Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton once wrote a book called “It Takes A Village”. In that book Clinton indicates that every adult has some influence over the way a child ultimately views the world and how those children relate to that world.
This article is not about Clinton’s book, but rather the concept of how interrelated we are as a culture.
When it comes to entrepreneurialism on the Internet it truly does take a village for your business to succeed. This article will look at two different types of villages required for online business success.
Let’s take a look at the first village.
ASSISTANTS
These are the people that have helped you get to the place of business on the web. These individuals could be supporting parents, a spouse, former employer, former co-workers, business mentors, etc.
No one ever really gets to a destination without someone else helping them. There can be positive outcomes related to self reliance, but with entrepreneurialism a business owner begins to see clearly there is a great deal of personal debt involved in the development of a dream. Just listen to any awards show and you catch a glimpse that the one standing in the limelight is simply casting a shadow to shade those who helped them achieve success.
The second village?
INTERNET COMMUNITY
Once you understand you cannot achieve success without the influence or help of others you can begin developing a community on the web that facilitates the success of your business.
Without the development of a sense of community your business would be like building a discount store at the North Pole. Sure, you might have customers at Christmastime, but for all intents and purposes you have failed to grasp the need for community. If you make it hard for customers to find you they will stop looking. In fact, if you exist in some out of the way place on the web most people will never know to look for you.
Just as you need individuals to help shape and mold you into who you are, you also need to intentionally develop a presence on the web that will provide a welcome to others whom you may have the opportunity to influence just as they contribute to your financial success.
Whatever legacy we leave behind is always commingled with the assistance we have gained through personal relationships. The individuals who have helped us along the way are honored as we work to pass along the collective wisdom they instilled in us combined with our own personal knowledge.
Entrepreneurialism is best dedicated to the idea that each of us needs others. In business the consumer needs the business owner and the business owner needs the consumer.
No matter how you look at it, entrepreneurialism requires a village.