and build community. When you buy a bike, there’s a bike club in your area ready to provide community. But when you start a business, well, good luck with that, you’re on your own.
The rugged individualist is among the worst cultural myths we’ve come up with. Business owners who understand the value of Outside Eyes on their business are much more likely to be successful than those who go it alone. If you aren’t connected to other businesses in your area via a mastermind group or other committed community, find one fast and get involved. You can’t afford not to. We’re expanding our 3to5 Clubs worldwide as fast as we can to be part of meeting that need.
Internet technology has also accelerated our ability to benefit from being in a local area together. I’m on the Board of Advisors for ShopCity.com, which has invested years putting together an unparalleled infrastructure for local businesses to band together and develop their local communities and create the combined strength to compete successfully against giant corporations planting big box retail shops in their towns.
Even better, instead of operating like a giant corporation themselves, they are selling the local rights to every area one of their thousands of local markets worldwide (ShopSydney.com, ShopDenver.com, etc.) to local businesses and individuals who can keep their dollars local. I’ve never promoted a product or service on my blog but this is one of those unusual services that is built with very intentional good consequences for building local community that needs to be promoted.
If you know someone interested in helping local business owners work together to grow their own communities who would want to own exclusive right to a great local business, have them visit ShopCity.com and connect to talk about becoming the gate opener, or what ShopCity calls a ShopCity Manager, for building community in their local area. Every local business owner who participates will make more money and build a better lifestyle and the ShopCity Manager will live well by doing good.
Stop going it alone. Get into community any way you can. And band together with other local owners to help each other get to your Business Maturity Date and build your Ideal Lifestyle. We’ll all get there a lot faster together.
