Come Out of Your Cave

Although we live in the part of the world (Wisconsin) where some of our animal friends hibernate through the dark, cold winter months, it doesn’t mean we should follow suit.  I know the whole “man-cave” movement is popular now (and I confess to finding it very appealing!), but it is not a tactic I would recommend to help build your business.

I was recently introduced to a business owner with almost 50 years in business in my local area.  Yet, as much as I pride myself in having a pretty good awareness of existing businesses, I had never heard of them.  They are a small, but prominent name in their industry, yet they don’t do a lot of business locally.  It got me thinking about other business owners who, even though they are small, would like to be prominent in their industry.  In many cases, one factor holding them back is that few people know they exist.  Their business “lives in a cave” of sorts, which causes them to be invisible in the community.

Even if your business and customers come from outside of your local area, please don’t underestimate the power of networking and visibility to enhance what you already do.  There are three important benefits to being active in your local business community:

·        We live in the age of “Six Degrees of Separation”.  This is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away from any other person in the world.  Want to meet that high level prospect in California?  The chance that someone in your community is already connected to them, or only one or two friend linkages away, is very high.  You can’t meet this local connector if you are living in your cave.

·        Even though your customers may not be local, most likely your employees are.  Successful hiring these days is much more about networking and awareness than about putting an anonymous ad in the paper or job board.  If you want to hire the best local candidates, it helps that your business is recognized as a desirable local employer so that when you have job openings, the best talent is drawn or recommended to you.

·        Business seems more complicated today than it used to be.  Having professional resources at hand to help with your business challenges is invaluable.  Being visible and active in your business community exposes you to the kind of accountants, attorneys, bankers, printers, web designers, financial planners, insurance pros, staffing companies, (even business coaches!) who you may need to get things done the right way, and cost effectively in your business.

As appealing as it is to get away from the stress of your business by rolling yourself into a comfy ball in your cave, getting out of that cave can be rewarding, too.  It can be motivating.  It can generate new friends.  It can help educate you.  It can help your business be more successful.

Come out and play!